Backcountry Pilot

[OregonMaule offline]

In ten months I will have to do my first BFR. I think I read if you complete the FAA Wings program you don’t have to do the BFR. Is this correct?

The next paragraph is part of the wings program requirements.

Step 3: Submit your documentation to the FAA

The safety seminar and flight training portions for each phase must be completed within a 12-calendar month period. After completing a phase, pilots may begin working on the requirements of the next phase at any time; however, one (1) year must pass between the date of completion of the previous phase and the date of application for the next phase.

Simply mail your completed FAA WINGS card and, if applicable, a copy of your online course completion certificate to your local Flight Standards District Office (FSDO).

I have not done the flying part of the wings program. The way I read this paragraph it looks like I don’t qualify because I didn’t do anything in the first 12 months.

What say you? Regards...Rob

[Zzz]

I'm editing my post to include this from the AOPA site:

There are alternatives to the flight review and these include:

* Completion of any phase of the FAA Wings program
* Obtaining a new certificate (private, commercial, ATP, or CFI)
* Getting a new rating (instrument, multiengine, or glider)
* Employment with a Part 121 (air carrier) or 135 (air taxi) operation and satisfying the appropriate proficiency checks

I think the time spent taking some dual to satisfy the BFR is really valuable, much more so than a lecture series. You get one-on-one time with an instructor who can actually evaluate you in the cockpit and suggest stuff for you to work on. I had my last BFR in early June, and there is a thread floating around here somewhere.

[wannabe offline]

My understanding of the Wings Program is that the major benefit is that it relieves some, if not all, of an instructors exposure to LIABILITY.

I have been using the McCall Mtn-Cnyn seminars to "automatically" get a Wings Phase each year. That way I do not have to send in anything and Lori always does the FAA / FSDO "pushing."

The FAA worked closely with Lori to get the seminars to qualify since they were concerned with a rash of Idaho Fatalities some time back. The only difference is that the FAA allowed the deep canyon maneuvering to qualify as "hood", or "lost horizon" time.

These seminars are WAY more involved than the usual Wings one hour talk the talk bs. On top of which you still need to get the, as I recall, 1 hr of Oral, 1 hr of Maneuvers, and 1 hr of hood time, signed off on that little blue ticket.

Only problem for the near future is that the FAA seems to have caught on that the current Wings program does not have much "BEEF" to it. Seems there are changes a brewin, to put some "BEEF" into the Wings Program early 2008.

[qmdv offline]

in May of 2005 I did the River of No Return Mt Seminar in Challis Idaho. It was 6 hrs mt flying landing at all the Salmon River strips but mile high, 10 pluss hrs ground school, and a great steak dinner.

Best wings program I have been to. It counted.

Tim

[TomD offline]

The wings program was one of the best opportunities around to stay current and get a BFR.

The FAA, however, has "improved" the program.

Slog you way through this site.

https://www.faasafety.gov/WINGS/pppinfo/default.aspx

BTW, you will probably find none of your previous Wings programs are recorded. If you go to the bottom of page three and you have to request credit through your local representative ( found in another area of the website)

" Hello, I am from the Government and am here to help you."

TD

[Savannah-Tom offline]

I still haven't figured out the merit to the wings program. What's wrong with simply getting your BFR? To skip the BFR with wings you have to do 3 hours of dual, plus some class stuff. My last BFR was an hour of ground and an hour of flight. The instructor went over what I thought I was most in need of, as well as his own checks of my skills and knowledge. Easy, straight forward, no paper b.s. and over in a morning.

With wings you have to fart around getting crap signed, or logged on the web, and still use an instructor for flight.

I'll take mine straight-up

tom

[hotrod180 offline]

I still haven't figured out the merit to the wings program. What's wrong with simply getting your BFR? ........tom

That's always my thought when I hear the Wings program talked about. Couple years ago, somebody here put on an "approved owner maintenance" presentation that qualified for Wings. I thought that was bullshit.

Eric

[mtv offline]

The Wings program was never intended to REPLACE the flight review.

Some of us can remember when NEITHER was required .

The Wings program ends at the end of 2007, so if you want to get credit for Wings stuff, do it soon.

The new, "improved" FAAST (FAA Safety Team) safety program is coming on line now. It works somewhat different than the Wings program did. Basically, you'll get credits for any "approved" activity or seminar, etc, that you attend, and these will be logged onto your file on the FAAST team web site. After so many credits, you will have completed the equivalent of a flight review.

This will be an ongoing process, and you will be able to complete (at your own pace) credits toward staying "current" in the program.

Frankly, the new FAAST web site is incredibly complex LOOKING, but not that difficult. I fear that the rather intimidating initial appearance of the web site will significantly reduce the number of participants.

You can still complete a flight review, of course, but frankly, if your flight review actually takes only one hour of ground and one hour of flight, either you are a superstar, or your flight instructor isn't doing his or her job. That is the MINIMUM requirement.

I've never met ANYone, except current full time FAR 135 pilots who could get through a flight review in an hour of ground, but I haven't met everyone either .

In any case, the idea is to encourage pilots to continue to seek training to improve THEIR currency and proficiency. And the ultimate goal is to make us better, safer pilots.

If it works that way for one pilot--its a success.

MTV

[mtv offline]

It wasn't about free training. It was about trying to achieve better pilot PROFICIENCY.

Fly more=more proficiency, generally.

The Wings program was never developed to provide "free" flying, and to the best of my knowledge, it didn't. The point was to try to encourage pilots to take a bit more training than the bare minimums, in an effort to try to improve safety.

What's wrong with that concept?

EVERYBODY, myself included, can always stand a bit more training when it comes to flying. If you aren't learning something every time you fly, you simply aren't paying attention. Now, add a competent instructor into that mix, and there are opportunities to REALLY learn some important stuff.

And, ya know, some of those things could actually save your life, or maybe even the lives of your loved ones....

Or, you could just take the absolute minimum of training that's mandated to LEGALLY fly an airplane. Frankly, that ain't much.

Get all the training you can, attend all the seminars you can, learn all you can about flying.

One day, that might save your life.....

MTV