From: skip@mitre.org (Skip Guild)
Subject: Re: annual flight reviews
Organization: The MITRE Corp
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 12:13:12 GMT

In article <1992Jul29.214625.28560@news.nd.edu> ulick@dvorak.helios.nd.edu (Ulick Stafford) writes:
>From: ulick@dvorak.helios.nd.edu (Ulick Stafford)
>Subject: annual flight reviews
>Date: 29 Jul 92 21:46:25 GMT

>An ambigously worded paragraph in our local FSDO`s organ caused me to
>call and ask them about AFR's.  They told me that I was indeed granfathered
>and that the regulation will be in force from August 31, 1993.  I had been
>inquiring because I am about to get checked out in a Sundowner and wanted 
>to see if I should combine it with an AFR and do it on August 1 or 2 instead
>of July 31, so it would maximise my flying legality.  Anyway, the FSDO told
>me that if I do my BFR in August 93 (when it is due, anyway), it will be
>a BFR and I will not need to do another flight review till August '95.  

The FARs disagree with your FBO.  FAR 61.56(d)(3) says "...less than 400 
hours of flight time as a pilot and who satisfactorily completes a flight 
review on or before August 30, 1991, may act as pilot-in-command of an 
aircraft until the 24th calendar month after the month in which that flight 
review was satisfactorily completed."  That means if you took your FR on 
September 1, 1991, you are good only to September 30, 1992 unless during 
this period you go over 400 hours in which case you are good until September 
30, 1993.  This paragraph has been upgraded every two years by an additional 
two years just in time for it never to have had any affect.  I wouldn't be 
surprised to see it modified again before September 30th of this year but 
we'll just have to wait and see.

IF the FAR is upgraded to read August 30, 1993 then it will impact pilots in 
1994 (not 1995 as your FBO indicates) who get their FRs on or after 
September 1, 1993.  AOPA is pushing to drop this paragraph as unnecessary 
for safety.

>Now
>my question (a little too hypothetical to ask them, but I know how much some
>of you guys like discussing these questions :-) ),  What if I do my BFR (or
>AFR) in August 1995 and still have less than 400 hours, but by August 1996
>have more than 400, will I need to do a BFR then or will my AFR become a
>BFR and allow me to fly without review till August 1997?

You've got the wrong year, but the idea is correct.  It's an either/or 
situation.  Either get 400 hours or a FR before the year elapses.  If you do 
neither, there is one other case to consider.  If you're only X.X hours 
short of 400 and the year has elapsed, you could fly with a CFI for those 
X.X hours and then be legal to fly out the rest of the two-year period.  Of 
course, I would want to get the FR out of the way right then and there as it 
probably won't cost any more and be good for one-two years from the FR 
(depending on whether you reach 400 hours with the CFI).

>(Well, I hope to have an IR then to make this question moot, but right now
>on a graduate student stipend I am doing only 20-30 hours a year, at which
>rate it will be at least 2003 by the time I have 400 hours which would also 
>make the question irrelevent.)

I'm in the same boat, at least with time.  240 hours TT working towards my 
instrument rating.
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