Flying is one of those things that so many people want to try—or have questions about. We answer some of those frequently asked here.

Learning to fly and obtaining a pilot certificate is not like learning to drive a forklift. You can’t do it in an afternoon. It usually takes a few months, with flying lessons two or three times a week.

It will be expensive, around $6,000 to $10,000 for a private certificate. You do not have to pay the money up front. Be wary about putting money on account at a flight school unless it has a refund policy and it is in writing.

Get your medical certificate early. If you are pursuing a certificate to fly an airplane, you will need to have it before you are allowed to solo. If deferred, don’t give up. There may be an opportunity for special issuance, or you may seek a pilot certificate that doesn’t require a medical certificate, like flying gliders.

You will need an aviation headset and pilot logbook. Bring both with you to your flight lessons. You will want to get a gear bag to carry these materials along with a notebook for taking notes and writing down information in the cockpit.

You will learn to read an aviation sectional, which is a map used for navigation. You will learn how to use the pilot’s operating handbook (POH) for your aircraft to determine its performance.

Part 61 vs. Part 141

The difference between training under Part 61 and Part 141 is structure. Part 141 is the more restrictive of the two. Under Part 141, the use of a syllabus is required, lessons are done in a specific order, only certain airports are authorized for flights to and from, there is a training course outline (TCO), and stage checks are required to advance in training.

• READ MORE: Pointers for Packing Your First Flight Bag

The material covered under Part 61 and Part 141 is identical, but some funding sources will require the applicant to be training at an accredited 141 program.

The benefit of Part 141 is that, in theory, the structure allows for the applicant to achieve the required experience in as little as 35 hours to be eligible for the check ride. Under Part 61, the minimum is 40 hours.

For best results, use a syllabus to make sure all the material is covered in a logical order. Your instructor should have a copy that they refer to, and you should have a copy of it as well.

Be advised, the national average for experience for applicants taking private pilot check rides is around the 60-hour mark, no matter which part you train under.

The benefit of Part 61 is that if there is a hiccup with the issuance of your medical certificate that delays your first solo, you won’t have to stop training. You can move ahead to other dual lessons (that means flying with an instructor) in the syllabus until your medical challenges are resolved. Also, you have more flexibility when it comes to airports you are allowed to fly to, therefore your experience will be broader than someone trained under Part 141.

Use the FAA Airman Certification Standards (ACS), which are the minimum “passable” performance for a pilot, from day one. The ACS provides performance metrics, such as holding altitude within 100 feet and heading within 5 degrees. Remember these are the minimum standards, so strive to do better.

Learn to Use a Mechanical E6-B Flight Computer

Don’t let it intimidate you. The instructions for solving time, speed, and distance problems are printed on the face of the instrument. The backside of the instrument is the wind calculation side, and it can be very useful for visualizing wind correct angles.

For the pilots (often lapsed CFIs) who argue that the cockpits of turboprops and jets have flight management systems and backups on backups for navigation that will tell you wind correction angles, ground speed, time en route, etc., please remember it’s going to be a long time before the private pilots who want to be professional pilots get to that level with those resources.

And not everyone wants to be a professional pilot.

• READ MORE: How To Use a E6B Flight Computer

Learning to use the mechanical E6-B before you go to an electronic version or an app is the aviation version of learning how to do basic math before using a calculator. It gives you an extra tool to use in the cockpit should your electronic device run out of juice, get stolen, or do an uncommanded gravity check with pavement that renders it inoperable.

Structure of Lessons

A traditional flight school is not like attending high school. You won’t be in a classroom or airplane all day. Your ground school can be done face to face and will be a few hours a day, or you can do it online. At the completion of the course you will be endorsed to take a knowledge test (commonly known as the written test, although it is all on computer now) administered by an FAA-approved private contractor.

Most flight lessons are at least an hour long for local flights. For cross-country flights that involve going to an airport at least 50 nm away, you will budget more time.

Your first lesson will likely be heading out to the local practice area (your instructor knows where that is) to learn how to do climbs, turns, and descents. Flying in the practice area is like learning to drive a stick shift in an empty parking lot. You want the room to make mistakes.

Learning to fly in the airport traffic pattern is like learning to drive a stick shift in stop-and-go traffic. It is considerably more stressful and can be counterproductive. Learn basic control before the stakes are higher.

Solo Flight

Your first solo is the halfway point of your private pilot training. There are 15 experience requirements listed in the Federal Aviation Regulations/Aeronautical Information Manual (FAR/AIM) rule book under Part 61.87 that are required to be covered before you can be soloed.

Keep in mind that performing the task once doesn’t mean you have learned it or can perform it well, so you will have to practice it a few times before the solo endorsement is given. There also will be an airport-specific knowledge test administered by your instructor before a solo endorsement is given.

