Flight Training - May 2012 - 49

What about those institutions that have an excellent pilot training program but opt out of certification as a Part 141 FAA-approved flight school? Some organizations simply do not want to be bothered by the strenuous recordkeeping and oversight requirements. There appears to be no recency of experience requirement. If Bob graduates from a four-year aviation college at age 21 but decides to run his family’s company for 10 years, can he still get that restricted ATP at 1,000 hours a decade later—when all of that knowledge and training may have dissipated? Aviation’s training academies that are dedicated exclusively to pilot training—some with advanced programs utilizing regional jet flight training devices (FTDs) and simulators—are seemingly left out in the

cold. Their graduates will be faced with the need to build 1,500 hours, rather than 1,000 hours, simply because they were not enrolled at a four-year school. Those airmen who made their way into the airline game in the 1980s will remember the challenge of making it from 300 hours to 2,000 hours, which even the regional airlines required back then. How to cross that bridge to 1,000 or 1,500 hours? That same dilemma will be facing future grads when the rules go into play. More flight instruction? Banner towing? Air taxi? Where are the employers that will provide that opportunity to build more time? How will the airline employers monitor and comply with the regulations? How will the FAA’s inspectors and designated pilot examiners know that the applicant

for an ATP practical test is eligible for the restricted ATP certificate? Will the FAA publish a list of “approved” schools? Will the applicant need to present transcripts and a copy of the degree prior to the practical test? There are other controversial aspects of the proposed regulations, such as a requirement that first officers have a type rating in the aircraft that they fly. This will add more expense to someone. Either the airline will need to foot that bill or pass it along to the new hire. The proposal has many more controversial provisions. Now is the opportunity to shape the regulation during the comment period. But the clock is ticking.
Wayne Phillips, an airline transport pilot with Boeing 737 and Falcon 20 type ratings, is a B-737 instructor.

YOU

WE CHALLENGE TO GET IN THE

Enter the AOPA Keep ’Em Flying Challenge this spring and rea rm your commitment to the greatest freedom we have—the joy of personal ﬂight. Starting in April, commit to re-energize your ﬂying life by taking an Air Safety Institute course, ﬂy at least ﬁve hours between April and July, and visit ﬁve airports that are more than 50 miles apart. That’s it. Get into the air, and we’ll reward you. Enter the challenge at aopa.org/keep-em-ﬂying for details and what prizes await you (although isn’t the ﬂying nearly enough?!) KEEP ’EM FLYING—THAT MEANS YOU

AIR

http://www.aopa.org/keep-em-flying

Flight Training - May 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - May 2012