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BFR

Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 9:05 pm
by dstclair
Question to the CFIs. What is your usual process for determining the flight portion of a BFR for a sport pilot? I'll post the reason for my question after a post or two.

Re: BFR

Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 10:16 pm
by dstclair
I'm very much aware of FAR 61.56, am knowledgeable of AC 61-98A and comfortable with the FAA presentation "Conducting an Effective Flight Review". My leading question comes from the FAA guidance in AC 61-98A that states a flight review is also intended to offer pilots the opportunity to design a personal currency and proficiency program in consultation with a CFI. What do the CFI's on this board do? Follow by rote the Flight Review Checklist and suggested activities or tailor the session as suggested in the AC?

Re: BFR

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 2:41 am
by drseti
I encourage my former students and renters to complete a phase of the FAA Safety Team WINGS program, which satisfies the requirements of a flight review. This way, they can tailor their recurrency training to fit their personal needs. See FAASafety.gov.

Re: BFR

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 10:09 am
by dstclair
Paul -- I'm an advocate of the Wings program using the 'old' program extensively. Unfortunately, I have not been successful in finding instructors that are receptive to the program. I do take many courses and gain more than enough knowledge credits but I've pretty much given up on finding CFIs that really understand the flight portion of wings.

Now the background behind my earlier post. I recently completed my fourth BFR in my light sport era. The first three flight reviews (flight portion) were decided and tailored based on discussions held before the review. I typically like to spend some time practicing skills that I'm unable to do safely without a CFI such as flying under the hood and unusual attitude recovery. I also include skills that I perhaps have not performed recently to my own satisfaction and those that the CFI suggests. Very collaborative.

I reached out to a CFI I had not met but is very active in the local pilot community and is based at my airport (not many there). He seemed, and is, a very nice guy. He stated he has a specific program for BFRs that is essentially a checkride, although not to PTS standards, including planning a cross country. If one checks the referenced docs in prior post, he pretty much follows the suggested plan. The experience was fine as we flew the first few miles of the cross country, had a 'partial' power failure followed by a short-field landing, short-field take-off, power-off landing, soft-field take-off, stalls, slow flight then back to the home airport.

As I stated before, I like flying with company so I enjoyed my 1.2hrs. I just didn't really learn anything new or gain a different perspective.

I was wondering were my prior N-1 experiences outside the norm or was my latest BFR more the norm?

Re: BFR

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 10:18 am
by drseti
Dave, FAA still gives the individual CFI significant discretion in terms of what must be on the flight review. The only areas they emphasize are runway incursion avoidance (recommended) and airspace changes (required).

That's still a lot more guidance than we used to get, before the FARs specified minimum one hour each of ground and flight. Believe it or not, bar stool biennials used to be the norm (and legal!)

Re: BFR

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 10:34 am
by FastEddieB
It's been a long time since I've give one, but...

...I'd often start both the oral and flight portions with, "Anything special you'd like to go over today?"

I'd then fall back on a core of items I find important.

For instance, I like to see if a pilot can handle an enroute power failure from nearly over an airport. I'd get them several thousand feet above the pattern of a non-towered airport and see how they would do.

BTW, an amazing number blow it entirely, the most common issues being either trying a long straight-in where they undershoot and come up short, or fly too wide a pattern, with a similar result.

Re: BFR

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 10:55 am
by CharlieTango
FastEddieB wrote:...
For instance, I like to see if a pilot can handle an enroute power failure from nearly over an airport. I'd get them several thousand feet above the pattern of a non-towered airport and see how they would do.

BTW, an amazing number blow it entirely, the most common issues being either trying a long straight-in where they undershoot and come up short, or fly too wide a pattern, with a similar result.

Holy Cow, a big number that already have the runway made fly out of range in order to set up for a landing? Makes me think that coasting in from a-beam the numbers is a great exercise.

Slipping from a high final is another good skill to practice.

Re: BFR

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 10:58 am
by drseti
CharlieTango wrote:Makes me think that coasting in from a-beam the numbers is a great exercise.
That's not just an exercise at my flight school, it's standard practice in every landing - for just that reason!

Re: BFR

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 11:43 am
by CTLSi
......

Re: BFR

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 12:02 pm
by drseti
CTLSi wrote:Engine to idle on the downwind leg is an emergency landing maneuver.
Trouble is, if it's taught as an emergency maneuver, it may not be practiced for years. Then, when it's needed for real, the pilot may not be able to execute it safely. If it's taught as a regular landing technique, then in the event of an actual engine failure, the safe execution of the landing becomes a non-issue.

Re: BFR

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 12:07 pm
by CharlieTango
CTLSi wrote:Engine to idle on the downwind leg is an emergency landing maneuver. Nothing special about it, just makes for a rounded or non base leg.
I use this technique routinely and have for decades yet I fly a square pattern.

Re: BFR

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 12:16 pm
by drseti
It you fly a tight pattern, then (at least in some planes) you can square it up and still fly it as a glider. People get into trouble when their pattern is too wide. In an LSA, I have my students do their downwind a quarter mile from the runway, and glider landings generally work well with squared off corners. Try that from a half mile to a mile out, and it may not work so well.

Re: BFR

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 12:38 pm
by FastEddieB
I had a fellow in a Cirrus drop down to about 1,000' agl about 3 miles from the airport we were headed to (Smyrna, TN). I pulled the power and asked him where he'd land. He replied he'd glide to the runway.

I was quite surprised he thought we had any chance of doing so.

Many, many pilots will come up short on a straight-in or go too wide on base and come up short, as I said before.

In any case, its something I like to practice when I have no other reason to fly. My most common error is to end up way too high, but I can virtually always slip like a maniac with full flaps and land in the first half of the runway, anyway.