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Archive for the ‘FAA’ Category

Melody asks an (increasingly common!) question about Sport Pilot upgrades for instructors:

I was told by an examiner that I could get a CFI Sport Pilot rating, then add on a CFI-SE Airplane. Is this accurate?

Whenever you’re looking into adding on a rating – any rating, whether it’s adding multi-engine privileges to a private ticket, or seaplane privileges to your commercial – the first stop should be the appropriate Practical Test Standards guide. However, in this case, I pulled up the latest CFI Airplane PTS (FAA-S-8081-6C, 1.4 MB) from the FAA’s website and flipped to page 1-xi, the Additional Rating Task Table.

Of course, it says nothing about Sport Pilot, which I suppose is not that surprising; the last revision to the PTS was 2006, when Sport Pilot was still in its infancy. What’s most likely, then, is that even if you held a CFI-SP rating, you’d need to meet the aeronautical experience and certificate requirements (ie Commercial) for a normal CFI Airplane rating. At first glance, it seems like it makes more sense to just go the “standard” route and work directly on meeting the requirements to become a CFI.

Rather than spend all day trying to find the answer on Google, I called up the AOPA hotline (1-800-872-2672) to see what they knew. The person I spoke with had the same thoughts – the full CFI requirements are necessary as there is no PTS additional rating information – although he very wisely pointed out that as a CFI-SP you would be earning money and logging time, while if you were simply working towards the CFI requirements there would be no income aiding the process.

Hope you can decide on a good path, and fly safe!

Also, if any readers have first-hand information on the topic, please let us know!

About a week ago, I purchased 78 copies of “FAA Aviation News” from the 1970s on eBay. My wife was home when I opened the package and she asked why in the world I ordered all these old magazines. “They’re cool” I said. “Well, where are you planning on putting them?” “In the basement” I replied.

On my way downstairs, I happened to flip one of the magazines over and there on the back cover, was this cool aviation cartoon with a rhyming caption above and below the art. The drawing was absolutely brilliant. I started looking at the back covers of all the magazines and sure enough, each one has a cartoon with a rhyming aviation truth like, “Use your smarts, get current charts” or “A casual pre-flight check, could mean an inflight wreck.” In the lower right hand corner there is a small credit given to the individual that came up with the rhyme. The artist’s name is Osborn and I’ll have to do some more research on the artist. If anyone has some more information about the artist or the cartoon, please let me know.

I scanned in about 15 of the cartoons this evening. If you guys like them, I’ll scan in the rest.

Here you go. Enjoy.

This has been a pretty busy week for me as I am currently in Wilmington, DE at my yearly recurrent training event at Flight Safety.  My recurrent training is something I definitely look forward to each year.  It is a wonderful opportunity to not only re-learn the things I have forgotten since last year but also a chance to sharpen my procedures and flying skills within the safety confines of a flight simulator.  A little plug here…Flight Safety Int’l is a top-notch organization and over the years, I have had nothing but the best experiences with the instructors, administration and staff.  They are absolute pros at professional flight training.  It is no wonder, they are the leaders in their industry.

Unfortunately, because of my training and my flight schedule, I’ve fallen a little bit behind with some flight training questions here but I just received a question from Andrew that I’d like to answer.  Andrew asks:

I have a rotorcraft private and i would like to get my Single engine private. How many hours do i need in single engine to get my rating?

Hi Andrew,

You want to look at 14 CFR 61.109 – Aeronautical experience private pilot.

As a rotorcraft private pilot I’m guessing you already meet the 40 hour requirements, so now all you have to do is

Flight Training

meet the specific time requirements for airplane single engine.  These requirements are:

• 3 hours of cross-country flight training in a single-engine airplane;

• 3 hours of night flight training in a single-engine airplane that includes 1) One cross-country flight of over 100 nautical miles total distance; and 2)10 takeoffs and 10 landings to a full stop (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport.

• 3 hours of flight training in a single-engine airplane on the control and maneuvering of an airplane solely by reference to instruments

• 3 hours of flight training in preparation for the practical test in a single-engine airplane, which must have been performed within 60 days preceding the date of the test

• 10 hours of solo flight time in a single-engine airplane, consisting of at least 5 hours of solo cross-country time; One solo cross-country flight of at least 150 nautical miles total distance

So it kinds of depends on how you divide up the lessons with your flight instructor, but you know that you’ll need at least 10 hours of solo and probably another 20-25 hours of dual given from an instructor.  You’ll use this time with the instructor to prepare you for your solo, cross country training and then of course the checkride test preparation.  I’d budget at least 35 hours of flight training for your private pilot single-engine add-on.

