Definition
A section of the Federal Aviation Regulations that sets the recent flight experience requirements a pilot must meet to act as pilot in command. It specifies the minimum landings, instrument approaches, and other operations a pilot must complete within defined recent time periods to legally carry passengers, fly at night, or fly under instrument flight rules.
Plain English
This is the rule that says how recently you must have flown certain types of operations to keep yourself legal as pilot in command. If you haven't done the required takeoffs, landings, or instrument work within the listed time windows, you can't legally carry passengers or fly in those conditions until you do.
Context Anchor
Seen when checking whether a pilot is current to carry passengers, fly at night, or use instrument privileges.
Derivation
14 CFR means Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the part of U.S. federal law covering aeronautics and space. Part 61 covers pilot certification, and section 61.57 is the specific paragraph dealing with recent flight experience.
Why Pilots Care
Meeting these requirements keeps the pilot legal and current; falling short means they cannot carry passengers until the currency is regained.
Analogy
Think of the citation like an address: Title 14 is the neighborhood, part 61 is the building, and section 61.57 is the specific room where this rule is found.
Intuition Check
Do not read “part” here as a piece of an aircraft. In this citation, “part” and “section” are locations inside the federal aviation rules.
Example Sentence 1
Before taking friends up for a sightseeing flight, the pilot checked their logbook to confirm they met the three-takeoffs-and-landings requirement of 14 CFR part 61 section 61.57.
Example Sentence 2
After a long break from flying, the pilot reviewed 14 CFR part 61 section 61.57 to plan the flights needed to regain passenger-carrying privileges.