PPL Privileges and the Recency Ladder

Why it matters

Your licence never expires — but your right to use it does, quietly, in three different ways. Pilots who stop flying for a season and take friends up "to knock the rust off" are often breaking two rules at once without knowing it. The recency ladder in CAR 401.05 is precisely the kind of layered rule the exam loves, because each rung has its own clock.

What the private pilot licence allows

The holder of a private pilot licence — aeroplane may act as (CAR 401.26):

• pilot-in-command or co-pilot of an aeroplane of a class and type for which the licence is endorsed;
• pilot-in-command of an ultra-light aeroplane; and
• pilot of other aircraft solely for flight training or a flight test, under instruction, with no passengers on board.

What it does not allow is flying for hire or reward — with narrow cost-sharing exceptions, the PPL is a licence to fly, not to be paid to fly. That boundary is the commercial licence's territory.

The recency ladder

Think of CAR 401.05 as three rungs; you must stand on all of them that apply to today's flight.

Rung 1 — the 5-year rule. To exercise the privileges at all, you must have acted as PIC or co-pilot of an aircraft within the preceding 5 years. Failing that, you must complete a flight review with an instructor, have the instructor certify your skill in your personal log, and pass the appropriate written examination within the 12 months before the flight.

Rung 2 — the 24-month rule. You must have completed a recurrent training program within the preceding 24 months. The personnel licensing standards accept several forms, the most common being the self-paced study program in the Aeronautical Information Manual, a flight review with an instructor, attendance at a Transport Canada safety seminar, or completing a new rating or flight test. This is the rung most weekend pilots track.

Rung 3 — the 6-month passenger rule. To carry a passenger, you must have completed, within the preceding 6 months, in the same category and class of aircraft (or an approved simulator):

• 5 take-offs and 5 landings, day or night, if the flight is entirely by day; or
• 5 take-offs and 5 landings at night, if the flight is wholly or partly by night.

No passengers? Rung 3 does not apply — you may legally fly solo to regain your take-offs and landings. And note "category and class": circuits in a helicopter do not refresh your aeroplane passenger recency.