FAR 61.109 — Aeronautical experience for the PPL
SoloTrack's Progress screen shows the six FAR 61.109 buckets:
- Total flight time — 40 hours minimum (61.109(a)).
- Dual instruction — 20 hours (61.109(a)(1)).
- Solo flight — 10 hours (61.109(a)(2)).
- Solo cross-country — 5 hours (61.109(a)(2)(i)).
- Night training — including 3 hours dual at night and specific night XC and pattern requirements (61.109(a)(2)(ii)).
- Instrument training — 3 hours (61.109(a)(3)).
The Progress screen also shows recency-driven items:
- Checkride preparation — 3 hours within the past 2 calendar months (61.109(a)(4)).
- Solo long cross-country — 150 NM total, 3 airports, one leg ≥50 NM (61.109(a)(5)).
FAR 61.57 — Currency to carry passengers
- 61.57(a) Day: 3 takeoffs and landings in the preceding 90 days, in the same category and class.
- 61.57(b) Night: 3 takeoffs and landings to a full stop at night, in the preceding 90 days.
- 61.57(c) Instrument: 6 instrument approaches plus holding and intercepting/tracking, in the preceding 6 calendar months.
SoloTrack derives these from your logged landings, night flag, approaches count, and holding/tracking flags.
FAR 61.56 — Flight review
Every 24 calendar months, a flight review is required to act as PIC. SoloTrack tracks the date of your last review and shows when the window closes.
Notifications
Three categories of notifications run on-device:
- Currency cliff — a day, night, or instrument currency window is about to close.
- Milestone crossed — a FAR 61.109 requirement was met for the first time.
- Checkride-ready — all six 61.109 requirements are satisfied and 61.109(a)(4) recency is open.
Cooldown rules prevent duplicate notifications. There is also a momentum-stall awareness for long gaps without flying.
What inputs drive these calculations
- Flight date.
- Flight time (Hobbs and/or Tach).
- Day vs night landings.
- Category toggles: Solo, Dual Received, Cross-Country, Simulated Instrument.
- Advanced training: instrument approaches, holding procedures, course tracking, cross-country distance.
- Endorsement state (locked or voided).
Tag flights accurately at entry — small errors compound into wrong currency and progress numbers.
Common questions
Does SoloTrack handle category and class differences?
SoloTrack is built around the airplane single-engine land PPL track. Multi-engine, helicopter, and other category-class certifications are out of scope today.
What if I import historical flights?
Imported flights flow through the same calculation engine, so your progress and currency will reflect them once import completes. Duplicate detection prevents double-counting.
Can I edit a locked, endorsed flight?
Endorsed flights are locked to preserve integrity. Void the endorsement to make the record editable, then re-endorse afterward if appropriate.