The Private Pilot ACS SmartStudy Pro is done - Release Imminent.

For those of you waiting for the new course from CFI Bootcamp, called the Private Pilot ACS SmartStudy Pro, we have good news.  We just finished it and are now in the process of publishing it to our learning platform and then to the online store.

This course explains what you need to know about each Knowledge, Risk, and Skill Element in the Private Pilot Airplane ACS.  It is intended to be used as an audio presentation to use when driving, etc.  There is also a video, but it isn’t required to watch; listening will suffice.  

There are 45 Tasks covered, the entire ACS.  The course is around 11 hours.  There are also Companion PDF guides for each task that contain images, notes, and other relevant information that you can see when you are in a position to be able to do it.  

The course works well for preparing for a lesson on your way to the airport or for a comprehensive review and study session after a lesson, all in the comfort of your car.  It’s also very effective in preparing you for the oral exam, as it covers the entire ACS.  This course was written and narrated by a former FAA-designated pilot examiner.

When the course is released, which should be very soon, it will be offered at half the retail price of $200.  It will be $99.00, but only for a limited time, and only for those on the list who receive the offer by email when it becomes available. 

Click the link and leave your email to be able to get this course for $99.00.

Work begins in the IFR ACS SmartStudy Pro.

As we continue to expand our product line and enter broader aviation training segments, we are working diligently on the IFR ACS SmartStudy Pro course.  It includes narrated audio presentations on every task in the Instrument Rating ACS.  All Knowledge, Risk, and Skills are reviewed.  It’s also designed to be used when you can’t watch a video.  Video is included, but it is not necessary to complete the course.  There are also Companion PDF Guides that contain images, further explanations, checklists, etc., to view when you are in a position to do that.

There are 20 Tasks in the Instrument Rating Airplane ACS, and a lesson is provided for each one.  Currently, around seven have been narrated and are in the editing process.  This course is expected to be available in late October, just in time for the holidays.

It will be offered at half off the retail price, which has not yet been set, so we will keep you posted on that.  To ensure you can get the course at half off, please leave your email by clicking on this link.  You’ll get an email when it’s ready.

AC 61-65J will be replaced with AC 61-65K on Oct 22, 2025

On October 22, 2025, the FAA will publish the final rule that affects Sport Pilot Certification and Airplanes—referred to as MOSAIC (Modernization of a Special Airworthiness Certificate).  Because many regulations are being changed and some new ones added, the AC that addresses endorsements, currently AC 61-65J, is being updated.  It will be AC 61-65K.  As of September 27, 2025, it is in Draft form and is available here until October 22nd.  It will replace the previous J edition.

Most of the changes appear in the Sport Pilot Section of the AC.  For example, the endorsements for recommending a pilot and subsequent evaluation, as well as the endorsement for a proficiency check, have been modified.  The rule will no longer allow a proficiency check to add sport pilot privileges for an airplane or helicopter.  The rest of the categories and classes are still ok to do this way.

Additionally, there are new endorsements for the expanded privileges that Sport Pilots and higher-rated pilots operating under the sport pilot limitations/privileges are eligible for.  Those are:

• Night Endorsement

• Retractable Landing Gear Endorsement

• Variable Pitch Propeller Endorsement

• Simplified Flight Controls Endorsement

There are other administrative changes to existing endorsements due to changes in specific FAR numbers or subparts of an FAR.

You can review this new AC by clicking here.  

You can see the current, as of Sept 27, 2025 AC, here, so that you can compare them.  After October 22, 2025, the “current” AC as of today will be removed and replaced with the current AC that is in draft form.

The Sport Pilot Test Standards are not an ACS.

In case you were looking around for the Sport Pilot ACS, to get ready for the new FAA rule changes, you probably didn’t find one.  That’s because there isn’t one.  The Sport Pilot Practical Test Standards are still a PTS (Practical Test Standard).  Before the creation of the Airman Certification Standards (ACS), all test standards were PTS’s.  Currently, there are a few that have never received an upgrade, and the Sport Pilot standard is one of them.  Because all of the ACS’s and PTS’s have been incorporated by reference into FAR 61.14 by name, it will probably require the FAA to go through the process of rule-making to make this an ACS.  Currently, rulemaking takes a considerable amount of time and FAA resources to accomplish.  The verdict is still out on whether an expedited process can be established for changes to ACSs and PTSs.