Before you launch on your solo cross-country flights, a flight instructor must review your flight plan and provide you with an endorsement, stating they have reviewed your flight plan and you are prepared to make the flight. This endorsement will go into your logbook.

About Your CFI

Your CFI should want to talk before and after each lesson. This is known as the pre-brief (what we are going to do and how we are going to do it) and the post-brief (this is how you did, and what we will do next). This is considered part of your training. Don’t skimp on this.

Understand that most CFIs do the job to build their experience for other jobs, like the airlines. Some of them may be more interested in building their own hours than teaching you to fly, or their teaching style or availability might not work for you. If any of these issues crop up, it’s OK to seek a change of instructor. Conversely, if it’s not working from the CFI’s perspective as they cannot meet your needs, they may suggest a change of instructor.

We can’t control the weather. There may be days the CFI suggests a ground lesson, a lesson in the school flight training device (commonly known as a simulator), or canceling the lesson due to weather that is below VFR weather minimums or beyond your capabilities at the time. This is about you flying, not your CFI showing you what they can do. If you are on your second lesson and the crosswind component or gust factor are beyond the demonstrated component of the aircraft you are flying, it’s likely a better day to stay on the ground.

The post What to Expect When Learning to Fly appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Before COVID-19 and for a bit afterward, there was a real shortage of qualified regional applicants—to the extent that many pilot groups saw raises of 100 percent or more. And there was a great deal of pressure to push new hires through training and onto the line.

I have friends who were simulator instructors and check airmen during that time, and they have stories of struggling applicants being afforded extra training sessions, multiple check ride attempts, and double or even triple the normal amount of initial operating experience (IOE) in an attempt to get them through.

• READ MORE: On the ‘Bax’ Foot: A Lifelong Writer Tackles the Spoken Word

But lately all the regional airlines have plenty of qualified first officers and even more qualified new-hire applicants—it’s qualified captains they are short on. It has become increasingly difficult to receive an interview at 15,00 hours. 

Jonathan Ornstein, Mesa Airlines’ longtime CEO, recently revealed that the company has more than 2,000 apparently qualified applications on file, all competing for a relative handful of new-hire slots. Thus, there’s no real pressure to hold new hires’ hands through training. In fact, the incentive goes the other way. The regionals need first officers who can pass captain upgrade training and IOE as soon as they’re legal to do so. It makes financial sense to winnow any that struggle as soon as possible. Brutal, but understandable.

One of the largest regionals has reportedly gone to a “two-and-through” policy. You are given one “freebie”—be that a check ride bust, training event repeat, or even extra preparatory sim session. The second one results in automatic training failure and termination. 

A friend was caught by this policy when his training partner, an older career changer, struggled and was offered “refresher” sessions before two check rides. My friend wanted to help his training partner and served as seat support for both sessions, only to have them counted against his own record, with summary termination the result. He now has an airline training failure as a permanent stain on his Pilot Records Improvement Act (PRIA) file.

This should indicate how seriously you need to treat airline training. You are not particularly needed at the regional airlines now. Training is not a gimme, nobody will hold your hand, and if you do struggle, you cannot expect much sympathy or flexibility. Compared to primary and secondary instruction, most airline training is much less spoon fed—the onus is generally on you to study, show up with the answers, and shine in the sim.

• READ MORE: How Professional Pilots Can Survive Probationary Periods

If you suffer from check ride nerves, best find a way to calm them now. To be a professional pilot is to be a professional check ride taker. I would suggest that before even applying for the regional airlines right now, you should have total confidence in your ability to make it through a fast-paced, unforgiving training program.

That said, anyone can have a bad day. You might have shown up prepared, studied hard, done everything right—and still messed up. Maybe that got you rattled and affected your  performance, especially knowing that your job—your career, even—was on the line. I’ve never trained under that kind of pressure and can’t say for sure I’d handle it well. Perhaps you didn’t, and now you too have an airline training failure in your PRIA file.

What now?

First, you need to know that your life is not over and neither is your career. There are plenty of pilots working with a training failure somewhere in their past. Having this on your record is less concerning than being fired from a job for cause, aircraft accident, or FAA enforcement action, DUI/DWI, or losing your medical. You still have the same flight time and certifications that you had before the failure. I’ve never heard of the FAA suspending or revoking certificates, or even giving a 709 check ride, based on someone failing out of an airline training program. You can still make a living flying airplanes.

• READ MORE: Allure of International Flying Lies Across the Glittering Sea

The course of your career has changed, though. I’d argue that the “training/CFI/regional/major in five years” rocket ship career path was already becoming unrealistic as the pilot shortage wound down, but in any case, that gate is shut now. Its closing was always a possibility in this industry—perhaps even a probability. It slammed shut for every pilot of my generation when the Twin Towers fell on 9/11, and yet, as dark as things seemed for a while, many went on to have wonderful careers. My own career path took turns I never saw coming, and they led to some really interesting experiences and lifelong friends. I wouldn’t go back and change anything, even if I could.

