at night. Some companies may have separate VFR and IFR versions. The Check must contain the "boxed items" contained in the 1179 check form, or most of the Type Rating Renewal Check. It’s possible that a pilot who has been checked by another company may be acceptable by yours, but this will be by arrangement with your Inspector (the PPC is transferrable in Canada). In any case, the two companies must have similar content and procedures in their checks and the arrangements must have been agreed before the test date (see also Freelance Pilots). However, this will not be valid in the case of a company just setting up, because they have no AOC and therefore no legal status with which to set up agreements. In Canada, this check is transferrable between companies. Instrument Approach Proficiency Check A test of your skill in using typical instrument approach systems at aerodromes of intended landing, but most companies will just certify you on all of them for convenience. As it has the same frequency as the Base Check, it is normally conducted as part of one, and will form part of the IFR Base Check if they are split. Only really relevant if you hold....... Instrument Rating This is completed at 13 month intervals by an Instrument Rating Examiner and may be completed as part of a Base Check, or at least tagged on the end, as you're in the air anyway. If such is the case, the IRE should also be a TRE (both appointments, by the way, should be held through a Company, otherwise your check will be invalid). The IR's purpose is to establish whether you're maintaining the standards necessary for safe operations in controlled airspace under IMC. A helicopter IR is only valid on type, whereas an aeroplane one is transferrable within certain limits—if you later convert to a dissimilar type, you'll probably have to renew it as well. You won't need it if you're only doing VFR work. Area Competence Check The Company must ensure that en route and destination facilities are such that a safe operation is run. Part of this is achieved by the Area Competence Check, which is carried 314 Operational Flying out every twelve months, plus the remainder of the month of last operation on the route. It's done with the line check for convenience and tests your knowledge of specific route(s) or particular areas of operations. Line Check This is valid for 12 months plus the remainder of the month of issue, but if you take it in the final three months, you can extend to 12 months from the previous expiry date. It's a test of your performance of normal duties at your crew station, so will be done on a standard commercial flight, or at least the final line check will (initial ones only give you the status of 1st pilot under supervision. Lapsed line checks don't qualify, either). It covers an entire line operation from pre-flight preparations to completion of post flight duties and normally must be carried out on each type of aircraft flown, although it may be done alternately where types are similar. It's not supposed to represent a particular route, but must be an adequate representation of the Company's work. Line Checks may be carried out by fully qualified Line Captains. Although the stipulated frequency is once every 12 months, you might find a Training Captain hopping in on an empty seat once in a while before that. It’s nothing personal, just part of Quality Control (that phrase again), and better than leaving things to the last minute and risking you being off-line because a check hasn't been done in time. Line training, leading up to the check, is supposed to familiarise you with the routes over which you will operate, for which you will be supervised by experienced training staff. Before you can do this with passengers, you must have passed an initial line check, followed by some supervised flights, then a final line check before they let you loose on the unsuspecting public. Supervised flights will have passengers on, so you will now become aware of commercial pressures, and are as much a hurdle to some pilots as other training is, |