Recommendations from the Part 141 Modernization Team to be Published

The last meeting of the Part 141 Modernization team was in early March.  I sit on several subcommittees, and it was nice to see our recommendations reflected in the new Part 141 regulations after everything comes out of rulemaking.

Jeff Wolf from the National Flight Training Alliance (NFTA) led most of the meeting to go over the recommendations.  The idea is to write the recommendations on what the new FARs would look like.  In that way, we are handing the FAA an easier-to-manage document, as it is already formatted and contains regulatory language.

He was going over all of the recommendations.  To do that, he had both a red-line document showing the current FAR and the red-line changes.  He also had a clean document showing what the new rule would look like.  This process took up the majority of the two-day meeting.

The document will be published in the Federal Register on April 1st, 2026, so you will have a chance to review it and comment.

Some of the main changes with the most impact are the following:

1. Creation of a Central Management Office (CMO) where permanent staff work on all 141 initial certifications, changes, and provide a standardized department where everyone, including FSDOs, can get answers to 141 questions.  This office will take on the duties of reviewing applications and Training Course Outlines (TCOs), and will also handle changes and the processing of the newly created Pilot Manual, which will strip the administrative details from the TCOs and place them in a separate document.  In that way, a small administrative change won’t require the FSDO or the CMO to touch the TCO.  This is currently a very lengthy process.

2. The implementation of a two-tiered Part 141 school.  The first would be for small and new schools, where the approval process is easier than it is today.  This is to encourage Part 61 schools to become 141 schools.  The Second Tier would require a school to develop and use a Quality Management System (QMS), which tracks items that need to be changed/addressed in the training.  The first tier still requires a QMS, but it doesn’t have to be as sophisticated as the one in the two tier approval.  

3. Tier Two schools can use their QMS to make changes to their TCOs, on the fly, as they need, without approval.  They just need to inform the CMO of the change.  Currently this needs to be done by a Principal Operations Inspector (POI) at the FSDO and can take months to achieve.

4. The Chief Pilot will have more authority.  For example, the FSDO must approve all check airman.  This takes so long that sometimes that instructor has left for an airline job by the time the inspector approves it.  In the new rule, the Chief Pilot can approve the check airman.

5. Examining authority will be available for tier two schools.  It will no longer be based upon a first-time pass rate of 90%.  Instead, it will be based upon how the school uses their QMS to modify training and improve it and the quality of the pilots in training.

6. The need to renew every two years will be eliminated.  The school simply uses its QMS to make changes dynamically.

7. Grading scales will be standardized from 1-5, 5 being the best score on maneuvers, stage checks and end-of-course checks.  Schools will be able to continue to use their own grading scales, but any required reporting to FAA about a pilots performance will be in the 1-5 scale so that data between 141 schools can be standardized.

8. Flight training devices, time allowed to be counted, and the use of other technology, such as V/R googles to replace the need for 135 degrees of monitors left and right to allow approval for circle to land credit will be included.

There is a lot more.  So, check out the Federal Register on April 1 and download the proposed changes to Part 141.

Click this link for more information about the 141 modernization effort.

CFI Bootcamp’s Airspace Flash Cards have been Updated

Airspace Flash Cards is a 300-page PDF containing scenarios on airspace for Identifying, Cloud Clearances and Visibilities, Entry Requirements, Speed Limits, ADS-B requirements, Special Use Airspace, and Special VFR.  

There is a Black arrow pointing at a place on a chart.  Then a question is posed about that area at a specified altitude, such as the type of airspace, entry requirements, and cloud clearances. Etc.

The next page gives the answer and the explanation.  This is a great way to get the airspace down without having an instructor around to verify your answer.

We added 32 more scenarios to this new update.  We also completely reformatted the look and feel to align with our other recently updated books, like Endorsements and Scenarios.

Airspace Flash Cards are released and available on our website.  Here is a link to the site.

Flight Instructor Instrument Airplane PTS to Become an ACS

The Flight Instructor Instrument Airplane - CFII - PTS will soon become an ACS.  I don’t have a date yet, but it shouldn’t be long.  This should clean up some areas of the current PTS that can still be tested, such as ADF/NDB, certain weather charts that are no longer in use, and so on.  As a side note, the Sport Pilot PTS will remain a PTS and will also be updated shortly to align with the new MOSAIC Sport Pilot regulations.

