Why we built ChecksComplete

There's a moment most pilots know, even if they don't talk about it much.

You're planning a flight. Or someone asks when your medical is due. And for a split second, maybe longer, you're not entirely sure. You think it's fine. You're pretty confident. But you're not certain.

That moment is where ChecksComplete started.

Here's the thing: a PPL isn't just one thing to track.

A typical PPL holder might be managing a SEP revalidation, a Class 2 medical, a Language Proficiency endorsement, and if they've been flying for a while, perhaps an IR or Night rating on top. Each one expires differently, has its own renewal window, its own paperwork trail, and in some cases its own rules about what counts toward staying current.

Nobody is going to remind you. That's just how it works. There's no system that watches your licence and sends you a nudge when something is coming up. You carry it all in your head, or in a spreadsheet, or in a calendar entry you set up two years ago and hope is still accurate.

For most private pilots it works fine, most of the time. Until it doesn't.

How it actually started

A revalidation came up faster than expected. Not lapsed, caught in time, but closer than it should have been. There was no dramatic moment, no flight that had to be cancelled. Just the uncomfortable realisation that a rough mental estimate had become the only thing standing between a current licence and an expired one.

The follow-up question felt obvious: why is there no simple tool that just keeps track of this?

Logbook apps exist. Scheduling tools exist. Electronic flight bags have become genuinely impressive. But something focused purely on licence currency, that knows the EASA renewal windows, tracks your specific ratings and certificates, and sends you a straightforward reminder well before anything expires? We couldn't find anything that did exactly that for the average GA pilot flying a single-engine piston on a PPL.

So we built it. Quietly, without much fanfare, because the goal was never to build a platform. It was to solve a specific problem that felt like it shouldn't exist in the first place.

What ChecksComplete is — and isn't

It's not a logbook. It's not a flight planner. It's not trying to replace anything you already use.

It does one thing: it keeps a clear record of your ratings, certificates and medical, and it reminds you when something needs attention before it becomes a problem. You put in your expiry dates, set how far in advance you want to be notified, and then largely forget about it. That's the point.

It supports everything a typical EASA pilot needs to track: SEP and MEP class ratings, Night VFR, IR and CB-IR, Language Proficiency, and medical certificates at Class 1, Class 2 and LAPL level. The interface is in English, with support for 14 European languages.

Whether you've just got your PPL or you've been flying for years with a drawer full of ratings, nothing should expire because you forgot it existed.

Who it's for

The short answer is: anyone who manages their own licence currency, which in GA is almost everyone.

Most private pilots don't have the infrastructure that commercial operators take for granted. There's no ops team running currency checks, no chief pilot chasing you for paperwork, no automated system flagging that your SEP revalidation is due in six weeks. You are responsible for knowing, and for acting in time. ChecksComplete is built around that reality.

Instructors have told us they find it useful too, both for managing their own teaching ratings and as something they recommend to students who are just starting to build their licence portfolio. Flying clubs have similar reasons: staying on top of member currency, or simply having a tool to point new members toward when they ask how to keep track of everything.

The common thread is the same in every case. Flying is complicated enough. The admin around it shouldn't catch you off guard.