Flight Training - January/February 2025 - 47

ADVANCED PILOT CFI CHANGES
HEADS UP, INSTRUCTORS
FOUR CHANGES THAT AFFECT YOU
BY AOPA STAFF
salaried aviator, to expand reach as a
businessperson, or to fly as a hobbyist for
pleasure? Such insights on motivation
are transferable to many if not all aspects
of life, from being a parent to being a
friend or simply keeping an open mind
when meeting someone new. Being
a CFI sharpens an individual's skills
understanding people.
COMMUNICATING-A UNIVERSAL ASSET
Initially through preparation to become
a CFI and subsequently through practice,
flight instructors learn to be effective
communicators, an attribute that
has positive application well beyond
the cockpit. Every aspect of human
interaction involves some element of
communication. Teaching flying is a
unique opportunity to improve that skill.
Being a CFI also sharpens listening
skills. When asking questions, what is
the student saying or trying to say? CFIs
learn to resist the all-too-common tendency
to jump in before the speaker has
finished speaking. They wait until the
student makes his or her position clear,
probing with open-ended questions if
necessary, before presenting an answer.
There is an art to effective listening, and
CFIs develop that essential aspect of
communicating.
HELPING OTHERS
Flight instructors play a pivotal role in
an aviator's development whether he
or she flies professionally or personally.
The law of primacy states that what a
student learns first is the most likely
to be recalled, particularly in stressful
situations such as an emergency.
CFIs shape the students' approach to
all their aviation experiences. Such an
opportunity to contribute is awesome.
The payoffs to being a CFI are indeed
priceless. FT
JOHN W. OLCOTT is an airline transport
pilot, CFII, and remote pilot, as well as former
president of the National Business Aviation
Association.
CHANGES TO CFI RENEWALS, SECURITY
procedures, currency requirements,
and elective training went into effect in
2024. If you're actively instructing or
maintaining your privileges, be sure you
understand how these changes affect you.
1. CFI certificates don't expire-
but privileges do
An FAA final rule regarding flight
instructor certificates signals an important
change for certificated flight instructors
across the nation. CFI certificates issued
on or after December 1, 2024, will not
have an expiration date printed on the
certificate. Instead, CFIs must comply with
recent experience end date requirements
every 24 calendar months.
The rule also adds a three-calendar-month
reinstatement period. This
reinstatement period will be granted
once the recent experience end date (or
expiration month) has passed and if the
CFI did not comply with the 24-month
recent experience end date (or 24-month
renewal) requirements. During this
reinstatement period, the CFI will not
hold instructional privileges but will have
the opportunity to reinstate instructional
privileges via a flight instructor refresher
course. If the three-calendar month
period passes without completing a flight
instructor refresher course, the CFI will
need to take a practical test to have their
instructional privileges reinstated.
The final rule does not change the
existing methods of renewal or the
requirements for recent experience.
However, a new means of renewal adds
the Wings program. To suffice FAR 61.197,
a flight instructor must complete a level
of Wings in addition to conducting at
least 15 flight activities, during which that
flight instructor evaluated at least five
different pilots with appropriate logbook
endorsements. The CFI must also submit
in IACRA an 8710 and have it signed by an
accredited member.
If the CFI certificate was renewed
prior to December 1, 2024, the certificate
expire as indicated, but the instructor can
still take advantage of the three-calendar-month
reinstatement period. Upon
successful renewal, the instructor will be
issued a CFI certificate without an expiration
date.
The Air Safety Institute explains the
changes in detail at airsafetyinstitute.org/
cfi/ExpDateRemoval.
2. TSA requirements have changed
CFIs and flight schools must comply with
new security requirements under the
Flight Training Security Program Rule.
All providers of training for initial pilot
certification, the instrument rating,
the multiengine rating, type ratings,
or recurrent training for a certificate
or type rating must register through
the FTSP Portal, verify U.S. citizenship
of trainees, give security awareness
initial and biennial training to their
employees, and designate a security
coordinator with the TSA.
Even those who train only U.S. citizens
or nationals must follow these rules.
When flight training providers are training
non-citizen candidates, the student
generally must undergo a security threat
assessment before training can begin.
Find out details of the TSA requirements
for flight training providers at
aopa.org/TSAValidationGuide
3. Are you 'person' current?
Effective December 2, passenger currency
rules change. Previously, FAR
FLIGHT TRAINING JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2025 47
http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/cfi/expdateremoval http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/cfi/expdateremoval http://www.aopa.org/TSAValidationGuide
Flight Training - January/February 2025

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