In their current hiring mood, the airlines will likely not take a chance on you while your training failure is fresh. Your mission now is to build a record that puts your failure squarely in the past and shows that it was a one-off event. Take whatever time you need to get your head right, then jump right back into it. Get yourself into a position to pass a check ride as soon as possible.

If you’re going back to flight instructing, add that CFII or MEI rating. If you can land a Part 135 gig, better yet—it will require passing an approved training program and a 135.293 proficiency check, plus potentially a type ride depending on the aircraft. Most corporate gigs also involve a type ride. If nobody is calling just yet, a single-engine sea or glider rating can be added to a commercial certificate fairly cheaply. Just get back on that horse and pass a check ride.

• READ MORE: Financing the Pro Pilot Dream…Without Getting Scammed

I don’t normally advocate job hopping, and it can be a red flag to HR departments. But I will say that following a training program failure, you’ll need to go through two or three full training programs without incident to become competitive for a top-tier job. If you can do that with a single employer, fine. Move up to a different airframe as soon as you can. If you need to switch employers to pass another training program, do so after a decent interval.

No matter where you go, you’ll need to disclose the training failure on each application, and it will likely come up on every interview. Depending on how you handle it, this can become your biggest stumbling block or an unexpected asset. It is so important that you do not play the blame game. Regardless of what actually happened, you need to develop a credible explanation of why you weren’t ready, what you got wrong, what you learned from the experience, and how you are better equipped now to pass a tough training course.

Unfortunately, you’re in a poor position to judge whether your explanation is actually any good. This is where paying an interview prep company can be extremely valuable, especially if you’ve worked your way back to applying for a top-tier position. With some polishing and a solid post-failure history to support it, the tale of how your lowest moment turned you into a better person, and a better pilot, could just be the exact thing that eventually lands you that dream job.

The post After a Training Fail, What Comes Next? appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Is there a particular way the FAA wants the pilot to measure distances, navigate, and pick a route?

• READ MORE: New Airman Certification Standards for CFIs Is Released

Answer: According to FAR 61.1(b)(ii), to meet the aeronautical experience requirements for a private pilot certificate, a commercial pilot certificate, an instrument rating, or for the purpose of exercising recreational pilot privileges, cross-country flight time must include a landing at least a straight-line distance of more than 50 nm from the original point of departure. Measure that with a plotter and paper sectional, and it’s best if the distance is a bit past 50 nm—like at least 53 nm.

• READ MORE: Is a Medical Certificate Required for a Private Pilot Check Ride?

As far as navigation goes, FAR 61.1(b)(i) navigation for cross-country flights can be ded reckoning, pilotage, electronic navigational aids (GPS), radio aids (VOR), and other navigation systems. Keep in mind that many designated pilot examiners (DPEs) will fail the GPS or ForeFlight to test the applicant’s use of the more basic navigational skills. 

Pro tip: Carry a current paper sectional with you and make sure you can read it. Andexpect to be told to divert to another airport during the check ride using the sectional as your guide.

• READ MORE: The Potentially Deadly Distraction of Social Media

As far as if it is legal to reposition an aircraft to an airport that is not a pilot’s home base, then use it as a starting point to give them a straight-line distance of more than 50 nm, we asked the FAA directly. The answer: Yes, it is legal to do this.

The post How to Make Sure Your Cross-Country Hours Count appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Answer: According to the FAA, “as long as the pilot meets the criteria to fly with BasicMed, they can use it, including on a check ride.”

• READ MORE: How to Find Your Best Ground School Fit

According to FAA Advisory Circular 68-1A, to meet the criteria for use of BasicMed, the pilot needs to hold a current and valid U.S. driver’s license, hold or have held a medical certificate issued by the FAA at any point after July 14, 2006, answer health questions on the Comprehensive Medical Examination Checklist (CMEC), receive a physical examination from any state-licensed physician, and have them  complete the CMEC. Be sure to keep the CMEC.

Finally, the pilot needs to take the BasicMed online medical education course. Keep the course completion document issued to you by the provider.

• READ MORE: Can the Owner of a Certified Airplane Do Their Own Maintenance?

The post Is a Medical Certificate Required for a Private Pilot Check Ride? appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Perhaps they have held a student pilot certificate for several years—and have completed most, if not all the requirements for the private pilot certificate—but they are reluctant to take the check ride. It isn’t a case of running out of money or not having the time to fly. The delay in taking a check ride could be a case of not having confidence. 

The CFI endorsement for the check ride is good for 60 days. Ideally, you would have been in touch with the designated pilot examiner (DPE) and set up the check ride before the CFI signed you off.

