First BFR

[BillyGoat]

Gidday

Just asking for a quick bit of advice on what to expect for the first BFR
mostly theory wise but any help would be much appreciated

cheers for your help

BillyGoat

[harold]

What you get will very much depend on where you do it!

[Heliduck]

Harold is spot on, best discuss it with the instructor & go from there.
Most people treat a BFR for what it is, a flight review, not a rerun of your CPL flight test. If they do it properly(from my point of view) they'll be looking for areas where you are weak or have developed bad habits & then work with you to improve them. I've had BFR's with a tick & flick theory sheet, & I've had them where I sat down for a few hours going through the books with the instructor. Personally I felt a lot better about the ones which were in depth, it's easy to forget the small things over a few years. If they have a reference sheet see if they'll give it to you ahead of time so you can use it for a study guide to brush up a bit.

[BillyGoat]

Will definitely be putting some research into where I do it then
May need to read up a bit on the smaller things again
Thanks very much for your help, bloody good

Cheers Billy Goat

[Jamie]

BFRs should be based on your normal operational duties depending on your type of flying.
For example, if you are a mustering pilot then most of the review would be low level and relate to these activities.

[lowflyer]

Many a bush pilot will travel many miles to find the right instructor who won't make tthe candidate fly through controlled airspace or log a flight plan etc. I know pilots with upwards of 20000 hrs that have never flown into a controlled airport since they sat their license and have shat at the thought of doing so.

[vortexstate]

As the BFR/HFR is structured for the ongoing improvement of the pilots abilities and knowledge, the ground work should also involve discussion on any regulatory and airspace changes during the last two years that will affect the pilot operationally.

It is not a pass/fail flight, but if the candidate requires more attention in certain areas then they should get it to improve their confidience and ability. The grade 1 instructor/ATO should spend a predetermined amount of time with the candidate to be able to carry out a overall assessment.

[wheatbix]

There's some guidance on HFR's in CAAP 5.81-1(1) available for download here.

Refer to Appendix C for more of a checklist type HFR.

Actually vortexstate, to some degree it is a pass/fail type flight. If the instructor feels that the pilot isn't up to scratch (which is subjective of course depending on which instructor you fly with) then the pilot can't act as PIC once two years from their last successful HFR has elapsed.

There is also a section in that CAAP about what may be substituted for a flight review. For an endorsement to be counted as an HFR, it must be completed by someone who is appropriately qualified to do so. I've met a few people who think that having completed an endorsement with a grade 2 is sufficient for an HFR

[vortexstate]

If the Candidate's flying is not up to the particular instructors standard to be awarded the HFR, then further ongoing flying should be and usually is conducted until such a time. "If" not being a testing officer, an instructor can't fail a candidate for an under par performace, but they can recommend ongoing training for the candidate prior to the HFR being awared.
For an endorsement to be used as a HFR, the training has to be completed by a Grade One instructor under the cover of a training organisation and it has to entered in the body of the logbook that a HFR has been completed.

[Ben Slocombe]

Does the endorsement entered in the logbook count as the recorded BFR?

[wheatbix]

As per the CAAP, only if the endorsement was done wholly by a grade 1.

[Bedouin Prince]

Does the endorsement entered in the logbook count as the recorded BFR?

As a grade 1 when it comes to endorsement training and HFRs, I'll make an extra note in the persons log book next to the day to the effect that a HFR has been completed, thus covering my butt and the persons. Thus you have the stick strip and a separate statement that a HFR was completed.

[BillyGoat]

Cheers Fellas Bloody Great Help

Sure things should be easy enough
now I know what to expect

Cheers BillyGoat