Approaches and Currency

[mpflies2]

Ok, I posted this thread in the training section, didnt get any replies and figured it might get more attention here.....any help?

Ok heres my question.

I realized the other day that the FARs say something along the lines of to be current you need six approaches, holding procedures, tracking intercepting...yatta yatta in ACTUAL or SIMULATED conditions. I was looking back in my logbook and saw many flights where I logged approaches with no sim or actual along with the flight. Is it ok to still log those as approaches as long as when I speak of currency...I don't count those. Or because I wasn't under the hood should they not be in my logbook at all cuz they're really only visual approaches. The way I see it is that by logging them it shows I went over those particular approach procedures for practice but as long as I don't use them towards currency it should be ok.


Am I correct in still logging them, or should I not log approaches I do that arent under the hood or in actual or simulator etc...?

Thanks

Marc

 

[Catnhat]

If you are flying the approach in VMC, and are not using a view limiting device, and do not have a safety pilot sitting next to you, then you'd better be looking around outside the airplane. Based on these assumptions, while it is good practice, it should not be logged as an instrument approach.

My CFII opinion only.

 

[mpflies2]

If you are flying the approach in VMC, and are not using a view limiting device, and do not have a safety pilot sitting next to you, then you'd better be looking around outside the airplane. Based on these assumptions, while it is good practice, it should not be logged as an instrument approach.

My CFII opinion only.

So even if I don't figure these approaches in when I add up to see if i'm current, its still not wise to log them?

 

[Holding Short]

I wouldn't log those vmc approaches that weren't under the hood with a safety pilot. If you wanted to you could put it in the remarks section.

I only log the real ones ( simulated or actual ). It makes it easier to count back from present to 6 months back to see if I'm current.

HS

 

[mpflies2]

ok thanks guys....as for the ones that i had already done up to this point.....just leave em and start not logging vmc from now forth?

Marc

 

[midlifeflyer]

So even if I don't figure these approaches in when I add up to see if i'm current, its still not wise to log them?

Just looking at your logbook, how does the FAA know you didn't figure them?

Not wise, unless you put a note in the remarks that says something to the effect of "in VMC - not for currency."

Looking at your logbook, how does the FAA know that you did not figure them? Your logbook is your FAA-required official record of proof of qualification. Unless modified in some way, the FAA is entitled to look at the entry and the column it is listed in and make the assumption that you intended it to be used exactly the way the regulations designed it to be used - to show currency or qualification - =without= an after-the-fact= "I didn't really mean it that way" explanation. The entry needs to speak for itself. A good number of FAA certificate actions for logbook falsification leaves very little doubt of that. In one, the pilot claimed that the entries weren't important since he was qualified even without them. The argument fell on deaf ears:

==============================
...any logbook entry which in any way illustrates compliance with any certification or rating requirement found in 14 C.F.R. 61 is material for purposes of a section 61.59(a)(2) violation. The maintenance of the integrity of the system of qualification for airman certification, which is vital to aviation safety and the public interest, depends directly on the cooperation of the participants and on the reliability and accuracy of the records and documents maintained and presented to demonstrate compliance.
==============================

You can view it as no big deal. I'm sure plenty of folks do. But the risk of being wrong is certificate revocation - the standard penalty the FAA asks for for falsification of aviation records.

 

[Catnhat]

mp,

For the FAA, as long as you really are current with actual or simulated approaches, and can show it in your logbook, they won't care what you else you wrote there. I think the more important thing is that I assume someday you will need to show your book(s) to a potential employer. They will only want to see real legal approaches. If you have another column you can use, just label it VMC approaches. Or as midlife suggested, put it in the remarks.

As for what you have logged, its up to you. As long as you can show the FAA enough legal approaches to make you current for the flight you are making, they won't really care but you will need to be able to tell the difference.

 

[mpflies2]

mp,

For the FAA, as long as you really are current with actual or simulated approaches, and can show it in your logbook, they won't care what you else you wrote there. I think the more important thing is that I assume someday you will need to show your book(s) to a potential employer. They will only want to see real legal approaches. If you have another column you can use, just label it VMC approaches. Or as midlife suggested, put it in the remarks.

As for what you have logged, its up to you. As long as you can show the FAA enough legal approaches to make you current for the flight you are making, they won't really care but you will need to be able to tell the difference.

ok cool, i think i'll go back and write in VMC approach not counted in currency.....or something along those lines, thanks guys

Marc