I have a 2012 FAR book from when I first started my (bumpy) journey to my PPL. As a student pilot, has enough changed in the regs to warrant buying an updated FAR? Should I buy the updated book every year anyway?

Thanks in advance.

If you have Foreflight, the regs are included. Not sure about other apps like Pilot, WingX, etc. my personal opinion is that you can get away without buying it each year. They are on the FAA's site and are easily searchable. If you need to look something up, either use your book and verify it online or just look it up online. Reading publications like AOPA Pilot will also keep you abreast of any major changes that could affect you. Even when actively instructing I didn't buy a new one for the last several years because the info was easily accessible from other places.

MEM, I just saw your other post. Being a student still, I'll revise my answer a bit. Get a new one that will be current for your check ride and mark it up so you know where things are. Don't show up to a check ride with an expired copy.

Get a new one, they are super cheap! Then use tabs to show the different area's. Then when you get your checkride you'll look super prepared and be able to reference something super quick and then the DPE will stop asking questions. He wants to know if there is something you don't know!

I'd wait to buy a new one till you knew you were going to be taking your check ride while it was still current. Sure they are cheap but no need to waste the money.

a) All of the regulations are available (and always current) online: http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c= ... tab_02.tpl

b) For a checkride, I'd make sure I either had internet access (not always available) so I could look up a reg, OR I'd have a current copy of the regs for that checkride. Showing up for a checkride with an outdated copy of the regs is a really bad idea.

But, again, all the regs, as well as the Practical Test Standards are available for free online. I haven't figured out how to save them from the website onto a computer, but Foreflight offers that function.

MTV

Online is best. I had to spray the first two months of one of my ag student's first season, because Memphis FSDO suspended his commercial. I hadn't instructed him on the regular commercial program, so I wasn't the instructor who messed up. They changed the ten takeoff and land of complex at night to ten hours. The current book still said ten takeoff and land. The computer said ten hours. About thirty pilots were grounded. Rob works at night in the desert, but we don't do much night ag work in the Delta.

Oh, hell! That reminds me of a war story. I was going over some techniques with Todd Underwood, DPE at Prescott, Arizona, We were doing some energy management turns well east of the tower airport, but kept getting closer. Todd kept saying, "Stay clear of the Delta." I saw a housing development out in the desert and thought that was what he was talking about. He finally tapped on the panel mounted GS 1000, in the C-150, or some such GPS. Some of us honestly do all of our flying outside the cockpit in VMC. I probably would have seen a Garmin 196 taped to the magnetic compass on the dash.

Sporty's sells the new version every year for a nice discount. It's under $10. No excuses to have an expired copy for the check ride.

http://www.sportys.com/PilotShop/product/9519

Thanks guys. I'll probably get the new one before I solo, but keep abreast on the web until then.

there is an app for that

if you have an iPhone search the app store for FAR/AIM

its 9.99

Bradley