Dallas wrote:

It would be much easier and cheaper to just do the BFR.. I don't see the
incentive for the Wings Program as a substitute for a BFR. (Other than
the education... )

You may want to look into it further (the three hours requirements have
changed a bit since the Wings program has been revamped, the problem -- I
did post something about it a wee while back -- is that the official doc --
i.e., AC 61-91H -- still describes the old system and has not been
superseeded yet... the new system is described at
http://www.faasafety.gov/ -- good luck making sense of it though, but it
no longer requires 3 hours, you can do it with less...)

In terms of costs, yep, you are right; a BFR will take less time and cost
you less. However, there are a couple of advantages with the Wings
program; for one thing, it is preferable for the CFI, for liability
reasons; when you sign somebody off in a BFR in a glider say, that person
is legal to go in any category and class for which this person is rated...
think about it for a second... and it is your backside on the line should
something happen to that dude during the next two years; no so much with
the Wings program; second, although not officially, I was told that the
FAA might look more favorably on a pilot who participates actively in the
Wings program in case you screw up at one point (up to a point that is,
but it might help).

...and then it can be fun; I mean, I end up flying more than three hours a
year with a CFI anyway (e.g., keeping IFR current, I know it doesn't have
to be a CFI, but that's how I do it; or just for the heck of it)

--Sylvain