Be careful about self-imposed delays. You don’t want to lose your proficiency, and if you delay, you may find your knowledge test that was good for 24 calendar months has expired or your medical certificate has turned into a pumpkin. If your solo endorsement, which is good for 90 days, expires, and the CFI perceives you have been dragging your feet, don’t be surprised if the instructor is reluctant to sign you off for another 90 days. This is especially true if you are training under Part 61, where the CFI is responsible for every person they endorse for solo. 

• READ MORE: How to Find Your Best Ground School Fit

A colleague faced this with a learner who owned his own aircraft. The learner had fulfilled the requirements for the private pilot certificate and flew twice a week, so it wasn’t a matter of being unproficient. He just didn’t want to take the test. There were 20 days left on the check-ride endorsement when the CFI gave the learner another 90 solo endorsement with a warning that this was the last one. I believe the phrase “put on your big boy pants and go take the check ride” was used. The CFI told him he would not endorse him again. The learner admitted he was nervous about the check ride and lacked confidence. The response to this was a barrage of mock check rides with different instructors. Although we didn’t have to endorse him, when three others gave the blessing, he felt ready to go.

Don’t Be Pushy

The opposite of the learner lacking confidence is the impatient, pushy student who shops around for endorsements.

They are in a hurry and have a “check-the-box” mentality. They may challenge the CFI and try to bully the instructor into supplying the endorsement for the check ride. It’s not just private pilots either. A colleague working with a multiengine instructor (MEI) candidate received an email from a local DPE who wanted to know why he had not signed the applicant’s 8710 application for a new instrument or rating. The perplexed would-be recommending instructor replied “because we’ve only flown twice, and he’s not even close to being ready. ” When confronted, the MEI candidate somewhat sheepishly admitted he figured if the DPE assigned him a test date, the instructor would have to sign him off.

Shopping for Endorsements

When a CFI endorses your logbook, their signature is a statement confirming that based on their observations, you are competent to do that particular activity. If the CFI hasn’t flown with you, don’t expect them to endorse your logbook. Yet there are some learners who go from CFI to CFI looking for a flightless endorsement or a quick flight and a quick signature. These learners can be almost predatory, looking for a CFI they can persuade to sign them off with minimal effort.

A private pilot applicant whom I had never flown with wanted me to endorse him for the check ride. He was frustrated because although he had achieved the experience requirements, his CFI refused to sign him off. He thought it was a personal grudge on the part of the CFI. I was skeptical. I knew the CFI and asked for their perspective. He said that although the applicant had logged the required experience, his ground knowledge was soft in spots, and his airmanship was “hit or miss” at best. The CFI told the learner he needed more practice to meet the standards, and once the learner met them, the endorsement would be forthcoming. The learner had burned through two other CFIs at the school. He had a pattern.

• READ MORE: Who Is Teaching? Low Time and Social Media Make for a Bad Combo

I did a mock check ride with the learner. Some things he did very well—others not so much. I saw the soft spots and made suggestions as to how he could improve. This was not what he wanted to hear. The learner had a bad case if “my other CFI said.” He had done much of his training in another state, and when a different CFI pointed out the soft spots or things that needed improvement, the learner would reply defensively, “It was good enough for (names previous instructor).” Maybe it was; maybe it wasn’t. But at this point at this time, the minimum standards were not being met, so no endorsement was given.

The learner verbalized his frustration and made an appointment for another flight, then was a no-show. He disappeared for a few months, returning when most of the cadre of CFIs had turned over. He had a tendency to approach the younger, more inexperienced CFIs, claiming a CFI who had “just left” “forgot” to endorse him. He played the same game with solo endorsements—he needed those to rent aircraft.

The local flight schools began to warn each other about him. He had a tendency to try to bully the dispatchers. Some had notes posted at the front desk warning not to rent to him. It took him more than four years for him to finish his certificate—he ended up going to an accelerated program out of state.

• READ MORE: Redbird: Learning to Fly Has Gotten More Expensive

It’s not just the younger, inexperienced CFIs who are the targets of the endorsement hunters. It’s the out-of-practice, return-to-the-fold CFIs who can fall prey as well. A recently retired 777 captain who returned to active instruction after a 20-year hiatus gained a reputation for being quick to endorse, particularly with first solo learners.

“How do you get through all 15 things in 61.87 in a one-hour flight?” I asked when I learned he had endorsed a Part 61 learner who had just four hours dual logged and was only a third of the way through the private pilot pre-solo syllabus. 

The retired 777 captain gave me a blank stare. They had done a few laps in the pattern, he said,  and that was good enough for him. He’d also neglected to give the learner the pre-solo exam. The flight school owner and the chief instructor pulled him aside for some education. He explained that “things were different from when he taught back in the day.” 

The post Beware of Perpetual Students and Endorsement Hunters appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The CFI didn’t believe the learner for one minute, as we had known each other for years, and he knew I made lots of notes during these evaluations. The debrief is extensive and considerably longer than “passed with flying colors.”

