To act as pilot in command of an aircraft, FAA flight review requirements call for at least one hour of ground training and one hour of flight training with an authorized instructor every 24 calendar months. Your pilot certificate itself doesn’t expire, but without a current review you can’t legally act as PIC until you complete one.1eCFR. 14 CFR 61.56 – Flight Review
How the 24-Calendar-Month Clock Works
The regulation runs on calendar months, not a flat 730-day count. If you finish a review on March 15, 2024, your currency extends through the last day of March 2026. The rule measures backward from the month you intend to fly: you must have completed a review “since the beginning of the 24th calendar month before the month in which that pilot acts as pilot in command.”1eCFR. 14 CFR 61.56 – Flight Review Track the month, not the exact date.
One review covers every category and class on your certificate, provided you do it in an aircraft you’re rated for. A single review in a Cessna 172 keeps a pilot current for both single-engine and multi-engine privileges if both are on the certificate. The regulation requires the review to be “given in an aircraft for which that pilot is rated” and does not require a separate review per category or class.1eCFR. 14 CFR 61.56 – Flight Review
If the review lapses, you lose PIC privileges only. Your certificate remains valid indefinitely under 14 CFR 61.19, and there’s no checkride to get back in.2eCFR. 14 CFR 61.19 – Duration of Pilot and Instructor Certificates You can still fly with a CFI as a training flight to prepare for and complete a new review.
What the Review Covers
The ground portion runs at least one hour and focuses on the operating and flight rules in 14 CFR Part 91. Expect airspace, right-of-way, weather minimums, and any regulatory changes since your last review.3eCFR. 14 CFR 61.56 – Flight Review
The flight portion also runs at least one hour. The instructor picks maneuvers and procedures based on your experience, the aircraft, and the privileges of your certificate. It’s an instructional session, not a pass-fail checkride, so a good reviewer will coach you through weak spots rather than sit silently and grade.3eCFR. 14 CFR 61.56 – Flight Review
Those hours are minimums, not caps. The instructor has full authority to extend the session if your performance warrants it. If you haven’t flown in two years, plan on more than the bare hour.
Glider Pilots
Glider pilots may substitute three instructional flights, each including a flight to traffic pattern altitude, for the one-hour flight training requirement. The one-hour ground portion still applies.1eCFR. 14 CFR 61.56 – Flight Review
Simulators
A flight simulator or training device can satisfy the flight portion, but only when used as part of an approved course at a Part 142 training center. If the device isn’t approved for landings, you still owe the takeoff and landing recency under 14 CFR 61.57 in an actual aircraft.4eCFR. 14 CFR 61.56 – Flight Review For most general aviation pilots, the review happens in a real airplane.
Who Can Give the Review
Any CFI holding a current certificate can conduct a flight review, provided the review is given in an aircraft for which you hold a rating. Designated pilot examiners and other representatives of the FAA Administrator can also sign one off.1eCFR. 14 CFR 61.56 – Flight Review
Choose your reviewer carefully. A good one tailors the session to the flying you actually do. If you regularly operate into busy Class B airspace, the review should reflect that. Shopping for the easiest sign-off undercuts the point of the requirement.
Activities That Substitute for the Review
Several accomplishments count in place of a standalone review.
Practical Tests and Proficiency Checks
Passing any practical test or proficiency check within the 24-month window replaces the review. That includes a checkride for a new certificate or rating, a proficiency check with a military examiner, and a check performed for a Part 121 or 135 operation.5eCFR. 14 CFR 61.56 – Flight Review If you earned an instrument rating last year, your flight review clock reset when you passed that checkride.
The WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program
The FAA’s WINGS program spreads proficiency training over time instead of a single session. Completing one phase of the Basic level satisfies the flight review, and requires six credits earned within a 12-month window:6Federal Aviation Administration. WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program
- Three knowledge credits, one each from risk management, aircraft operations, and an elective, earned through online courses, webinars, or in-person seminars.
- Three flight credits, one each from airport operations, flight operations away from airports, and an elective, with a CFI observing and signing off each activity.
All six credits must fall within 12 months, and an expired credit has to be earned again. Each completed Basic phase resets your flight review date.4eCFR. 14 CFR 61.56 – Flight Review
Current Flight Instructors
Hold a CFI certificate renewed under 14 CFR 61.197, or reinstated by an approved refresher course, and you skip the one-hour ground portion of the flight review.4eCFR. 14 CFR 61.56 – Flight Review The flight portion still applies unless a practical test or proficiency check inside the 24-month window has already replaced the entire review.
Student Pilots
Student pilots training toward a certificate don’t need a flight review at all, provided they hold a current solo endorsement under 14 CFR 61.87.4eCFR. 14 CFR 61.56 – Flight Review
The Endorsement and Logbook
When you complete the review satisfactorily, your instructor enters an endorsement in your logbook citing ยง 61.56(a), signed and dated, with the CFI’s certificate number.7Federal Aviation Administration. AC 61-65H – Certification: Pilots and Flight and Ground Instructors
If your flying doesn’t meet the instructor’s standards, nothing negative appears in your logbook. The instructor logs dual instruction received and withholds the endorsement. You keep training, with the same instructor or a different one, until you reach proficiency. There is no “failed flight review” mark on your record.
You aren’t required to carry your logbook in flight. Under 14 CFR 61.3, the documents that must be in your possession or accessible in the aircraft are your pilot certificate and a valid photo ID.8eCFR. 14 CFR 61.3 – Requirement for Certificates, Ratings, and Authorizations A ramp inspector may ask to verify recency, and the FAA’s ramp inspection procedures treat logbook review as an “if available” step rather than a hard requirement.9Federal Aviation Administration. Order 8900.1, Volume 6, Chapter 1, Section 4 – Conduct a Part 91 Ramp Inspection Keeping it accessible, or a photo of the endorsement on your phone, is still smart practice.
What Happens if You Fly Without a Current Review
Acting as PIC without a current flight review is a regulatory violation. Under FAA enforcement guidance, operating without a current review falls under Severity Level 1 for general operating requirements, and the standard sanction for a first offense is a certificate suspension of 20 to 60 days.10Federal Aviation Administration. FAA Order 2150.3C – FAA Compliance and Enforcement Program During suspension, you cannot exercise any privileges of the certificate.
Insurance is often the bigger problem. Aviation policies routinely exclude flights conducted in violation of federal aviation regulations. If you’re involved in an accident and your review was expired, your insurer may deny the entire claim. Courts in many states uphold those exclusions even when the lapsed review had no connection to the accident. A smaller number of states apply a “contribute-to-the-loss” standard requiring the insurer to link the violation to the crash, though the practical burden of proof often lands on the pilot. An uncovered hull loss or liability claim can reach six figures.
Typical Costs
A standard review has two cost components: instructor time and aircraft rental. CFI rates vary by region and experience, but most pilots should budget roughly $50 to $100 or more per hour for instruction. Renting a common trainer like a Cessna 172 runs roughly $120 to $250 per hour with fuel included, depending on location and whether the airplane has a glass cockpit. Coastal areas and Hawaii tend to be the most expensive; the Southeast is generally cheapest.
With one hour of ground and one hour of flight as the minimums, a proficient pilot might spend around $200 to $350 total. A pilot who hasn’t flown recently and needs extra flight time to reach proficiency should plan for considerably more. Set against the enforcement and insurance exposure of flying with a lapsed review, staying current is one of the cheaper line items in aviation.