Currency, flight reviews and night
9 min readLesson 25 of 59
- Explain the flight review requirement
- Know passenger-carrying currency for day and night
- Tell the three different definitions of night
The flight review
To act as pilot in command, you must have completed a flight review within the preceding 24 calendar months (14 CFR 61.56). It's at least 1 hour of ground training and 1 hour of flight training with an instructor, who endorses your logbook. Passing a checkride for a new certificate or rating also counts. It's not a test you pass or fail; it's a check-up.
Carrying passengers
To carry passengers, within the preceding 90 days you must have made three takeoffs and three landings as the sole manipulator of the controls in the same category, class (and type, if a type rating is required) of aircraft (14 CFR 61.57(a)). In a tailwheel airplane, the landings must be to a full stop.
To carry passengers at night (from 1 hour after sunset to 1 hour before sunrise), the three takeoffs and three landings must have been made during that same period and to a full stop (61.57(b)).
Three definitions of "night"
| For | Night means |
|---|---|
| Logging night time (14 CFR 1.1) | End of evening civil twilight to beginning of morning civil twilight |
| Position lights required (91.209) | Sunset to sunrise |
| Night passenger currency (61.57(b)) | 1 hour after sunset to 1 hour before sunrise |
A common checkride question: can you log night time at 30 minutes after sunset? Usually yes, once civil twilight has ended. But a takeoff and landing at that time doesn't count toward night passenger currency, because it isn't yet 1 hour after sunset.
Key takeaways
- Flight review every 24 calendar months: 1 hour ground + 1 hour flight.
- Passengers: 3 takeoffs and landings in 90 days (full stop for tailwheel).
- Night passengers: 3 full-stop landings between 1 hour after sunset and 1 hour before sunrise.
What the examiner may ask
Practice answering out loud before you open each answer.
When is your next flight review due?
You landed three times at noon last week. Can you carry passengers tonight?
When can you log night time?
Common mistakes
- Confusing the three different 'night' definitions.
- Counting touch-and-goes toward night passenger currency.
- Letting the flight review lapse without noticing.
Read it in the FAA sources
Go deeper on the site
Lesson check
Get every question right to complete the lesson. Take your time; wrong answers explain why.
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