Flight Schools

The new Airmen Certification Standards for private pilot and instrument rating applicants will emphasize risk management while making checkrides more efficient, according to Doug Stewart. The pilot examiner and CFI, who served on the original FAA committee charged with rewriting test standards, says the result will be “safer pilots.” Duration: 16:18 File Size: 7.8 MB […]

After five years of work in collaboration with aviation industry experts, the FAA has published its new Airman Certification Standards for the private pilot (airplane) certificate and the instrument (airplane) rating. The new standards replace the current Practical Test Standards as of Wednesday. The ACS provides guidance for both the knowledge exam and the practical […]

I got a note from a reader commenting on Friday’s blog on pilot starts and populations. His view was that everything is more or less about the Benjamins and more people would fly if it were cheaper. We’ve reduced that dead horse to molecular slurry so I won’t argue the case for or against. It […]

The FAA has opened comments until Aug.10 for changes to GA flight training rules that would affect a broad spectrum of pilots, including those pursuing private and commercial certificates. Its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking includes a long-anticipated proposal to use glass-cockpit, fixed-gear aircraft for commercial flight training instead of traditional complex aircraft with retractable gear. […]

The FAA today published a final rule that allows student pilots to log up to 20 hours in flight simulators, finally reaching the end of a long and twisted regulatory path. The current rules allow only 10 hours to be logged, although many flight schools had permission from the FAA to log up to 20. […]

New flying clubs in the U.S. could get their first airplane for free under a new programfrom AOPA. President Mark Baker said AOPA will provide the winning club with a “Reimagined” Cessna 150 that it has built by Aviat Aircraft. “Flying clubs and Reimagined aircraft are great options to bring down costs and get pilots […]

When the vast majority of American pilots want to go flying they rent an airplane from their local FBO, flight school or flying club. That means they have to go through some sort of a checkout with the aircraft provider before they can take the aircraft on their own. Whether the checkout is in a […]

New FAA rules affecting how student pilots are certified took effect today. The new rules require all applicants to be vetted through the FAA’s Airmen Certification Branch, a process the FAA says will take about three weeks. Currently, the FAA completes the same vetting process, but not until after a student certificate has been issued, […]

Icon Aircraft founder Kirk Hawkins has famously said his company aims to reshape—actually reinvent—general aviation by “democratizing” access to it. What that means exactly is about as clear as mud, but this week, Icon’s buyer agreement escaped into the wild, and it appears as though Icon’s view of “democratization” centers on a legal construct that […]

Jet Blue has launched an ab initio training program that it hopes will help to diversify its hiring pool and also give the company control over a pilot’s training from start to finish. The four-year program, which has been in the works since last year, is now accepting online applicants, at a cost of $125,000. […]