Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

6 Answers

CFII in multiengine ATD without MEI?

Asked by: 4856 views FAA Regulations, Flight Instructor

Can a CFI with Airplane Single Engine and Instrument Airplane (CFII) ratings give instruction on a multiengine Basic ATD (BATD) pursuant to 61.57(c)(3) for instrument currency purposes without an MEI? This question is about giving such instruction in an ATD, not an actual aircraft (for which the answer is obviously “NO”).

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

6 Answers



  1. KDS on Oct 13, 2017

    I can’t find a perfect reference for you, but this one touches in that area:

    https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/agc/pol_adjudication/agc200/interpretations/data/interps/2012/beard%20-%20(2012)%20legal%20interpretation.pdf

    My instinct is to say no, but I cannot put a finger on a supporting document.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. VALKYRIE ONE on Oct 13, 2017

    Actually, according to a DPE whose credibility I trust, a CFII can, in fact, give instrument instruction in a multi-engine aircraft, even without an MEI rating, provided the CFII has a commercial pilot certificate with a multi-engine rating.

    Keep in mind you can’t teach the pilot how to fly a multi-engine aircraft this way. But adding an instrument rating to you CFI certificate doesn’t include a limitation on aircraft class, only on the “airplane” category. So, you can’t teach instruments in a helicopter, because that would require the “Instrument Rotorcraft” rating, but for us fixed wing aviators, we get the “Instrument Airplane” rating added to our certificate.

    So when we add an Instrument Airplane rating to our CFI cert, we’re being approved to teach instrument flying in airplanes. That’s as specific as it gets. There’s no MEII rating. My question to you would be, does the student know how to fly multi-engine aircraft? If so then all you should be teaching is instrument flying. You, as a CFI, need to a pilot cert to get paid flying in the Cat/class you’re in, otherwise you’ll run afoul of the commercial regs.

    So after that clarification, we can apply the same logic to FTDs, ATDs, and so on. 🙂

    But you don’t need to take my word for it, you can get the official FAA opinion by calling your friendly local FSDO. 🙂

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  3. Ken White on Oct 14, 2017

    Doesn’t the first sentence of the second paragraph in the interpretation referenced by KDS contradict what your DPE friend is saying? It reads to me like you must have the specific category and class of aircraft on your instructor certificate before you can give instrument training in it.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  4. KDS on Oct 14, 2017

    One other small point that is commonly misunderstood. You cannot get an official interpretation from an FAA inspector. That is strictly the purview of the FAA’s Chief Council.

    Depending on the inspector, if they do answer your question, they may or may not caveat it with a statement that their answer is as they understand the regulations, but not official. Part of the logic for that is to keep people from shopping for the answer they like best. The lawyers get it wrong too, but there are less lawyers than inspectors.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  5. VALKYRIE ONE on Oct 14, 2017

    DOH! 🙂

    Well, if I would’ve just clicked the link above, I’d have been aware of some very useful information. Bear with me, I’m still learning over here. Always verify what the DPE tells you, people! 😛

    I went and checked the FAR 61.195 now, too, and it DOES seem to clarify things a great deal. Now, I should probably relay this info on to my aforementioned DPE. That ought to be an interesting conversation lol.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  6. KDS on Oct 14, 2017

    Hey, we’re ALL still learning. If anyone tells you they aren’t still learning, don’t fly with them. They’re dangerous.

    +2 Votes Thumb up 2 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.