Do Flight Hours Expire When There's a Lapse in Training?

When returning to flight lessons, don't confuse experience with proficiency.

Meg Godlewski

Wednesday, October 23, 2024 at 12:08 PM ET

Verified

Edited By: tccjeremy

Pilot logbook [Credit: Carly Chamerlik/FLYING Archive]

Key Takeaways:

Properly logged flight hours for a pilot certificate do not expire and should count towards future certification, contrary to what some might suggest.
While flight hours remain valid, pilot skills and knowledge naturally degrade over time, requiring a refresher.
The recommended approach for returning pilots is to review pre-solo maneuvers and knowledge, conduct a dual cross-country flight to assess proficiency, and use a syllabus to guide the remedial training plan.

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Question: I am a return-to-flying client. I pursued a private pilot certificate years ago then had to stop when life got in the way. It’s been 10 years since I last flew. I was doing solo cross-country flights when I was forced to quit. I still have my logbook with my hours. When I went to a local flight school to see about finishing my training, the CFI I spoke with—and who looked at my logbook—told me that none of my hours would count and I would need to repeat everything. Is this correct?

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Answer: Provided the previous flight experience was properly logged and endorsed if required, those hours should count toward certification. They don’t expire. However, skills and knowledge do get rusty.