Unlike an ACS that has Knowledge, Risk, and Skill Elements for every task, the PTS only has listed items to be tested orally and in flight.  There is no division between knowledge and Skills, and Risk management is only stated to test, but not exactly what.  Additionally, there is a special emphasis list of items that the FAA deems critical to flight safety, which is outlined in the front matter of the PTS before you reach the test standard.  

If you are planning to work with Sport Pilots, take some time to review the Sport Pilot Practical Test Standards here.

ProTips.

Try using ChatGPT to create quizzes and outlines.

Simply upload a manual or POH of some sort, and then prompt it to create a quiz of a particular length, with a specified number of possible responses, references, correct answers, and more.  It can save a ton of time.  Try, for example, typing “Create a Presolo knowledge test of 50 questions that will satisfy FAR Part 61.87(b) and include questions about the airspace and procedures from Palo Alto Airport.  Make this a multiple-choice quiz with three possible answers.”  

Start thinking of the throttle as a flight control.

Many pilots don’t keep their hand on the throttle during maneuvering or takeoff.  This is a mistake.  When your hand isn’t on the throttle, you aren’t getting the entire picture of what’s going on.  For example, if your hand isn’t on the throttle during takeoff, the throttle may slip back and reduce power, or you may be slow to close the throttle and abort a takeoff.  The same is true when maneuvering.  You want to be engaged in the maneuver with elevator, aileron, rudder, and power.  Taxiing is another place where your hand belongs on the throttle.  If it’s not there, you are setting an arbitrary amount of throttle, which leads to riding the brakes and changing speeds when encountering a slope in the taxiway, among other issues.  

Get your Advanced Ground Instructor Certificate as soon as you can - good things await

Many ask why get the AGI?  Well, to start, you can get it before you become a Private Pilot.  You simply take two tests: the FOI (Fundamentals of Instructing) and the AGI (Advanced Ground Instructor) knowledge tests.  When passed, you complete an IACRA application and find a DPE or ASI (FAA Inspector) to issue the certificate.  Before you can use the certificate, you must either get an endorsement from a Flight or Ground Instructor who has determined you are competent to teach the material or complete an online or in-person Flight Instructor Refresher Course.  

Even if you are a Flight Instructor, you should have an AGI.  For example, when you endorse someone for a knowledge test as a CFI, you need to keep a record of that and the test results for 3 years—doing the same as an AGI requires no record-keeping.  Also, you can only become a Gold Seal flight instructor if you also hold an AGI or Instrument Ground Instructor (IGI) certificate.  The Gold Seal requires you to have recommended at least 10 persons for a pilot certificate within two years, and at least 80% passed on the first attempt, and you hold an AGI.

As an AGI, you can give ground instruction and endorse a person for a knowledge test for any Category or Class.  CFI can only do that within the Categories and Classes they hold on their Flight Instructor Certificates.

AGIs can also give the endorsement to an Initial CFI applicant without meeting the qualifications to train first-time “initial” CFIs under 61.195(h).  There is no waiting period.

One last reason is that if you ever want to provide GROUND instruction to first-time, initial flight instructor applicants, as a CFI, you would need to have:

• Held your CFI certificate for 2 years and have given at least 40 hours of ground instruction

Or

• Given at least 100 hours of ground instruction in an FAA-approved course (like 141).  There is no two-year requirement in this case.

As an AGI, your two-year clock starts ticking the moment the certificate is issued.  If you are a Private Pilot and have an AGI, you may already have a year done by the time you become a flight instructor.

One last item to consider is that you can begin teaching with an AGI.  Suppose you can find opportunities to teach before training for your flight instructor certificate. In that case, it can significantly help you shorten the CFI training time and provide you with real practice with real students.