Mike to speak at Redbird Migration on March 3

Going to Migration next week?  If you are, you’ll have a chance to meet up with Mike.  The conference will be on March 3 and 4 at the Museum on the Sun n’ Fun campus in Lakeland, FL.  This event is all about Flight Training.  AOPA will also reveal the winners of Flight Training Excellence at the dinner on the last evening of the conference.  This event is now co-sponsored by Sporty’s.

Mike will be giving a talk at 4:15 PM on March 3rd.  It’s called “Teaching the Hard Stuff for Initial CFI Training”.

This talk will center on three hot spots, and they are, how to teach:

1. The fundamentals of instructing

2. Endorsements and testing requirements

3. How to deliver a lesson from a lesson plan tailored for an individual learner.

Mike has spoken at Migration three times and has given talks and speeches at Sun n’ Fun, EAA Airventure, among other venues.  We are planning to broadcast the speech live.  We’ll send you a link if we are going to livestream it a day or so before the talk.

Registration for the conference was showing closed, but as of Feb 24th, I determined that it is accepting reservations.  The conference is free.  It includes two breakfasts, two lunches, the main awards dinner, and two open bars.  If you are thinking about going, I’d be quick to check whether registration is still available.

Redbird Migration 2026

Did you know that an LPV approach is now classified as a Precision Approach?

Before the release of the latest Instrument Rating Airplane ACS, you were permitted to substitute an ILS approach with an LPV approach as long as the DA wasn’t higher than 300 ft AGL.  An LPV approach is a Localizer Type Approach with Vertical Guidance.  The FAA, at that point, didn’t classify the LPV approach as a precision approach; it only said it could be substituted for one, as mentioned above.

It’s also important to say that an advisory glideslope, one produced by Garmin, for example, is not an approved vertical guidance.  So if you see LNAV+V on the HSI or GPS, this is an advisory glideslope.  It simply connects all of the step-down fixes so that they are crossed at the altitude shown on the chart.  This is not a surveyed glideslope and therefore is not approved for classification as a precision approach.

The latest copy of the instrument rating airplane ACS clearly defines a precision approach.  It is “a standard instrument approach procedure to a published decision altitude using approved vertical guidance”.  There is no longer a reference to substitution or any altitude limitations. 

Endorsements and Scenarios Book has been updated - Third Edition

This book is now completely updated with 17 new scenarios, solutions, and flowcharts.  The

scenarios can be categorized by:

1. One-off endorsements - Flight Reviews, Complex Endorsement, etc.

2. Student Pilot Endorsements - Solo, XC training/authorizations, Class B, etc.

3. Initial Pilot Endorsements - Scenarios for Private, Recreational (New), Commercial, and CFI.

4. Additional Category/Class Ratings other than ATP - Commercial Glider to Airplane SEL, Seaplane, etc.

5. Sport Pilot - 12 new scenarios that include the latest rule changes (MOSAIC)

6. Flight Instructor - Updated scenarios

7. Instrument Rating - Two scenarios, including the IPC.

This book is ready now.  If you purchased the Second Edition within one year, you can get an updated copy of this book by emailing us at info@cfibootcamp.com.

There are now 53 total scenarios with solutions/flowcharts.  We have plans to include 15 or so more over the next six months.  Anyone with the third edition (this new one) will get any updates for free.

There really isn’t another way to test your knowledge of training and endorsements without using a CFI that you pay to see if you are right and if not, where you went wrong.  This book presents the scenario, the solution in text, and, if needed, a flowchart that steps you through the decision-making process and guides you through each FAR.

Flight Instructor Lesson Plans have been updated.

Our lesson plans, covering Sport, Private, Recreational, and Commercial Pilots, have been updated to the Sixth Version.  Over 400 changes were made, including fixes to formatting standards, punctuation, image titles, content in some places, and more.  This version is a solid foundation for both the Academic lessons in the ACSs and Flight Maneuvers.  All flight maneuvers, including the CFI demonstration stalls, are included.

This updated version is over 400 pages.  It's the very book we use at CFI Bootcamp in our Initial CFI-A ground school.  Used by hundreds of Flight Instructors and Flight Instructors in training, this book has everything you need for checkride-style lesson plans.

If you purchased this book within a year, you can get an updated copy for free by emailing info@cfibootcamp.com

This book is available now.

How Many Non-Precision Instrument Approaches Must be Done on a Checkride or IPC?

The answer is in the appendix to the Instrument Rating Airplane ACS.  By looking at Task VI, Task A, at first glance, it doesn’t specify.  But that isn’t right.  There is a note that refers you to Appendix 3.