The CFI sent the learner to me, he said, because he was the poster boy for the Dunning-Kruger effect. 

The Dunning-Kruger effect is a term for a cognitive bias in which people with limited knowledge or competence in a given intellectual or social domain overestimate their knowledge or competence in that domain—and here is the important part —relative to objective criteria. In this case, the Airman Certification Standards and their score on the FAA Private Pilot Knowledge Test. 

This applicant scored an 82 on the knowledge test and scoffed that anything over 70 was overkill. 

It became apparent rather quickly that he may have known the information once, but he couldn’t give it back to me when I asked questions about aircraft systems, weather, and airspace—all the areas he had been shown “deficient” on the knowledge test.

This applicant was lucky in that his instructor knew he had soft spots that needed to be eliminated before the check ride. Some instructors don’t see them, and I maintain a subset of the Dunning-Kruger effect is when the recommending instructor overestimates the learner’s abilities. 

This happened to an acquaintance of mine who had a private pilot applicant fail during the oral part of the check ride due to inadequate knowledge of aircraft systems. The CFI had been teaching a 10-week private pilot ground school at a local community college and the learner was in the class. The learner passed the class with an “A,” so the CFI thought he knew the material. 

Neither the CFI nor the applicant were prepared for the failure. There were other similar failures from the class. A little bit of sleuthing revealed the structure of the program was to teach to the tests. The message was to memorize the answers and pass. This looked good on their transcripts, as it was a two-year program and many of the students went on to four-year institutions, but this lack of knowledge left them woefully unprepared for the cockpit.

How You Study Is Important

Studying for the check ride can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to organizing the materials.

The fine folks at Aviation Supplies & Academics (ASA) have been doing this for decades with their oral exam guides. If the test involves an oral exam, ASA has a study guide for it, be it for flight ratings, aircraft dispatching, aircraft mechanic, or studying for your flight review.

For 30 years many of the ASA oral exam guides were written by recently retired Michael Hayes (respectful pause), who, through his concise and informative prose, helped thousands of pilots earn their certificates. The latest edition of the Commercial Pilot Oral Exam Guide appeared with a new author—none other than Jason Blair, an active flight instructor,  FAA designated pilot examiner, and a regular contributor to FLYING.

I have been using these books for years, both for my own study and to prepare my applicants for their tests. Full disclosure: When the newest editions are released, I go through them, cover to cover, just to make sure I am up to speed on what I am teaching. The ASA Commercial Pilot Oral Exam Guide is in its 11th edition, and I’ve been reading it to refresh and recharge my knowledge.

If you have never used one of these study guides, here is the skinny. The books are organized by subject matter: FARs, aircraft systems, weather, etc., making it easier to focus on knowledge areas that the learner is having trouble with. The material is presented in a  Q&A format. For example: “What is the difference between a de-ice system and an anti-ice system?” Answer: De-ice is used to eliminate ice that has already formed, while anti-ice is used to prevent the formation of ice. 

Scenarios are used for the most in-depth questions.

• READ MORE: Making the Most of a Ground Lesson

Although many learners don’t pick up a copy of the oral exam guide until just before check ride, you may find it useful earlier in your training as it helps to determine the depth of the knowledge required. This is especially good if you have a tendency to study minutia or have not enjoyed the benefit of working with a CFI with strong ground instruction skills.

The FAA reference for where to find the information is also listed.  I like this part the best, because when the examiner asks the learner where they found the information, you want them to be able to refer to a published FAA-vetted resource. Never ever, and I mean ever, reply, “My instructor told me.” That’s like comparing a spouse to that person you had a fling with in college. Just don’t do it.

The post Use Study Guides for a Better Check Ride Experience appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

This question is being asked a lot at local airports, because as part of the Department of Transportation, the FAA will most certainly be affected as employees will be furloughed. 

This isn’t the first time this has happened, and lessons learned from previous federal government shutdowns have helped the FAA craft a plan to make sure aviation does not grind to a halt.

• READ MORE: Aviation, Trade Sectors Brace for Government Shutdown 

Designated pilot examiners (DPEs) will still be able to administer check rides, however, the principal operations inspector that the DPE works with to process the check ride requests and subsequent issuance of the certificates won’t be getting paid.

On Thursday, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg held a press conference to outline the impact of the government shutdown, calling attention to the fact that members of the U.S. armed forces in addition to the thousands of civil servants that oversee America’s transportation infrastructure will not be paid during the shutdown.

A shutdown could begin as early as Saturday, and it would have a detrimental impact on the national aviation infrastructure, particularly ATC, Buttigieg warned in saying that the shutdown would furlough 1,000 controllers currently in the training pipeline.

“Even a shutdown of a few days could mean we will not hit our staffing and hiring targets next year,” he said.

