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3 Answers

BFR / Checkout

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Flight Instructor

I'm a little confused about the wording and requirements for aircraft to be used in a BFR.

The regs say 61.56(c)(1) "Accomplished a flight review given in an aircraft for which that pilot is rated.."

AOPA says "A CFI checkride, IPC, complex, high-altitude, tailwheel, or other endorsements do not count as a flight review, but they can occur at the same time" (without giving a reference).

Regarding a checkout and BFR being simultaneous, if "rating" includes endorsements, then technically you couldn't give a pilot a flight review in such an aircraft until you had endorsed him/her for the airplane. So either AOPA is wrong here or "rating" does not include such endorsements in the FAA's view.

The reason I ask it I logged a students BFR and then additional endorsements in the same airplane, in that order. The dates are the same, but the order shows it as such.

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3 Answers



  1. Kris Kortokrax on Mar 10, 2014

    Endorsements are not ratings. Certificates and ratings are listed in 61.5. This is stuff any CFI should know.

    There was a recent revision to the regs which allows a CFI practical test to count for a flight review. Also stuff which CFIs should keep up on.

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  2. John D Collins on Mar 10, 2014

    If the pilot requires a flight review and is a rated private pilot single engine land and has only flown a C172, you can give the pilot the flight review in a Bonanza because he is rated for single engine land. If you don’t give him a complex and a high performance sign off, he can still act as PIC for the C172 after he satisfactorily completes the flight review. However, he can’t act as PIC of the Bonanza until you give him the additional training and endorsements for complex and high performance.

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  3. Mark Kolber on Mar 10, 2014

    “Ratings” have never included “endorsements” in the FAA’s view (or at least not for the past 50 years or so). Here are some basics pilots should know:

    • “Ratings” appear on the back of your pilot certificate under the heading (drum roll, please) “Ratings”

    • “Ratings” are defined in FAR 1.1: “Rating means a statement that, as a part of a certificate, sets forth special conditions, privileges, or limitations.”

    • Available “ratings” are listed in FAR 61.5. Won’t find a single endorsement there.

    • Not understanding the difference between “certificates,” “ratings” and “endorsements” probably accounts for over 90% of the confusion on what may be logged as PIC as the “sole manipulator of the controls” (not to mention what counts as a flight review).

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