Hours of aeronautical experience don't expire but they need to be properly logged. [Shutterstock]
Key Takeaways:
Pilot aeronautical experience hours, especially for commercial pilot certificates, do not expire according to FAA regulations.
A Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) mistakenly informed an applicant that a flight from 2000 was "too long ago" to count towards commercial pilot experience requirements.
The FAA clarifies that there are no time limits on aeronautical experience for commercial pilot applicants, making proper logbook maintenance crucial to prevent unnecessary re-flights.
A commercial applicant at my flight school was told by the Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) that a 300 nm flight he did in 2000 was “too long ago to count toward the experience required,” citing FAR 61.129: Aeronautical Experience for Commercial Pilots.
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Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