What Continues During a Shutdown

According to DOT, the following activities will continue during a lapse in annual appropriation and authorization:

• Air traffic control services
• Maintenance and operation of navigational aids and other facilities
• Flight standards field inspections
• Airworthiness directives
• Airmen medical certifications
• Certain certification activities
• Issuance of waivers for UAS and in support of other safety and security operations
• Approval of exemptions for unmanned aerial systems operations
• On-call accident investigations
• Air traffic control specialist (ATCS) medical clearances
• Air traffic safety oversight (limited)
• Commercial space launch oversight and licensing
• Command, control, communications, and intelligence (i.e., regions and HQ operations centers, intelligence threat watch, and emergency communication support)
• Foreign relations on aviation safety-related matters
• FAA’s aircraft and airman registry
• Congressional liaison services, to the extent that they are necessarily implied from the authorized continuation of legislative activity
• Support functions necessary to provide timely payments to contractors and grantees

What Stops During a Shutdown

There are a number of activities that will cease during the shutdown. These include:

• All Airport Improvement Program (AIP) activities during a lapse in authorization 
• Passenger facility charge approvals
• Airport planning and environmental services funded by Airport Improvement Program (AIP) contract authority
• Development of new air traffic control specialists not certified to work a position
• Aviation rulemaking
• Random drug testing of the nonsafety workforce
• Facility security inspections
• Routine personnel security background investigations
• Continuity of operations planning
• Development, operational testing, and evaluation of next gen technologies
• Development of next gen safety standards 
• Air traffic performance analysis
• Capital planning for FAA facilities and equipment
• Research, engineering, and development programs
• Investment planning and financial analysis
• Dispute resolution
• Audit and evaluation
• Financial operations, controls, and reporting 
• Most budgeting functions (except those necessary to provide necessary services to support excepted functions)
• Law enforcement assistance support
• Most administrative support functions not required for support of excepted positions
• Delivery of routine public affairs services, website updates, and social media activities

The post How Government Shutdown Will Impact GA, Flight Training appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The model can also be applied to check rides, except instead of the holes being risks, they are requirements for the check ride to happen. Sometimes it can feel like the holes will never line up, and you may feel like you’ve wasted hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars. If you have ever felt this way, you are not alone.

Getting everything in place to make a check ride happen is a lot like herding kittens (I have experience with both—I know of what I speak). Sometimes, it seems like the aviation kittens are on the other side of several shots of espresso with a Red Bull chaser.

Think of all the things that have to line up for a check ride to happen: The applicant has to meet the requirements both in tasks and experience. The logbook must be totaled up and tabbed. The aircraft maintenance logbooks must be available, and the applicant must know how to find the appropriate information to prove the aircraft is airworthy. The applicant must be proficient and meet the FAA airman certification standards. The designated pilot examiner must be available. The applicant’s Integrated Airman Certification and Rating Application, or IACRA, must be filed and the application for a check ride sent to the designated pilot examiner (DPE) several days in advance. The weather must cooperate. The applicant must have the examiner’s fee (north of $700 for most rides) in cash. You may have one, two, or three of those—but the rest aren’t quite there yet. 

It can get discouraging, and sometimes, we can get in our own way. FLYING has some suggestions to help you overcome those often self-imposed obstacles.

1. Don’t Wait on a Particular CFI

Learners can get very attached to their instructors, so much so that they are willing to wait for that CFI to become more available. As a result, they put their training on hold or stretch it out, making it difficult to learn and retain the skills and knowledge.

I saw this with a private pilot candidate whose CFI was flying part time for a charter operation and teaching part time at the flight school. The pre-solo learner’s training had been two or three flights a week, then it dropped to once a week, weather permitting. Proficiency was quickly lost. Eventually the owner of the flight school persuaded the learner to fly with a career instructor.

2. Accept the CFI May Move On

It is a fact that most people become flight instructors to build their hours, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise when the CFI leaves. It is the nature of the industry.

Make it less painful by insisting your CFI uses a syllabus—and that you have a copy of it—and that they sign your logbook at the end of each lesson. If the CFI tells you “no one here uses a syllabus” or “I’ll sign it next time,” find a more professional instructor. If you find a career CFI, metaphorically speaking, wrap around that CFI like a spider monkey going up a palm tree. Hang on to that person and get the job done.

3. Don’t Wait on a Particular Airplane

Every learner has a favorite airplane in the rental fleet. While it is true most flight schools put check rides at a higher priority than regular lessons, you don’t want to wait for your favorite airplane to become available—or, worse yet, go out on maintenance. That “minor thing” found during its 100-hour inspection can easily turn into a “several weeks in the hangar waiting on a part” saga. 

Get experience in all the appropriate airplanes in the fleet and arrange to get at least an hour or so in the one you will be taking your check ride in before the big day.

