Helicopter Flight Information
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Helicopter Flight Information |
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Currency and When and How Night Applies can be confusingEvery now and then pilots become confused with flight currency requirements, when and how they may log night flight time, and when they may carry passengers without night currency. Most importantly let us establish whom you may carry on the aircraft when you are not current. YOU and no one else. You may not carry a non-paying passenger, neither your wife nor anyone else if you have let your currency lapse. You must establish currency on your own. The FAA is clear on this; you may not risk anyone else’s life unless you are current. You may maintain currency with passengers, but you may not reestablish currency with passengers. What is currency anyway? The currency regulation basically stipulates that you must have flown the aircraft in question (category) within the preceding 90 days to at least 3 take-offs and landings in either day or night as it applies to the flight. You may not carry a passenger with you to meet this currency if you have let it expire. If it has not expired all you need to do is make sure that you always have at least the 3 take-offs and landings within the preceding 90 days and you can log those with a passenger on board. The night thing is a little more complicated however the currency still applies the same. You can maintain your currency for day time by maintaining your night currency alone, but you can not maintain your night currency by any means other than logging night operations. Note that the regulation stipulate 3 take-offs and 3 landings, this means that you can not take-off in the day time, and land in the night time and count that as one of the currency flights for night time, but it would count as one for day currency. Various regulations refer to sunrise and sunset, evening or morning civil twilight, and one hour after or before sunset. When do these occur one may wonder? Actually you must look them up for an exact time which may be done easily now at AirNav just by going to the appropriate airport page. Remember that these are traceable, so be careful about fudging times.
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