Again, reference 61.109 for more information and here is the link to that CFR:

http://tinyurl.com/rb2b5k

You also might want to reference the private pilot PTS:

http://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/airmen/test_standards/pilot/media/FAA-S-8081-14A.pdf

Look on page 26 of this pdf.  On that page, you’ll see an “Additional Rating Task Table.”  That task table is useful for knowing what specific tasks you’ll have to complete on your checkride given your current ratings and certificates.

Thanks for stopping by the site and let me know I can be of any further help.
Fly Safe.

Sally has a question about retesting after a failed knowledge test:

I failed the written FAA test for Private pilot last month. I have studied hard and now I am ready to take it again. How soon can I take it again?? Do I have to have my instructor sign off again?

Hi Sally.  I’d encourage you to read 14 CFR 61.49 “Retesting After Failure”.

61.49 Retesting after failure.
(a) An applicant for a knowledge or practical test who fails that test may reapply for the test only after the applicant has received:
(1) The necessary training from an authorized instructor who has determined that the applicant is proficient to pass the test; and
(2) An endorsement from an authorized instructor who gave the applicant the additional training.

So in order to take the test again, you must receive training from an instructor who will then endorse your logbook saying that this training was given.

You can then sign-up to re-take the test at your local testing facility.  (Be sure to bring your failed test with you, you’ll need that as well)

Good luck, I’m sure you’ll do great!

From Mark, we have another question about Sport Pilot:

Does a current Private Pilot have to get a Sport Pilot rating as part of the requirements of being a CFI-SP Sport Pilot flight instructor?

Mark, the FAA has a table (pdf; it’s hard to track down!) that lists all the requirements for various SP certificates. CFI – Sport Pilot lines that are relevant to your question are here:

Training requirements:

• 150 Hours – Total
• Additional flight training requirements for each category and class.
• Sport Pilot certificate or higher
• Category and class privileges or rating

Testing requirements:

• CFI Recommendation - Knowledge test – Practical Test

So, you have to have at least 150 hours total time, and hold at least a sport pilot certificate with the appropriate category & class for the type of aircraft you will be teaching in. Aside from that, you’ll need to get a CFI endorsement and pass the knowledge & practical tests.

Scott writes:

I have the following certificates/ratings: ATP MEL, commercial helicopter, instrument helicopter, private SEL, and CFI helicopter. I am wanting to add a commercial or ATP to my SEL certificate, followed by my airplane CFI and MEI. 1st question: When I take my commercial checkride, does it have to be in a complex aircraft? 2nd question: I understand getting my ASEL CFI would be considered an add on. It is not clear to me what the requirements are for an add on. Any insight? Thanks.

Scott, the first place to look is the current ATP Practical Test Standards, FAA-S-8081-5F (pdf). There is no aircraft type requirement listed, and one of the CFIs I work with did her initial ATP checkride in a Skyhawk with fixed prop and gear. If you take a Commercial checkride, it must be done in a complex aircraft. The Commercial PTS, FAA-S-8081-12B (pdf) requires that if you add an ASEL rating to your Rotorcraft – Helicopter, you must do almost the entire checkride.

As far as the Instructor, Airplane addition goes, again we have to go to the CFI PTS, FAA-S-8081-6C (pdf) on page 36 of the pdf:

Adding an ASEL instructor rating to a RH instructor certificate.

For the addon checkride, most of the tasks have you refer to the notes under each area of operation. I won’t break it down task by task, but hopefully this will help you get started on the right path towards your new ratings.

I love the question I got recently from Rob who asks:

Paul, What is the origin of the instrument airway routing system and how are the alpha-numerical descriptions based for them?

I liked this question becuase I knew immeadiately after reading it that I didn’t have a clue what the answer was going to be (which isn’t that rare) and that finding the answer was going to be fun, I was right.

I have a couple of email addresses at the FAA that I like to use for questions just like this one and I was AMAZED at how fast the FAA responded with a very complete answer for Rob’s question.  I was thinking about editing their email but I’ll just leave it  as is in it’s entirety:

The origin of airways can be traced back to the Air Commerce Act of 1926. Airways evolved over the years as new NAVAID technology and instrument flying procedures were developed (For more info, see http://www.faa.gov/about/history/chronolog_history/).

