Actually, his license and all ratings are still good. If he is over 40 years old he needs to get a 3rd class medical every 2 years and a biannual flight review. Once he does that he is good to go.Originally Posted by boomshay
The medical is easy. usually about 90 bucks and about 30 minutes with an AME (a doctor certified by the FAA.) The BFR will be a bit harder. He can take it with any CFI, but the CFI needs to be satisfied that he is proficient and safe. Once that happens the CFI simply endourses his log book (he does have his log book, right?) and he is good to go. Depending on how long he has been out of it that can take anywhere from 7-8 hours to 20 or so, but nowhere near the effort it takes to get a rating in the first place. If he had his Instrument rating there are minimum proficiency requirements that he must pass with a CFII and a certain number of instrument approaches and procedures that he has to have logged in the past 6 months.
The bottom line is his ratings are still good. He just needs to get current. There is also something called personal limits that we taught. That is where a pilot may be certified and legal, but they need to know what their personal limitations are. For example, If your dad gets current then doesn't fly for 6 months or so, the FAA says he's legal, but he's probably not current enough to go up alone. There are also personal limitations that need to be taken into account for weather, night flying, mountain flying, etc. They are all things that a good instructor will cover with your dad during the BFR.
A gift certificate for a couple of hours of aircraft rental and instruction towards his currency would be a great gift for any occasion. Take a ride to your local airport and talk to some folks at the flight schools there.
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks