Pilot currency, recency & expiry:
never discover a lapse at the aircraft.
Two clocks run against every certificate in your flight bag: recency, which resets with every take-off and landing, and expiry, which ticks down on your medical, licence and ratings whether you fly or not. Both are simple rules with expensive failure modes — discovering at the hold point that your 90 days ran out last Tuesday. Here is what the rules actually require under EASA and FAA, and how Choppy, the pilot logbook app, keeps both clocks in view automatically.
The 90-day passenger rule (EASA FCL.060)
To carry passengers as PIC or co-pilot under EASA, you must have completed at least 3 take-offs, 3 approaches and 3 landings in the preceding 90 days in an aircraft of the same type or class — or in a full-flight simulator representing it. No passengers until the count is back up: the rule has no grace period and no paperwork cure, only flying.
Night recency
Carrying passengers at night adds one more requirement: at least 1 take-off and 1 landing at night within those same 90 days — unless you hold a valid instrument rating. It is the classic winter trap: plenty of day landings in the logbook, none after dark since October.
The FAA version (61.57)
US-certificated pilots live under FAR 61.57: 3 take-offs and 3 landings within the preceding 90 days as sole manipulator of the controls, in the same category, class and type (if a type rating is required). For night passengers, the landings must be to a full stop, between one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise. Tailwheel aircraft require full-stop landings day or night. Different regulator, same idea — and the same 90-day clock quietly running.
Expiry: the other clock
Recency you can fix with a quick circuit session; an expired medical, rating or licence document grounds you until the paperwork is redone. Class 1 medicals, SEP/MEP revalidations, type rating checks, even your passport for commuting crew — each has its own validity window, and none of them warn you by themselves.
How Choppy keeps you current
Currency is a logbook problem: every input the rules need is already in your flights. Choppy connects the two:
- Log your flying as usual — or let your airline roster import do it. Take-offs, landings, day and night are already structured data.
- Choppy computes your passenger recency — day and night — live from the logbook, including qualifying simulator sessions, and shows exactly when each window closes.
- Add your documents — medical, licence, ratings — with their expiry dates in the Currency screen.
- Get reminders before anything lapses: document alerts at 30, 7 and 1 day out, and a heads-up before your 90-day recency runs dry.
One screen, both clocks
The Currency screen in Choppy shows your recency windows and document expiry dates side by side, computed from the logbook you already keep — no spreadsheet, no calendar gymnastics, no surprise at the aircraft. Your first 100 flights are free, so you can see your own currency picture today.
See your currency in ChoppyFrequently asked questions
What happens if my 90-day recency lapses?
You may not carry passengers until you have regained the required take-offs and landings — fly them solo, with an instructor, or in an approved simulator. A lapse is not a violation by itself; carrying passengers during one is. Choppy warns you before the window closes so it never gets that far.
Do simulator sessions count towards recency?
Under EASA FCL.060, take-offs and landings in a full-flight simulator representing the type or class count. Choppy includes qualifying sim sessions in its recency calculation automatically when you log them.
Does Choppy track my medical and licence expiry?
Yes. Add each document with its expiry date and Choppy reminds you at 30, 7 and 1 day before it lapses — and on the day itself. Recency lapses get their own advance warnings.
Is the 90-day rule the same for EASA and FAA pilots?
The core is the same — 3 take-offs and 3 landings in the preceding 90 days — but the details differ: the FAA requires you to be sole manipulator of the controls and requires full-stop landings at night (and for tailwheel), while EASA counts approaches too and exempts IR holders from the night take-off/landing requirement.
