A proficiency check is a recurrent flight check with an examiner used to revalidate or renew a rating — for example an expiring instrument or class rating. Unlike a skill test (initial issue), it verifies continued competence and is a recurring compliance event schools must schedule and document.
A proficiency check is a recurrent flight examination with an authorised examiner, used to revalidate or renew a rating the pilot already holds — instrument ratings, multi-engine class ratings, type ratings. It differs from a skill test, which is the examination for initial issue: the skill test proves the pilot can; the proficiency check proves they still can.
Proficiency checks run on fixed calendars set by each rating's validity, which makes them predictable — and therefore plannable. The failure mode is administrative: a check flown on time but documented late or incorrectly leaves the pilot formally lapsed despite having passed.
Why it matters for flight schools
For schools and their instructor corps, proficiency checks are a rolling compliance workload: every instructor's IR and class ratings cycle through checks, examiner availability is finite, and a lapsed instructor rating silently invalidates the instruction they give. Forward visibility of the check calendar is what keeps the roster legal.
How FlightLogger handles it
FlightLogger maintains the proficiency-check calendar across all pilots and instructors — expiries visible months ahead, examiner sessions scheduled, and results documented into the validity record.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a proficiency check and a skill test?
The skill test is for initial issue of a licence or rating; the proficiency check is the recurrent examination for revalidation or renewal. Same examiner apparatus, different point in the pilot's lifecycle.
Who conducts proficiency checks?
Examiners authorised by the competent authority for the relevant rating. Schools typically maintain relationships with a pool of examiners — availability planning is part of running an instructor corps.