An Instrument Proficiency Check Each Year

the applicant must demonstrate the ability to perform the Tasks listed in the table below. The person giving the check should develop a scenario that incorporates as many required Tasks as practical to assess the pilot's ADM and risk management skills.""

Amy Laboda

Monday, August 22, 2016 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Many instrument pilots lack true proficiency despite meeting legal currency requirements due to insufficient actual IFR flight, creating safety hazards.
The article strongly recommends an annual Instrument Proficiency Check (IPC) for all light general aviation pilots, irrespective of legal currency, to ensure comprehensive skill maintenance and an independent evaluation.
IPCs are now structured and mandatory under the Airman Certification Standards (ACS), requiring thorough ground review, demonstration of diverse IFR procedures, and in-aircraft completion of critical tasks.
Maintaining proficiency outside of IPCs is crucial, advocating for regular practice with desktop flight simulators and incorporating brief IFR exercises into every flight, along with continuous equipment and system knowledge refreshers.

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There’s no question in my mind; instrument pilots who fly IFR without proficiency are an accident waiting to happen. They used to call it “competency” but the word, I suspect, has negative connotations that the FAA wanted to avoid. I say call it what it is. After all, what competent human would put his life—and the lives of his passengers—in jeopardy deliberately? That’s what a pilot who has not practiced IFR or is unfamiliar with the avionics in his aircraft does when he or she blasts off into cloud.