How to Gain True Aviation Proficiency Beyond Basic Currency
You know that completing three takeoffs and landings will restore your currency, but how many are needed to regain true proficiency? For most of us, the answer is simply, “as many as it takes.” Often, we only realize our proficiency has waned when something unnerves us—a bounced landing, a challenging crosswind that requires multiple go-arounds, or a mistake that prompts a sharp reprimand from the tower, shaking our confidence.
When this happens, it might be wise to schedule an hour of dual instruction with a CFI who specializes in the area where you faced difficulties, whether it’s crosswinds, short field landings, or another specific challenge. If your mistake wasn’t severe—no bent metal or broken regulations—you can also go out and practice on your own, holding yourself accountable to specific goals.
Building a Proficiency Flight
A proficiency flight should always start with a clear plan. if you’re flying solo, take a moment for self-talk: “This is what I aim to achieve on this flight; these are the goals I’m setting for myself.” Then, hold yourself accountable to those goals. If you don’t meet them, identify what needs to change.
For example, if you’re struggling to land in the first third of the runway with full flaps but keep landing long and fast, focus on achieving a stable approach. You might decide to call out your airspeeds on each leg of the pattern to better manage the aircraft’s configuration.
If you’re flying with a CFI, the preflight briefing is crucial. Describe your challenge in detail—saying you “had a bad landing” is too vague. Was your speed too high? Were you behind the airplane? Was your pattern altitude inconsistent? The CFI can’t help unless they know exactly what needs fixing.
Insist that the CFI explains how to correct the issue before you get in the airplane. Airplanes aren’t ideal classrooms, and lack of clarity can add to your frustration. If pattern and landing are the issue, consider diagramming the pattern on the whiteboard, focusing on airspeeds, altitude, and aircraft configuration. Using a model aircraft to simulate the pattern while verbalizing these metrics can also be effective.
Let the instructor know what you expect during the flight. If you want them to remain quiet and serve as a safety monitor, communicate that. If you prefer real-time feedback, make that clear as well—and be ready to accept their input.
Maintaining Knowledge Proficiency
As pilots, we have to remember an enormous amount of information, and it’s easy for our knowledge to get rusty. When was the last time you reviewed something from the FAR/AIM or read a chapter from the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge or the Airplane Flying Handbook, outside of a check ride or flight review?
Just as we practice takeoffs and landing beyond the minimum for currency, a good pilot should regularly review the knowledge required to maintain their certificate.
Avoiding the Normalization of Deviance
In aviation, small lapses can gradually become the norm, a phenomenon known as the normalization of deviance. These can be shortcuts or bad habits that pilots justify but that can lead to bigger problems. We’ve all read accident reports where a pilot, significantly out of currency and proficiency, attempted a challenging flight with disastrous results.
Rationalizing unsafe behaviors is dangerous. For example, some pilots avoid controlled airspace, flying convoluted routes to dodge it because they don’t want to ask for a clearance. They might say, “I don’t go into class D airspace because I don’t want to talk to the tower,” or “The tower is too busy.” But in reality, requesting airspace transition is often a quick, simple conversation.
Another example is avoiding non-towered airports because “it’s too much work to see and avoid and self-announce simultaneously.” This is limiting, considering that most U.S. airports are non-towered, and that’s unlikely to change.
Committing to Aviation Proficiency: A CFI’s Role
One of the challenges with normalization of deviance is figuring out where the bad habit started. Was it learned from a CFI? A fellow pilot? Something read online? “My instructor told me…” is the aviation equivalent of “they said” and should prompt verification with FAA-approved sources like the FAR/AIM.
When a pilot comes to a CFI for a proficiency flight, the instructor’s role isn’t to tear them down. I’ve seen experienced pilots leave a school because the CFI assigned to them acted as if flying with a certificated pilot was beneath them. Even if a proficiency flight isn’t as lucrative as teaching a full certificate or rating, it’s still a teaching opportunity—and it adds hours to your logbook.
Listen to what the pilot wants to achieve. It can be frustrating when a pilot looking for specific dual instruction is paired with a CFI who has their own agenda. If a pilot says, “I want to regain my multi-engine rating,” they should not be misunderstood as wanting to earn a multi-engine rating.
Studying for Proficiency
Online ground schools, like those from King Schools, Sporty’s, or Gold Seal, are excellent resources for maintaining knowledge proficiency. CFI’s might consider “test-flying” these programs before recommending them to students.
Retaking ground school for the sake of proficiency isn’t as uncommon as you might think, and it’s commendable. I once taught a face-to-face course where a CFI attended because he wanted to teach his children to fly. Although he was an airline pilot and kept his CFI active through online refresher clinics, he felt that wasn’t enough to maintain his teaching proficiency.
Embracing a Proficiency Culture
It’s crucial for both instructors and pilots to foster a culture that values ongoing proficiency training. Remember the old adage: be humble in aviation, or aviation will humble you. At Bravo 6 Flight Academy, we are committed to helping pilots not only maintain their currency but also achieve true proficiency.
Whether you’re looking to refine your skills in specific areas like crosswind landings or aiming to stay sharp on the latest FAA regulations, our experienced CFIs are here to guide you every step of the way. Visit bravo6flightacademy.com to learn more about our training programs and how we can help you take your aviation skills to the next level.
