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Maintaining a private license

Asked by: 3692 views Private Pilot

Hi,
First of all, your website has tonnes of information. I am interested in learning to fly and am doing my research and homework.

One question I was not able to get answer was that after getting the Private Pilot License, are there any conditions to maintain your license? Are you suppose to log specific hours per year? When does your license expire?

Would appreciate your answers.

Thank you very much,

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1 Answers

  1. Best Answer


    Mark Kolber on Dec 28, 2012

    If we’re talking about a US certificate, in general, they do not expire and, other than notifying the FAA of a change of address, nothing required to maintain them. Exceptions come up from time to time. For example, as part of the move from paper to plastic, FAA paper certificates will expire March 31, 2013. But the only step required maintain your certificate is to order a plastic one for $2.00.

    What the FAA regs do have are requirements to maintain currency for certain pilot crew and flight operations. The most common of these is the FAR 61.56 Flight Review. That regulation requires that before a pilot acts as pilot in command of an aircraft, he or she must have had a flight review (or one of the equivalents) within 24 calendar months before acting as PIC.

    If you look at the reg, notice that it only applies to acting as PIC, and only requires a look back to the prior 24 months. So, for example, a private pilot who is in a position to act as a Second-in-Command may do so without a current flight review. And because it’s only a 24-month lookback, a pilot can literally go for decades without one and the certificate will still be valid.

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