FAA Wings Program???

jafra98 said:
Have anyone used the program to renew a BFR?? Pro's and Con's of a regular BFR....
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The pro's are that it's designed to encourage a more regular ongoing approach to currency through ongoing education and flight training spread out over time instead of one small chunk every two years. Most CFI's think flight reviews are some of the worst parts of their jobs because you end up with a lot of people who fly very little, have forgotten most of what they learned for their PPSEL test, and fly really crappy. If these people embraced the spirit of the Wings program, understood that they could study topics of their choosing, and work on skill areas that they need I think it would help... but I just dont see too much of it. The cons are most people just dont understand how to get it going (or even really understand it exists), it takes some intentionality and planning to use it and I think there's a perception that it's just faster and cheaper to knock out 2 hours for a flight review.
 
I had to use it for a class. Not an "official" BFR but I had to go through all of the steps. It IS actually faster and easier to do a 2 hour flight instead. The online program requires at least 3 of those mind-numbing hour long interactive videos that look like they were made in 1999 (and have issues with Internet Explorer versions newer than 6) and you also have to have a CFI endorse you for recent flights you've done. That means that you have to know a CFI well enough for them to sign you off, and they have to register for the Wings program as well.
 
The old WINGS program was simple and relatively dumb, and almost nobody used it.

The new WINGS program is fancy and complicated and fairly well conceived, and almost nobody uses it. The why is simple: getting flight instruction and attending WINGS-eligible seminars or online courses ain't cheap, and there's insufficient incentive for people to do it outside of their normal, every-day flying.

I get what they were trying to do, but the simple fact is that pilots who stay current will stay current, and pilots who can't afford to remain "properly" current (of whom there are many...) will just use a BFR. A BFR is as tailorable as a WINGS phase, anyway.

Good idea, poorly conceived, failed in the market.

-Fox
 
I've never seen it come into play, but has occurred to me that if a person had to prove they had a flight review that there would be some security to having the record right there in the FAA's database.

It's off topic, but I'd add that I wish IACRA could be used for recording flight reviews and endorsements. Lost logbooks are a fact of life and even if you haven't lost the paper records, having them in a database is reassuring.
 
I may be misinformed on this, but I also believe that if you do have an incident, one of the "considerations" of the ASI is what history do you show in recurrent training and safety. Evidence of WINGS participation, FAAST meetings, etc can weigh in your favor.
 
I finished the ground portion required for a Flight Review using the WIngs Program. My question is about the flight requirements. Using the old system you needed 3 different flights to fulfill the requirements. Can you fulfill the flight requirement using only one flight under the new Wings Program??????
 
jafra98 said:
I finished the ground portion required for a Flight Review using the WIngs Program. My question is about the flight requirements. Using the old system you needed 3 different flights to fulfill the requirements. Can you fulfill the flight requirement using only one flight under the new Wings Program??????
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You need 3 ground credits and 3 flight credits... how that maps to time in the airplane is between you and your instructor.
 
It's easier and often cheaper to do a flight review than go through wings. The exception is if you work at a 141 flight school and you use 141 training and checks for the credits.
 
JetDrvr said:
It's easier and often cheaper to do a flight review than go through wings. The exception is if you work at a 141 flight school and you use 141 training and checks for the credits.
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Then couldn't you just ask for any proficiency check to be counted as your flight review?
 
Yeah that's what I mean about perception. "A flight review is easier"... well, yeah, maybe it is, but that's not the point. Its supposed to be about ongoing regular recurrency. That's why insurance companies like it and may give discounts if you participate.
 
rframe said:
Yeah that's what I mean about perception. "A flight review is easier"... well, yeah, maybe it is, but that's not the point. Its supposed to be about ongoing regular recurrency. That's why insurance companies like it and may give discounts if you participate.
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And if any actually did give significant discounts...

-Fox
 
rframe said:
I may be misinformed on this, but I also believe that if you do have an incident, one of the "considerations" of the ASI is what history do you show in recurrent training and safety. Evidence of WINGS participation, FAAST meetings, etc can weigh in your favor.
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We were told by a Fed that if you're in an incident (bust airspace, break a plane, etc), they have a rubric of minimum penalties for X offense. The only way they are allowed to reduce that is if you're involved in an "industry sponsored safety program." For most pilots that are not professionals, that means WINGS.

JetDrvr said:
It's easier and often cheaper to do a flight review than go through wings. The exception is if you work at a 141 flight school and you use 141 training and checks for the credits.
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If you're finding it cheaper and easier to do a full, legitimate flight review than WINGS, you're doing it wrong. The ground portion MIGHT take a little longer, but the flight portion... I've never really seen anyone take more than 1.0. Not having to sit with an instructor for an hour with the "so what ground do we need to go over?" conversation is nice. And I'm only paying the instructor for actual time, which shouldn't be much over an hour, and could be incorporated into a flight you were going to do anyway.

I encourage all the non-professionals I'm around to do WINGS. For the professionals, the 6 month recurrent checkrides seems to be good enough (Which, btw, will also get you a WINGS credit.)
 
I agree with msmspilot. You do not need to do 3hr flight in order to comply the flight requirement. Based on my oral ask to the FAA stuff in WAI 2012 conference, you can finish 2 or 3 lessons in one flight. If you complete all items correctly, I believe all CFI will be glad to sign your credits.

I encourage all my students to participate the wings program. 1. It helps them to learn more and refresh all knowledge. I still refresh my knowledge periodically even I teach those all day long. 2. Financially, it helps young pilot to reduce the insurance cost. Insurance companies like to see a continuous learning pilot. This wings program can officially prove it.

I disagree Flight Review is easier. A lot of students come in and request flight review. They think it just like hang out with a CFI and finish one hr flight and one hr gnd. It is not correct. CFI stands as a quality guard. If you are not ready, CFI won't sign it, and you will spend more time and have more financial cost.
 
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