Flight Review

Have you taken some time off from flying? The FAA mandates pilots to complete a flight review every 24 calendar months. Maintaining a certain level of proficiency is critical to ensure you're a safe aviator. Pilot safety depends on maintaining strong aeronautical decision making, basic piloting skill proficiency, and aircraft systems knowledge. If you haven't flown in a while, it might be time for a flight review.

Our CFI's will provide you with ground instruction and adequate flight time to ensure you're safe and confident the next time you take flight. In general, a flight review will take a minimum of one hour of ground instruction coupled with at least a two-hour flight. It may take some pilots much longer to complete their flight review depending on how long it's been since they've last flown. A general rule of thumb is that it will take you one hour of ground and one hour of flight for each year that you have been away from flying.

To prepare and use the flight review time effectively, read the FAA Flight Review Guide and prepare a plan that best meets your needs.

Instrument Proficiency Check

If you have lost instrument currency you may need to complete an Instrument Proficiency Check (IPC). The IPC is a train-to-proficiency event to get you back to ACS standards - no examiner required! Much of the training can be completed in a simulator.

To prepare, we recommend you review the FAA IPC Guide and work with the instructor to develop a plan. Our goal is to build on your experience to get you proficienct and confident flying in the IFR system.

Instrument Proficiency Program

You have worked hard to obtain an instrument rating but the learning never stops. Instead of flying procedures to airports you have been countless times, maintain proficiency at Rainier Flight Service by participating in our Instrument Proficiency Program.

Statistics show that pilots don’t find themselves in trouble due to lack of procedural knowledge or pilot skill but in the challenges of managing information and mitigating risks before they develop. Our Proficiency Program tackles these issues by focusing on Aeronautical Decision Making, Risk Management, Task Management, Automation Management and CFIT Awareness in addition to meeting FAA currency requirements.

Every two months schedule a convenient time to meet with one of our experienced instrument instructors and complete an IFR flight in our state-of-the-art simulator. You will plan the flight in advance using the information contained in the Briefing Packets below. Each flight highlights a different real-world scenario with challenges that most pilots face operating single-pilot IFR.

When meeting with the instructor you will begin by reviewing the preflight planning and address any questions. The flight itself will last approximately 1-1 ½ hours and is conducted as realistically as possible from startup to shutdown. The instructor will act as ATC and provide assistance – but only if you ask for it! A detailed de-brief will follow including a review of the flight and suggestions for future improvement.

Rainier Flight Service also highly recommends attending our monthly IFR Workshops. This group of active IFR pilots meet every month to share experiences and discuss advanced IFR flying topics. These meetings dovetail perfectly with our Proficiency Program so you can put your new knowledge to practical use in our LOFT scenarios. Check our Event Calendar for dates and topics of upcoming Workshops.

If you are ready to take your flying to a new level and have fun in the process, contact us to set up a currency schedule and take the stress out of single-pilot IFR.

Flight Review

Instrument Proficiency Check

Instrument Proficiency Program

Briefing Guides