AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2023 - 12

AOPA ACTION
TOP STOR IES /
Changes to instructor certification
Proposal prompted by AOPA petitions
MUCH TO THE relief of AOPA and
other aviation advocates, a longsought
package of changes to flight
instructor certification regulations-
including removal of certificate
expiration dates-is proposed by the FAA.
The FAA rulemaking proposal notes
that AOPA petitioned the agency in 1999,
and again in 2000, seeking to remove
expiration dates from flight instructor
certificates, reasoning they impose an
unnecessary and costly burden on CFIs.
AOPA also asked the FAA to bring flight
instructor certificates in line with all other
pilot certificates that do not expire, with
certificate holders required to maintain
proficiency and recent experience by
various means.
A rulemaking proposal in 2007
would have allowed the FAA to issue
flight instructor certificates that do not
expire, but the agency changed course in
2009, opting to " continue issuing flight
instructor certificates with expiration
dates after determining that revising its
application procedures could achieve
equivalent results. "
Experience did not bear that out, the
agency said. Pilots with other types of
certificates continued to maintain their
medical and recent experience requirements,
and flight instructors continued
to face a deadline every 24 months.
AOPA President Mark Baker said the
FAA deserves credit for acting on the
request, which was discussed in meetings
with FAA staff in recent months,
particularly as the shortage of professional
pilots (including instructors)
grows more acute.
FAA reauthorization work underway
MARKUPS FOR THE 2023 FAA reauthorization
bills began in June, and language from both the
House and the Senate is pointing to the most
forward-thinking FAA legislation in history in
support of general aviation. An FAA reauthorization
bill has never been so GA focused, and
thanks to an initiative by House Transportation
and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep.
Sam Graves (R-Mo.) to bring more attention to
the sector, House language includes the first
GA title within an FAA reauthorization bill (see
" Guest Editorial, " p. 28). The House and Senate
bills would authorize programs administered by
the FAA for a five-year period. On the table for
GA are issues relating to expanding pilot privileges,
rights, and protections, and improving
safety and services provided by the FAA.
A major focus of AOPA during the reauthorization
process has been ensuring that GA pilots
can park their aircraft at fair and reasonable
12
AOPA PILOT / August 2023
rates and without being required to pay for FBO
services they never asked for or used.
Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) introduced the
General Aviation Airport Access Act (S.1847), a
bill that would require federally funded publicuse
airports that impose fees to provide fair and
reasonable rates for parking transient GA aircraft
and prohibit FBOs from charging pilots for
services that they don't use or want.
" Addressing this issue is long overdue, it's
more than fair, and it's the right thing to do.
These are public-use airports and public-use
doesn't mean being required to pay egregious
FBO fees at some airports or being required to
pay for something a pilot didn't use or want, "
said AOPA President Mark Baker. " Senator Budd
and Chairman of the House Transportation
Committee Sam Graves are both pilots, they
fully understand the situation. "
aopa.org/pilot/reauthorization
Support the General
Aviation Airport
Access Act
If you want to see fair, reasonable,
and transparent
fees at public-use airports,
join AOPA and nearly 600
pilot organizations across
the U.S. to call for additional
transient ramp legislation in
the 2023 FAA reauthorization
bill. AOPA created a simple
online tool to make it easy
for members to find their
representative and send
a letter of support for this
important legislation.
aopa.org/pilot/
airport-access-act
" AOPA appreciates the FAA's recognition
and proposed adoption of AOPA's
recommendations to make it easier for
CFIs to remain current, proficient, and
knowledgeable, " Baker said. " These steps
will create significant savings in both time
and money for thousands of CFIs, while
maintaining the highest levels of pilot
training and safety for the GA community. "
The proposed amendments to CFI
renewal requirements include the
three-month grace period that AOPA
sought, allowing CFIs whose currency
has lapsed extra time to restore it
without having to take a new CFI practical
test, although doing so remains
one option among several paths to currency
maintenance or restoration in the
FAA proposal.
aopa.org/pilot/certification
http://www.aopa.org/pilot/certification http://www.aopa.org/pilot/airport-access-act http://aopa.org/pilot/airport-access-act http://www.aopa.org/pilot/reauthorization
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2023
