Spring Is A Great Time For Recurrent Training

At long last the grass is starting to uncover from the snow, and even though brown wisps of green are visible. Spring is in

the air and we are feeling the excitement that accompanies

the melting of snow and the chirping of birds as they return to Minnesota. The birds are

certainly not the only ones who are more than ready to take flight … so are aviators!

We have some tasks that need tending to, including tasks to have the cobwebs cleared from our aircraft and from us as pilots. The members of the Minnesota Pilots Association are well aware of these challenges and we look forward to a presentation at the 2021 Great Minnesota Aviation Gathering (GMAG) which will address things we need to keep in mind as we ready our aircraft for a busy flying season. We will also be made aware of things that we need to do as pilots to make sure that we are ready to fly, and a session regarding medical certification will also be included at the GMAG.

Each of us is familiar with the acronym for the documents that we need to have in our aircraft, ARROW:

Airworthiness Certificate, Aircraft Registration, Operator’s Manual and Weight and Balance. It is a good time to check to see that our FAA medical certificate and/or our BasicMed certificate is up to date.

It is not infrequent that I see pilots for their medical certification and learn that their medical has expired. BasicMed has been a great thing, but it is important to make sure that the requirement for renewal of the online AOPA course has been met!

Now is also a great time to check in with a flight instructor for some recurrent training. Make sure your biennial flight review is up to date and if it isn’t, get that review scheduled. This is mighty important for those of us who choose to fly our armchairs during the winter months. I feel this to be a great investment in safety, a good insurance policy. Our competence decreases with time, without recurrent training and experience, while our confidence might deteriorate as it should…a bad combination.

This year, perhaps more than any year before, we celebrate the opportunity to get outside and see our friends, at long last. We wish you a safe and amazingly great year of flying this year! See you at the GMAG!