Category: Flight Performance and Planning – PPL

In my conversations with students during training and PPL holders during rating re-validation, some interesting myths emerge. So let’s put the record straight on a number of air law and licensing questions.

1. It’s OK to fly outside the W&B (weight and balance) envelope as long as you have checked it’s safe, e.g. by a test take-off on a long runway. FALSE.

The PiC is legally required to assure himself that he is operating within W&B limits. And how would you know it’s safe other than by operating within the limits given in the POH? The manufacturer has worked these things out.

TIP –  It is so easy to calculate W&B, either on paper, spreadsheet or in an app like Skydemon. Consider making a handful of standard calculations – e.g. myself, flight bag + full fuel; myself, flight bag, wife + 90 litres fuel (= MTOM) – to which you can refer.

2. The bi-annual instructional flight (the ‘1 hour with instructor’) must be done in the last 3 months of rating validity. FALSE.

You can do it any time during the last year of validity. However, the instructor or examiner can only sign your rating revalidation if you have met all the criteria (12 hours, 6 hrs PiC, 12 take-offs etc etc), so you might need to get the signature a bit later.

TIPS – get your 1 hour done early and don’t wait till winter, when the weather can prevent you flying. if you’ve met all the re- validation requirements early in the year, you can get the rating signed off and preserve the dates. There is no fixed agenda for the bi-annual instruction flight. From a ‘duty of care’ standpoint, most instructors will want to revise stalls, steep turns and a PFL, but in principle the instruction can cover anything. Find something that’s useful for you, such crossing CAS, short field techniques, bad weather circuits, night flying, even some instrument flight. The choice is yours and it’s not a test. You can ask the instructor to teach or demo something, or perform the manoeuvre yourself.  

3. If I forget to get my rating re- validated by signature, I can always ask an examiner or any instructor to back-date it. FALSE.

The signature must be made before rating expiry date. And if it’s an instructor signing, ONLY the instructor who did your 1 hour of instruction is entitled to sign (don’t ask me why) although ANY examiner can do so.

TIPS – enter your revalidation dates in your diary – at least one month ahead of time. Get the signature at the time of the instructional flight, if at all possible.

4. In order to accumulate IFR hours towards a CB-IR, I can record all my flights in VMC as IFR. FALSE.

You can only fly IFR (even in VMC) if you are qualified to fly IFR, i.e. hold either an IR or (IR(R) (the UK IMC rating).

5. I can fly a 3-axis microlight on a PPL(A) and the hours count towards the 12 hours required for SEP re-validation. TRUE.

BUT….. in order to do so, you must first undergo differences training (by a microlight instructor) and get this signed off in your log-book. AND… for SEP re-validation, the 1 hour with an instructor must be in a SEP, not in a micro-light.

6. If I hold SEP and TMG ratings, I can re- validate both with 12 hours etc flight time in the last 12 months, on both or either class. TRUE.

The hours are in effect inter-changeable. BUT… be careful. If your TMG and SEP ratings have different expiry dates, you must accumulate the hours and get the signatures while both are still valid.  If either of them expires, you must take a test (an LPC) on the expired class.

7. If I enter controlled airspace by accident by less than 0.5 nm, or less than 100 feet, it won’t be recorded as an infringement. FALSE

Entering CAS without clearance, by any distance or height – however small – is an infringement and you can expect the CAA to take some kind of action against you. Airspace infringements are what are called ‘strict liability offences’, i.e. intent is irrelevant. All the authority has to do is to show – on the balance of probabilities – that you infringed. Evidence includes their radar and your transponder mode C output. Arguing that your transponder is inaccurate won’t wash, unless can get an engineer’s report to prove the mis-calibration.

TIPS – Why fly that close to CAS and risk it? Apply the Take 2 Rule – remain 2 nm away from and at least 200 ft (I prefer 300 ft) below CAS.  Do a transponder calibration check before flight: set your altimeter to 1013 and check it agrees with the transponder FL display.

8. I am allowed 45 days leeway to fly after my medical expires. FALSE.

You can do the medical 45 days before expiry and preserve the dates, but you cannot fly after it has expired. However……

TIP –  a Class 2 medical lapses into a LAPL medical on expiry. So depending on what you are doing, you might be able to fly on LAPL privileges after the Class 2 expiry date. But LAPL privileges will also expire eventually and LAPL privileges carry further restrictions (aircraft weight, number of passengers, no night or instrument flight etc).

9. If in my bi-annual instruction flight, I fly quite badly, the instructor can refuse to sign-off the flight in my logbook. FALSE.

He / she must sign it. But they may make an annotation ‘Further training recommended’, and they will discuss with you what additional training is needed. You would be well-advised to pay heed!

TIP – use the instructional flight to practice something you wouldn’t normally do and as an opportunity to get some (almost free) advice. Consider booking the instructor for a couple of hours so that you have time for a thorough briefing and for subsequent discussion.

10. A listening squawk entitles me to enter Controlled Airspace. FALSE.

A Listening squawk merely signifies that you are listening on a particular frequency. You are not getting a service nor a clearance. You might reasonably expect ATC to warn you if you get too close to CAS, but that’s not guaranteed (if they are very busy, for example).

TIP – make sure you have set the corresponding frequency and have the radio volume turned up enough. Listen out in case they call you up, either by call-sign or by ‘aircraft in the vicinity of …..’