History of the BFR?

I got my certificate in 1978, and BFRs had just gotten started about
then. I was renting planes then, and it really wasn't much of a concern,
except for the time and expense, because the insurance companies
required renters to fly at least once a month or once every 3 months,
depending on the insurance company.

So, checkriding once every two years wasn't a big concern. Except,
again, that it was a needless expense for those who flew a lot. In fact,
our nickname for "BFR" was "Big F**king Ripoff."

But.... I also knew some people back then who owned their own planes,
and who would flew once a year or once every two years or so, and they
were as dangerous as a drunk driver on a freeway. If they returned in
one piece, it was out of sheer luck.

So, I support the BFR... as least, for everyone else except me. I, of
course, don't need it.

Joe

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In article MaPfd.16873$R05.14718@attbi_s53,
says...
Mary is off doing her BFR as I write this, which got me to wondering about
the history of the biennial flight review.

As I understand it, BFRs were not required until fairly recently (like, in
the last 30 years?). Given the current uproar over the creation of
relatively simple new requirements (like foreign pilots having to register,
etc.), I can barely imagine the howls of protest that must have ensued
during and after the creation of a rule that required every pilot to "prove
himself" with a CFI every 2 years!

(Although, I suspect, CFIs at the time must have thought they had died and
gone to heaven! Talk about a guaranteed money-maker! :-)

Was there a rash of incidents caused by rusty pilots before this rule was
proposed? What happened to bring about such a radical change?

For those who were flying back then, can you give us a brief history of what
happened?