                       Appendix 3, specifies that you need to do at least two.

●      One without the assistance of radar vectors includes a procedure turn or course reversal.

●      One from an Initial Approach Fix or TAA

●      One without the use of an autopilot

●      One using backup or partial panel instrumentation

Granted, some of these can be combined, but be careful to do so in a realistic way. 

The requirement is on a checkride or an IPC.  During an IPC, Appendix 2 states that a CFII is an evaluator, so all of the conditions in the ACS, including the appendix, apply.  You are also required to develop a Plan of Action (POA) for the IPC.

You are an evaluator!

I’ll have more to say about this in another article that focuses on the circling approach during a checkride or IPC.  It can be difficult to comply with the requirements in VFR conditions.  If you want to look at it ahead of time, go to Area of Operation VI Task D - Circling Approach.  You need to maneuver to either the downwind or base leg to count this toward a checkride or an IPC.  What if circling is not authorized on the downwind that is used in a VFR traffic pattern under VFR conditions.  Tricky.  I’ll show solutions in a future newsletter.

    Circling Approach from the ACS - A/O VI Task D

    Downwind or base leg is required!

The Flight School Association of North America (FSANA) Conference was held

The conference is on Coronado Island in San Diego, CA - Feb 25-27.

The event features several tracks for attendees to follow, each focused on a specific interest.  For example:

1. Safety

2. Vendor Showcase

3. Business of Flight Training

4. CFI/Student Focus

Since I attended the second conference, a long time ago, the organization and attendance have grown substantially.  CFI Bootcamp has exhibited at the Houston, TX, and Orlando, FL conferences.  At the second conference, there were around 30 attendees and just a handful of exhibitors.  This conference will have around 500 attendees and 60+ exhibitors.  Hats off to Bob Rockmaker, the founder of FSANA, for growing this organization and giving Flight Schools a voice.

I’m attaching the program guide so that you can have a look at the structure and content.  The conference isn’t cheap, but because of that, you get very dedicated individuals and schools attending.

FSANA 2026 Conference Program Guide

Yes, you can fly a Cessna 172 with just a driver’s license

If you hold a Sport, Recreational, Private, Commercial, or ATP certificate, you can fly a Cessna 172 without a medical or BasicMed.  You can use your driver’s license instead.  You can’t have had your medical deferred or revoked to use this option.  This is covered under the Sport Pilot Privileges - 61.315.  The types of airplanes allowed are in 61.316.  Now, while it’s true that you hold a particular certificate, like maybe Commercial or ATP, you can only use the driver’s license option to exercise Sport Pilot Privileges, so you are bound to those limitations.  Some of those are:

·       One passenger

·       Up to 4 seats

·       Not at night - Unless BasicMed or 3rd class medical or higher

·       Not above 10,000 MSL or 2,000 AGL, whichever is higher

·       Not above 250 KCAS

·       The clean stall speed not to exceed 59 KCAS - No longer a weight limit

The FAA released a new advisory circular that details many of the rule changes that make the Sport Pilot Certificate much more useful and appealing.  This, in turn, allowed pilots with higher levels of certificates to fly a lot more airplanes using their driver’s license. 

AC 61-146

Every Flight Instructor and Flight School should have a copy of this.

PROTIPS

1. If possible, have your student finish training for a rating before taking the knowledge test.  Don’t allow test prep initially.  Have them take a few practice tests and give you the results.  This is a real test of their knowledge.  You can then make a plan to clear up these areas, and they can then use test prep to get a better score.  The ideal time to do this for Sport and Private is when the cross-country phase is started.  For instrument, at the beginning of the IFR cross-country, for Commercial, anytime.  For CFI-A after completing training.

2. Be careful when recording flights with a camera.  If you give your students access to the videos, you could face liability down the road.  If something happens and it can be linked to something you said or showed that was wrong, this becomes an issue.  Using something like CloudAhoy would be preferred to the actual video.  You can always use video and delete it when you’ve shown it.

3. ForeFlight has a feature worth checking out that isn't widely known.  It’s under the airports tab.  It's the Comments button in the top-right corner.  This is a crowdsourced area where pilots leave feedback on the airport, including fuel availability, nearby places to eat, and FBOs.  ForeFlight doesn’t moderate them, so they are from real people.  A nice feature is that ForeFlight provides an AI summary of all the comments at the top of each post so that you can get a quick idea of any issues or good stuff.  This is especially useful when there are many comments.