Here’s where we are today:

All airways are established through rulemaking procedures under Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 71. Rulemaking action to establish or modify routes is the responsibility of the Airspace & Rules Group at FAA HQ. Route numbers are also assigned by the Airspace & Rules Group.

Part 71 was modified in 2003 to adopt the ICAO term “Air Traffic Service (ATS) Routes” as an overall term to identify the U.S. domestic route structure. Specifically, in Part 71, the term “ATS Route” means: Jet routes, RNAV routes, VOR Federal airways, and colored Federal airways (i.e., LF/MF routes).

General information about establishing routes is contained in FAA Order 7400.2, “Procedures for Handling Airspace Matters.” The descriptions of all U.S. domestic ATS routes are published in FAA Order 7400.9, “Airspace Designations and Reporting Points.” These publications can be viewed on the internet at:

http://www.faa.gov/airports_airtraffic/air_traffic/publications/

The numbering system used varies depending on the type of route.

• For VOR Federal airways (V) and Jet Routes (J), a one to three digit number from 1 – 999, is assigned (V-3, J-591, etc). Even numbers are assigned for routes that extend generally east-west and odd numbers for routes that extend generally north-south. For a new route, the number selection is somewhat random — although we check the National Airspace System Database to make sure the number is not already in use.
• For colored Federal airways (LF/MF), the color names “Amber, Blue, Green and Red” are used followed by a one or two digit number (A-2, G-18,etc). The color indicates the route alignment. Routes that extend generally east-west are designated as Green or Red. Routes the extend generally north-south are designated as Amber or Blue. Note: There are still about 49 colored Federal airways in the system (primarily in Alaska).
• For RNAV routes, the U.S. uses designators (T and Q) and number sets that were assigned for our use by ICAO. The FAA decided to use the T designator for low altitude RNAV routes and the Q designator for high altitude RNAV routes.
• Low altitude RNAV routes (below 18,000′ MSL): “T” plus a number from 200 – 500. – - High altitude RNAV routes (at & above 18,000; MSL): “Q” plus a number from 1 – 499. Note: The same “even number for E-W” / “odd number for N-S,” as is used for V & J routes above, also applies to RNAV routes.

Note: Offshore Oceanic ATS routes are outside U.S. domestic airspace and are not covered under Part 71and are not processed by the Airspace & Rules Group.

In case you haven’t heard, the comment period is ending soon (Feb 27, 2009) for a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that has been issued by the TSA.  This NPRM seeks to amend the current Twelve Five Standard Security Program (TFSSP) and Private Charter Standard Security Program (PCSSP) and apply new security requirements to all aircraft weighing more than 12,500 pounds.  In short, the rules that apply to charter and airline customers for aircraft weighing more than 12,500 would now be applied to part 91 operators too!  If you fly an aircraft weighing more than 12,500 lbs than this will adversely affect you! Even if you don’t fly that size of aircraft, you will still feel the negative financial implications that a program like this will have on all of general aviation.

These new security requirements include:

• Crewmember fingerprint-based criminal history records checks (CHRCs)
• Watch-list matching of passengers
• Compliance with the prohibited items list (PIL)
• Compliance with security directives and information circulars
• Designation of an aircraft operator security coordinator (AOSC), ground security coordinator (GSC), and in-flight security coordinator (ISC)
• Training for crewmembers and other identified personnel
• Development and maintenance of contingency plans to respond to threats
• Compliance with security audit program (twice a year)

These items, although they sound harmless enough, would impose a very large, very costly overhead for all private operators of aircraft weighing over 12,500 lbs.  Imagine if you are a small flight department with a KingAir 350, do you think you could possibly afford either the time or money that will be required to comply with these kind of regulations and security requirements? I know my flight department couldn’t.

The one that really gets my goat is the compliance with the Prohibited List Items.  The only reason that many companies even own a plane is so that they don’t have to comply with that rule!  Many operators use aircraft to ferry mechanics and their specific tools that airlines prohibit on board.  Hopefully your passengers or owners don’t enjoy the occasional hunting trip, because you can kiss those  trips (and the guns) goodbye!

Why 12,500 pounds?  Well according to the FAA definitions a “large” aircraft is anything over…you guessed it, 12,500 lbs.

The TSA is convinced that large private aircraft have the same national security threat as a fully loaded 747.   If the TSA thinks that, that’s fine and I have no problem, but they need to prove that hypothesis by providing the studies and evidence that support it (which they haven’t done).