4. Be Ready to Travel

It may come down to going out of the area to finish your check ride. There are programs around the country that offer this service, and they often have an examiner on staff. You need to come in with the knowledge test complete and enough training and experience to pass the oral exam and the check ride. The CFIs at the “finish-up” program will likely require you to fly at least three hours with them to ensure you are ready for the check ride before they give you the endorsement. Once you have that, you have 60 days to take the check ride. If the weather turns sour and you need to return home, you can take the check ride at home. You don’t have to return to the finish-up program.

• READ MORE: The Great CFI Lesson Plan Debate

I stress this because I know of a private applicant who traveled out of state to finish, ran into a mechanical challenge, and had to return home. His out-of-state-CFI told him he would have to return to take the check ride because the CFI’s signature was not valid out of state. This is incorrect. The CFI certificate is a federal authorization that has no such limitation.

If you have to return home before completing the check ride, understand that once you have the endorsement, you can call a DPE and set up your own check ride. Most of them are good about walking you through the process, have a website with information, or will email you instructions.

You will want to keep flying to stay sharp, so check with all the schools within a reasonable radius of your home airport—don’t forget to ask about independent instructors who have their own aircraft as well. You might even find a friend who holds a CFI certificate and will fly with you for the price of fuel. Have that CFI friend go over expectations for the check ride. They may even recommend a DPE.

5. Make Sure Both You and the Airplane Are Ready

Have your CFI go over the aircraft maintenance logs, registration, and weight and balance to make sure they are in order and the aircraft is airworthy. Have them go through your logbook as well to confirm you meet the qualifications for the check ride. 

Many DPEs charge an additional fee if the check ride has to be discontinued or cannot begin because either the airplane or the applicant is not ready. And some of them can be rather nasty about it and vow not to return to the flight school.

6. Be Wary of Those Who Take Advantage

It is not uncommon for applicants to finish their training, get the endorsement, then have the airplane incur a maintenance issue. Instead of waiting for it to be fixed (it can take months), find another flight school that will allow you to use one of its airplanes for the check ride. 

Reputable schools will basically perform an aircraft checkout, which usually involves an open book test on airport and flight school procedures, weather, FARs, and aircraft systems, followed by a flight of about an hour with a qualified CFI. Your previous CFI already gave you the check ride endorsement, so you don’t need that from the new flight school CFI.

• READ MORE: What If the CFI Forgets to Sign Your Logbook?

If the owner of the school or chief CFI says you can’t use their airplane for a check ride unless one of their CFIs signs you off because of “regulations” or “insurance reasons,” it’s likely an effort to pad the bill.

7. Be Prepared for Frustration

Learning plateaus and pre-check ride frustration are part of the process, and like the challenges that often accompany puberty, we all go through them. Although it can be tempting to quit, sometimes you just have to make like Odysseus and tie yourself to the mast. Just get through it.

Remember, it is most often the things we don’t do in life, such as finishing a certificate or rating, that haunt us the most. Don’t let giving up on your pilot certificate become a regret.

The post 7 Ways to Control Your Check Ride Destiny appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Answer: You can find someone else. Most flight schools do have favorite DPEs and not-so-favorite DPEs, and there are DPEs who chose not to work with particular flight schools for various reasons, but usually, DPEs are not assigned to flight schools.

The FAA has a list of available DPEs qualified to do the check ride in your area. That information can be found here.

• READ MORE: What Impact Does Time Change Have on Aviation?

Once the endorsement for the check ride is in your logbook, you have 60 days to get the ride done, or else a CFI needs to give you an additional three hours of training in preparation for the check ride—the lapse of the 60 days does not mean you have to repeat all the training.

The statement that the check ride endorsement is only good in the state you have been training is inaccurate. As the FAA is a federal agency, the endorsement is good in any state. Good luck on your check ride!

• READ MORE: How Do New Flight Students Obtain Credentials?

Do you have a question about aviation that’s been bugging you? Ask us anything you’ve ever wanted to know about aviation. Our experts in general aviation, flight training, aircraft, avionics, and more may attempt to answer your question in a future article.

The post Can You Select a DPE for Your Check Ride? appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

I shared this knowledge with one of the CFIs I trained, who was dismayed by the performance of a private pilot seeking renter privileges at the school. The would-be renter pilot had earned their certificate some four months earlier, but according to the CFI who administered the renter checkout, the would-be renter pilot did not fly to the level of their certificate.

The renter pilot claimed to fly a tailwheel airplane on a weekly basis, but as that aircraft was going into annual inspection, the renter pilot was looking at options to keep flying.

The FBO-dictated rental checkout involved an open-book test and a flight of at least one hour, which included air work and multiple takeoffs and landings—and, since the renter was new to the airport, a review of the published VFR arrival and departure procedures.

According to the CFI who administered the checkout, the pilot seemed to have forgotten how to use the rudder, the checklist, and had to be prompted to perform clearing turns. Much of the checkout flight was remedial.

