The more complex the aircraft, the more currency checks built into the regs - as they should be. Currency requirements are more about protecting passengers and innocent folks on the ground than they are about protecting you from yourself. That's why for-hire flying is more closely regulated and monitored than Part 91 non-revenue operations.
Pilot currency's middle side could be called "marketplace regulation." If you rent aircraft, the FBO probably requires you to maintain currency beyond the FARs for insurance reasons. For example, if you haven't flown one of the FBO's airplanes in the past 60 days, the FBO may require you to get a checkout with a CFI. That's the insurance company speaking.
The FBO might also specify currency in type. For example, if a pilot is qualified in the FBO's Cessna 182, but hasn't flown it in the last 60 days, the FBO may restrict the pilot to its 172 until the pilot gets another 182 checkout.
These are good, common-sense rules. They move our thinking away from currency, which implies compliance with regulatory requirements, and toward proficiency, which speaks to skills.
Proficiency is currency's third and most important side. In the FAA's eyes you may be current, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're proficient. I emphasize the word "necessarily." You might fly only infrequently, yet still retain a high level of skill. When you fly after several weeks' absence, it still looks and feels familiar. You move easily and quickly around the cockpit without having to consciously think about each action.
I, on the other hand, may be tentative, even though I flew just last week. Already, I seem to have forgotten where the beacon switch is, how long to run the boost pump to prime the engine, what speed to aim for on final approach.
Our skill levels may be equal, but for whatever reason I may have to exercise them more often. I have to stay more active than you to stay equally proficient.
Currency is a technical standard - you either fulfill the regulatory requirements or you don't. Proficiency, on the other hand, is subjective. It means something different to each of us.
I say proficiency is a moving target because much depends on what you're flying and how you fly it. If your steed is a 160-hp, fixed-gear single with fixed-pitch prop that you fly in day VFR, you probably can maintain an acceptable skill level with less flying than if you're shooting night IFR approaches in icy clouds in a complex piston twin.
You say you meet all the FAR currency requirements? Fine, but how do you know whether you're proficient? With no FAA legalese to guide us, this is the tough part. As much as we pilots complain about regulations, they at least give us a set of clear-cut (for the most part) thou shalls and shall-nots. We may quibble about interpretations, but at least we've got something black and white to quibble over. The fact is, we don't much favor the alternative, which is no official guidance.
Then again, maybe it's not so tough to make the proficiency call. You are the best judge of your present ability to handle all aspects of a flight confidently and skillfully. All it takes is a good ear to listen for that inner voice. You know the one. It pipes up when it perceives that all is not as rosy as it should be.
It takes that voice - and the character to heed that voice. If you're honest with yourself and can admit to some oxidation that obscurs the polish on your flying skills, you're just one step away from becoming a proficient pilot.
That step? Calling your instructor to schedule some continuing education.
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