I highly highly encourage you to submit your comments before the comment period is closed.  Many citizens are disenfranchised with their government because they think they have little or no say.  Well, here is your chance to let your voice be heard!  Submit your comments and then call your congressman and senators to tell them specifically why you think this NPRM would adversely affect your business or career.

I thank you in advance for your help in defeating or in greatly modifying this oppressive regulation.

Erik needs to build time and is considering a cheaper path:

I just got my private and am working on my instrument rating now but of course I need to get PIC too. Does PIC time in an LSA count as regular PIC time towards things like commercial and CFI ratings?

Erik, you’re in luck. As far as the FAA is concerned, PIC time is PIC time, and the fact that it’s being logged in a Light Sport aircraft is irrelevant—you’re the pilot in command. You may need to log additional time to meet some of the specifics; for example, a Commercial certificate requires 10 hours in a complex aircraft and 10 hours of instrument training.

I’ve actually heard a story about a similar time-building concept: a young pilot bought a multiengine ultralight (I think it may have been a Cri Cri) and built a ton of time while burning 2 gallons an hour. If you think out of the box when it comes to your training, you can save a lot of money and still meet requirements.

John writes asking about the W in the A.R.R.O.W. acronym:

With regards to the acronym “ARROW” for required documents: Where in the FARs is the specific requirement for the “W”? I realize the requirement would be indirectly there because of the requirement for the AFM. But the acronym would be rather lengthy if we listed all the required components of the AFM.

If you’re reading this post, and haven’t started flying yet, here is something you should know about aviation: we have a acronym and mnemonic for EVERYTHING.  Especially when it comes to remembering lengthy regulations.  In this case, ARROW is the acronym used to help remember the required basic documents and paperwork that must be on board every airplane to be legal.   To review:

A – Airworthiness Certificate

R – Registration

R – Radio Station License (not required in the U.S.)

O – Pilot Operating Handbook (specifically the Operating Limitations)

W – Weight and Balance

John’s question is simply, “Can you show me in the regs where it says we need the W?”  Sure John, I’d be happy to help.  I do want to point out though that acronymns and mnemonics are not officially recognized.  They are not endorsed by the FAA.  We use them in the training community simply as a memory aid and device.  Maybe sometime, a long time ago, some instructor decided that “ARO” wasn’t as easy to remember as “ARROW”.

There are actually a couple of places where  we can find this requirement though.  The most common one most instructors point to is…

1) FAR 91.103 – Preflight Action.

This regulation details the information that pilots are supposed to become familiar with  before each and every flight.  Of course, we have another mnemonic (RAWFAT) to help us remember the these requirements:

(I have place an asterisk by the ones that are only required for flights not in the immediate vicinity of the airport)

R- Runway lengths (every flight)

A – Alternates *

W – Weather *

F- Fuel requirements  *

A – ATC delays *

T- Takeoff/landing distance data (every flight)

Let’s look at the last one – T.  If you are required to know your takeoff / landing distance data for each and every flight, it is somewhat implied that you are going to have to know your weight and balance as your performance will vary, obviously, with changes in the aircraft’s gross weight.  In fact, 91.103(b)(2) states that if for some reason you are flying an older airplane, for which there is not the standard  takeoff and landing data tables than:

(2) For civil aircraft other than those specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, other reliable information appropriate to the aircraft, relating to aircraft performance under expected values of airport elevation and runway slope, aircraft gross weight, and wind and temperature.

2) FAR 91.9 – Civil aircraft flight manual, marking, and placard requirements.

This regulation states pretty clearly that yes, we need an approved airplane flight manual but also:

..no person may operate a civil aircraft without complying with the operating limitations specified in the approved Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual…

In every limitation section of a Airplane Flight Manual (or POH) you will find a section detailing not only the max. and min. weight limits but also the center of gravity limits.  So again, this implies that if you are required to operate within these limitations than you will have to complete a weight-and-balance calculation prior to every flight.

3) FAR 43.5 – Approval for return to service after maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding, or alteration.

This regulation states that if any major repair work has been done on your airplane and that repair work results in a change or alteration of the limitations of the airplane.  That information must be entered in the airplane flight manual (AFM).  That is why you see all those updated weight and balance forms in the aircraft’s AFM.  It’s required.

I hope this has helped answer your question about why the “W” is in “ARROW”.

Fly Safe.