New FARs for Flight Instructors are in the works

Some new FAR changes are being proposed that affect CFI expiration dates and new qualifications for training initial flight instructor applicants.

The first proposed rule change is that flight instructor certificates will no longer have an expiration date on them. To remain current, you must meet the recency of experience requirements or complete a flight instructor refresher course (FIRC.) To meet the renewal requirements, you must have endorsed at least five people for a practical test, and the first-time pass rate has to be at least 80%. You can also still renew by taking a renewal practical test.

This rule still leave out very active flight instructors who do flight reviews, upset and acro training, advanced avionics training, etc. There should be a path forward for those instructors as well. I included that in the comment I posted to the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM.). The comment period for this has ended. The second proposal is to add new ways to be qualified to teach initial flight instructor applicants. in addition to the 2yr 200-hour requirement or 400 hrs dual and five people recommended for a practical test with a first time pass rate of at least 80% for CFI courses in a 141 school, they proposed two new ways.

1. Recommend at least five persons for a practical test with a first-time pass rate of at least 80%: no .minimum hours or time holding the certificate.

   
   

2. 200 hours of instruction given and completion of an FAA 141 Flight Instructor Enhanced Qualifications .Training Program (FIEQTP). This course consists of 25 hours of ground training and 10 hours of flight .training.

In my comment to the (NPRM), I said that recommending five persons for a test could be done in 25 hours of instructing if the CFI was doing, for example, Seaplane additional ratings, which only take a few hours of training. There should be a minimum amount of time and possibly require the FIRQ. I agree that 2yrs of having held the CFI Certificate isn't relevant. It's the instruction given, specific CFI knowledge like the FOI, regulations, and endorsements, and instruction on how to teach is what matters.

No date is given when, if, or how much of the NPRM will become effective. the last I heard was maybe by the end of the year, but there are around 120 comments that were recorded. That's quite a few, and many were not in favor of one thing or another. the FAA will consider all comments before progressing in the rule making process.

Proposed changes to the DPE Order that would affect us.

There are proposed changes to the current DPE order regarding DPEs conducting test outside their home FDSO jurisdiction. The proposed change says that the DPE should do most test in the FSDO in which they were appointed. That would take the current DP shortage issue and make it worse. This, to me, is a solution looking for a problem. The comment period is over for this, and the manual way of commenting wasn't straightforward to do. I'm not aware of the number of comments they received on this.

Viva Las Vegas - CFI Bootcamp will do an initial CFI Class in Las Vegas in September.

CFI Bootcamp will conduct an initial CFI class at Chennault Aviation Olay, the North Las Vegas airport (KVGT), in September. For those of you with VA benefits, you can use them for this program. The class will be a mix of college students from the area who need to finish their CFI and other people like local students, second career types, and some from other fight schools that do this type of training too slowly or too infrequently. Whoever you are, you'll fit right into this class. The dates will be announced next month. If you are flying with us, this location uses Diamond DA40 aircraft, but we can also use C172. There are a fewer number of those.

We are happy to work in Chennault Aviation's 141 course and facility.

More to come later next month.

Writing multiple-choice questions - one of the most challenging things you can do in teaching.

Writing multiple-choice questions is a challenging thing to do. Unlike open response type question, where a question is written, but no answers are provided, in the multiple choice question needs at least three provided answers, but only one is the correct answer. Creating the choices requires writing the right answer and two compelling but incorrect answer choices. This is no small matter. The typical time to write a question and the three choices is around 30 minutes. The wrong, but plausible choices are the difficult things to get right.

Pro Tips

1. Self-serve Fuel - learn how to use self-fueling pumps. Some airports don't have fuel trucks and line personnel to fuel aircraft. There are some important items, like how to ground the airplane, and ensure the nozzle is touching metal while fueling, that are easily missed if you haven't been trained.

2. Expert braking technique - As you approach you're stopping point apply the brakes equally, and just before the airplane comes to a stop, release the brakes and gently re-apply them. You'll find that this makes a softer stop.

3. How fast should you taxi? The old no faster than a man can briskly walk, is out the door. In general taxi no faster than the area where you are taxiing would allow for a sudden stop. In no event greater than between 10-13 knots. Around hangars and tight areas, a crawl may be the best speed, while next to the runway in a long open taxiway with no traffic may call for faster speed.