Fortunately, the renter pilot had a good attitude and recognized the rust, and proceeded to sign up for another dual instructional flight. The renter explained they had good intentions to stay proficient upon earning the private certificate, but had become somewhat lazy and the flights had deteriorated into $100 hamburger trips to a particular airport and a few laps in the pattern.

This happens to all of us. To keep and build your skills, you need to have a plan, and you need to stretch your skills from time to time.

Add to Your Adventures

After you pass the private pilot check ride, there will be an adjustment, as you don’t have the pressure to study nightly and fly multiple times a week. It’s okay to make time for other things, but to protect that investment, set aside time for aviation. It could be a two-hour flight that includes a trip to the practice area and back with multiple takeoffs and landings, sitting down to plan that bucket-list flight, reading an aviation publication, or online shopping for an airplane—you can dream, can’t you?

More often than not, finances determine how much most of us fly. To stretch your resources, research the idea of joining a flying club as they are often less expensive than renting from FBOs. Flying clubs are also good alternatives when the FBOs limit aircraft rental to their clients who are actively training for a certificate or rating.

Make the flying hours count. Very few people go through the trouble and expense of earning a private pilot certificate just to do laps in the pattern. Instead, create a list of flying experiences you want to have—like landing at a mountain strip near a lake—and figure out how to make that happen. Take that mountain flying course offered by the local flight school, look into tailwheel training (in the event that airplane that caught your eye has conventional landing gear), make plans to attend the next air fair or fly-out breakfast or lunch—there are lots of options.

If your state has an airport passport program, take advantage of that. Find out which airports have the best restaurants, museums, or interesting hangars, terminals, or public art. Visit them and get that selfie for your social media.

Look for flights that will strengthen your skills in addition to adding time to your logbook.

Instead of planning flights that keep you away from controlled airspace (sadly, many CFIs teach this technique to private pilot applicants) instead, consider interacting with ATC and getting clearance to fly through the airspace if appropriate. Ask for the transition through the Charlie or Delta—if they say no, you just go over or around.

What About Flying as a Career

If the private pilot certificate is your first step on what you hope is a long career as a professional pilot, start building your cross-country hours toward the all-important airline transport pilot certificate. Make a list of airports to visit. If you are enrolled in a Part 141 program, the airports you are allowed to fly to for cross-country experience may be restricted—they will have a list.

If you are training under Part 61, this restriction doesn’t exist, just make sure the distance to the airport as measured by plotter and paper sectional meets the metric for a cross-country flight.

If you have the resources, don’t be afraid to travel to another part of the country or even the world where you can build time and get experience you cannot get at home. For example, if you are based in a part of the world where blue skies and sunshine are the norm, find a location where they have a variety of weather so you can log that all-important instrument time in actual meteorological conditions.

If you want to pursue your instrument rating, and you don’t have the money or time to work on it just yet, volunteer to be the safety pilot for a pilot practicing IFR approaches in VFR conditions. You might even want to log some dual with a CFII and, while on an IFR flight plan, go in and out of the clouds just so you can see what that experience is like.

Seek Out Challenging (to You) Airports

There’s a reason you learned how to do short-field takeoffs and landings. Find a runway that requires them—but if you are renting an aircraft from a school or FBO, double check to be sure there isn’t a limitation on runway length. Some have the caveat: “operations from airports with runways less than 2,200 feet with instructor only.”

If you have done most of your flying at non-towered airports, head to a towered airport. If most of your flying is at a towered airport, head to a non-towered facility. Those radio skills need to be kept sharp too.

The Round Robin

The round-robin flight is where you fly to several airports and return to the original place of departure. If most of your training took place at a towered airport, do a round-robin flight of non-towered airports—they don’t have to do a full cross-country.

One of my best learners has a favorite loop where he flies from non-towered Pierce County/Thun Field (KPLU) north to Renton Municipal (KRNT), a towered Class D, performs a touch and go then heads west to towered King County International (KBFI), for another touch and go, then to Tacoma Narrows (KTIW) for a touch and go, transitions across the McChord Air Force Base (KTCM) and back to KPLU. The flight takes about two hours and it’s very busy—and a lot of fun. I have used this flight or a variation of it as a metric for my learners who are preparing for check rides. I am supposed to be “in toad mode” (quiet as a toad) during the flight. If they can stay ahead of the airport and the radio, they are ready to meet the examiner.

Look for the Best Views

Pretty much every place has a ‘cool thing to see from the air.’ Take advantage of your wings and go up for the best view.

There may be that farm with the totem pole on it. That house that looks like a castle. The beachfront property with the remains of a shipwreck visible at low tide, the forest that becomes a riot of color in the fall, the tulip fields blooming in the spring, and so on.

You worked hard to get that pilot certificate. Make the most of it.

The post Keep Practicing After Your Check Ride appeared first on FLYING Magazine.