Regardless of your experience, skills get rusty over time. Recurrent training helps to brush off the rust and keep your skills and procedures sharp and ready for use, making you a safer pilot in the process.

Is a Flight Review Enough?

The FAA requires completion of a Flight Review once every two years. But the minimum requirements for completing a flight review -- one hour of flight instruction and one hour of ground instruction -- are simply not adequate for refreshing the plethora of skills and procedures a seaplane pilot needs to be familiar with. Can you really run through all the emergency procedures, maneuvers, landing and takeoff variants, and mooring procedures in one hour? Didn't think so.

A Better Way

Instead of simply fulfilling the minimums, be proactive about creating a recurrency training program that will keep you sharp. At least once a year, seek at least two or three hours of instruction. Spring is a good time of year to complete recurrent training, as water flying skills get very little use over the winter in most climates. Instead of just relearning what you knew before, try to acquire new skills, such as river landing proficiency and mountain flying techniques.

A Pat on the Back

The FAA's Seawings program is a great way to motivate yourself to pursue a healthy recurrent training program. The Seawings program requires attendance at one FAA safety seminar and three to four hours of flight instruction per year. After completing the requirements, you will receive a Seawings pin and certificate in recognition.