Part 61 Series — Staying Legal: Currency, Flight Reviews, and Logbooks

You earned your Private Pilot Certificate.

The temporary certificate arrived.
The plastic one showed up in the mail.
You took friends flying.
You logged a few cross-countries.

Then life got busy.

Here’s a question every private pilot eventually faces:

Am I still legal to fly?

Unlike your student pilot days, no one is watching your endorsements anymore. There’s no instructor automatically signing you off. Under FAR Part 61, the responsibility to remain current and compliant now rests squarely on you.

In this final article of our six-part Part 61 series, we’ll break down the regulations that govern:

• Flight reviews

• Passenger-carrying currency

• Logbook requirements

• Address changes

These are the rules that quietly determine whether you’re legal to carry passengers this weekend — or whether you need to schedule some time with an instructor first.

Let’s make sure your certificate stays active in more than just name.