CFI Bootcamp is About to Release the Commercial Pilot ASEL SmartStudy Pro Course

As I write this article, I have 6 more audio/video presentations to complete this project.  

This product covers all of the Knowledge, Risk, and Skill elements for every Area of Operation and Tasks in the Commercial Pilot Airplane Single-Engine Land Airman Certification Standards (ACS).  It is designed to be listened to when you can’t access video content.  I did record video, but it isn’t essential to watch it.  

There are also companion PDFs for each presentation.  These include images, sometimes notes, and other extra content to support the presentation.  The course is approximately 10 hours.

It’s ideal to prep for a lesson on your drive to the airport or review after the lesson.  It’s also terrific to prepare for the checkride.  It’s a complete “what you should know” about each task.

This is also great when preparing for the Flight Instructor Airplane Single-Engine checkride.  All of the maneuvers are the same as in the Flight Instructor ACS.  In addition, most of the content on technical subjects like weather, cross-country flight planning, airworthiness, and so on is the same or nearly the same.

The course was designed by a former FAA and CAA pilot examiner.  The same person also narrates it.

The course will be offered at ½ price when it is released in April.  To get the deal, you need to be added to the “Early Access” list.  You’ll get an email when it’s available, with a 2 or 3-day window to get it at ½ off.  It should be listed for around $200, so early access will be around $100.

Click here to put yourself on the list to be notified for “Early Access.”

Congratulations go out to Alex Pena Alex just finished up his CFI Sport Pilot Instructor Certificate.  He passed today with exceptional reviews from his DPE.  Very well prepared and nearly flawless flight.

This is one of my favorite people.  He is above and beyond, and it makes me super happy to know he passed today.  He’s been pursuing this for a long time.  His wife Tami is a school teacher, and Alex runs a nursery in the Phoenix area.  I’m so proud of his performance today and his realization of a new chapter in his and Tami’s lives.  I asked Nick to hold up the newsletter so we could share his accomplishment with all of you today.  Despite everything being an obstacle, he managed to realize his potential today.

I’m so looking forward to seeing Alex busy with students in the Phoenix area.  I want to hear his stories and see him see the successes he has had with his own students.  

Alex does our Wings program credits at CFI Bootcamp.  He never complains and always pushes for us.  We really appreciate his and Tami’s support.  I can’t say enough about how deserving he is of this, and how he represented himself and our training in such a great way.  All his effort, by the way.

Good luck with your new opportunity, Alex.  Thank you for everything.  I will do a bit on this weekend's Power Hour.  Hope you will be there and have a few minutes to tell people what you accomplished.

PROTIPS

1. Make money from your couch.  Do remote ground instruction via Zoom.  Take a Zoom course on How to Present lessons via Zoom now to get ready.  Attending a Zoom meeting and presenting are two different things.  Learn how to allow others to share screens, how to share your iPad/iPhone, and so on.  

2. Get your Advanced Ground Instructor Certificate (AGI), even if you have a CFI.  Some good perks come with an AGI.  

   1. You can give ground instruction for any certificate/rating, even if you don’t have the rating.

   2. You can endorse someone to take a knowledge test for any certificate/rating, and you don’t need to keep track of the result.  Using your CFI, you need to keep it for 3 years.

   3. You can endorse someone for the FOI without meeting the initial first-time CFI training requirements (61.195(h)).  Using your CFI, you would need to meet that.

   4. You can’t get a Gold Seal on your CFI certificate unless you have either AGI or IGI.

   5. You can get in some teaching practice, and the whole CFI training becomes easier.

3. Upgrade your subscription in ForeFlight to “Premium”.  There is a lot more you can do when you have this level.  For example:

   1. The profile view can show Cloud tops/bases, Icing, Turbulence, and Airspace along your flight plan.

   2. You can fly your flight plan in 3D view.

   3. You can view an airport in 3D view and see ADS-B traffic.

   4. Hazard Advisor has a slider bar that shows safe altitudes for a given altitude.  You can see your flight plan there with obstructions in a corridor of your choosing.

   5. You have a surface analysis chart.

   6. You can animate the world's winds at altitudes on a slider bar.

   7. ForeFlight can input performance data from your POH by serial number.

   8. You can sync a cloud drive such as S2, Box, Dropbox, and OneDrive.