![]() You could make a full-stop landing and finish your currency flying tomorrow.You could rush to try to get those three takeoffs and landings in before the fog gets worse.As you turn on to downwind, you notice fog is starting to appear about three miles off the departure end of the runway. You have a little more than an hour before sunset, and you are not night current. In two days’ time you have promised to take your boss’s kid for a flight. ![]() You’re a VFR pilot on day 86 of the 90-day currency cycle, so you rush out to the airport to get in three takeoffs and landings. SCENARIO 1: WHEN THE WEATHER IS BELOW YOUR PERSONAL WEATHER LIMITATIONS THE WEATHER IS MARGINAL VFR and it is late afternoon. ![]() For example, some require that if you have not flown one of their aircraft in the preceding 90 days, you must fly with an instructor. Many FBOs have a policy like this written into their rental agreements. Most pilots take great pride in their skills, and some go so far as to write down a commitment to maintaining proficiency and currency, noting, “I will make an effort to fly at least three times a month, for at least two hours.” This is followed by a plan to remedy the situation if they cannot keep the commitment, such as “If it has been more than 45 days since I have flown, I will take a qualified instructor with me.” For example, you might set yours as the following: “I can fly when the ceiling is at least 1,000 feet and visibility is at least three miles but if I have a passenger, I will not fly unless the ceiling is at least 1,500 feet and visibility is at least four miles.” Personal weather limitations can be the most challenging for the newly-minted VFR-only pilot, and you may want to adjust them for passengers. READ MORE: Researcher Expects Boom in Aviation Weather Forecasting.PAVE prompts the pilot to consider: pilot currency/skills, airplane condition, en-Vironment (includes weather), and external pressures.Īlthough three takeoffs and landings within 90 days make you current according to FAA regulations, you may want to impose a personal limit, such as, “I will not fly with passengers or in marginal VFR unless I’ve flown within the preceding two weeks,” or “If it’s been more than 60 days, I will remain in the pattern for X number of touch and gos before I depart the area.” IMSAFE guides the pilot to check if they are affected by illness, medication, stress, alcohol, fatigue, and/or emotion and eating. The FAA has provided pilots with checklist tools (IMSAFE and PAVE) to help identify and assess risk before each flight. When all the risks line up-the holes in the cheese-accidents happen. IMSAFE and PAVEĪs a student pilot, you learned about the “Swiss cheese model” that results in accidents. They cover much more than just weather considerations. Personal limitations are predicated on pilot experience level, familiarity with the airplane, knowledge of the area, the weather, and the nature of the mission. The purpose of having personal limitations is to mitigate risk. ![]() Once you’ve earned your sport or private pilot certificate, it’s your responsibility to establish your personal weather limitations-and abide by them on every flight. These limitations must be in place because most student pilots don’t have the experience to determine where their skill ends and luck begins. There’s good reason why flight instructors place weather limitations in a student pilot’s logbook.
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