Examiners and inspectors can perform certain certifications and actions using IACRA via Zoom.

The FAA issued a Notice regarding National Policy that went out to all FSDOs and DPEs.  The Notice is 8900.689, titled “In-person requirements and use of remote technology for administrative airman certification functions.”  You can get a copy by clicking this link.

To summarize, inspectors and DPEs authorized to perform certain functions can use Remote Technology such as Zoom to identify a person.  They are also required to use IACRA to process any of these actions.  Some of the actions permitted are:

1. Issuance of ground instructor certificates.

2. Flight Instructor Renewals.

3. Supervised Operational Experience (SOE) limitations removal.

4. Military Competency.

It’s important to know that the DPE must be authorized to perform such actions on their Letter of Authorization (LOA), so some may be unable to do these.

Most of our people would be interested in the Flight Instructor Renewal and Issuance of ground instructor certificates. If you can get an Aviation Safety Inspector (ASI) at the FSDO to do this, there is no charge. If not, you could call around DPEs in your or other areas and use them. All can be done with Zoom or other Remote Technologies.

NAFI Summit is coming next month. - Mike will be there

The second annual NAFI Summit (National Association of Flight Instructors) is happening October 15-17 at Embry Riddle University in Daytona Beach, FL.  There is a fee to attend.  The first day will be a reception, and the next two days will include keynote speakers, panels, and expert speakers on flight training.  Here is a link to get more information.

This event is one of three that focus on flight training. The other two are Redbird Migration, March 4-5 in Denver, CO, at Wings over the Rockies, and FSANA (Flight School Association of North America), February 5-7 at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort in Lake Buena Vista, FL (Orlando area). The Redbird event is free to attend, while FSANA is fee-based. 

Link to Redbird Migration Info

Link to FSANA Conference Info

Mike from CFI Bootcamp will attend all three events and speak at Redbird Migration. He will also attend all three days of the NAFI Summit for those who want to meet up and say hi.

CFI Bootcamp is conducting its first CFI Mastery Bootcamp OCT 12-13.

October brings a brand new course to CFI Bootcamp. It’s a weekend course that teaches you how to be a better instructor by using technology in the classroom and the airplane. If you are struggling with or don’t know what’s available in technology, this class is for you.

We go through the basics of using ForeFlight for teaching, how to project to a smart TV, and how to use our favorite apps that make your teaching shine. Your engagement with your students will improve significantly. On the second day, we cover ForeFlight for navigation and some new teaching techniques that modern educators use that aren’t in the Aviation Instructors Handbook. Effective stuff. We also cover how to use a syllabus and deliver preflight briefings as part of the syllabus.

The end goal of the class is for you to be able to use an iPad with ForeFlight and Zoom together in a one-on-one or classroom setting. You will be able to project your iPad screen to a smart TV and also take a person from the first lesson to a private pilot checkride using a roadmap/syllabus. You’ll also walk away with modern training techniques that will set your teaching apart from other CFIs.

This course is called CFI Mastery Bootcamp Weekend. The retail price is $400, but for the first class, we are offering it for $250. It’s being taught in person at our Miami location and online live-streaming.

Here is a link for more information.

The class is Oct 12-13. 11 am - 6 pm Eastern Time.

Winter is Coming - And so are earlier sunsets - Now’s the time to get and stay night current.

As autumn begins, sunlight is slowly disappearing. Depending upon your latitude in the lower 48 states, you can expect Sunset to occur between 2 and 3 minutes earlier every day until late December.

Your recency of experience requirements to carry passengers is good for 90 days. In much of the country, in addition to losing daylight, winter weather begins to move in, which sometimes stops us from flying or at least makes it more challenging.

Why not take advantage of autumn’s generally smoother skies, mild temperatures, and good flying conditions to set your 90-day clock? It’s so much harder to do once the weather moves in and it’s colder. You’ll still need to remain proficient, though. Not every pilot can or should take passengers at night close to the 90-day limit, but at least you have been flying at night and gaining experience.

If it’s been a while, take your local CFI and get back your night skills.

ProTips

1. When studying for the CFI certificate, don’t study the FOI or endorsements first. Study what you know first. Then what’s left, the perishable stuff, will be the most recent, and you won’t have to review it continually.

2. Make three versions of a lesson plan: a full-blown (20-minute monster) for the checkride, a preflight brief (5-10 min) practical lesson plan, and a review lesson plan (1-2 min) hitting the highlights—the student knows the maneuver and has done it before.

3. The most limiting factor while flying cross country is crosswinds. Get proficient in handling 20 kt direct crosswinds. They aren’t around every day for most, so take advantage when they are there. Many places around the country have strong crosswinds almost every day. If you will be stopping there, you want to be prepared. It could take several weeks or months or even a cross-country dual flight to get a chance to become proficient. According to SAFE, a fair number of accidents, including training accidents, occur because the pilot is not proficient in crosswind landings and takeoffs.