New - Get Wings Credit for Most CFI Bootcamp’s Weekly/Saturday Power Hours.

In case you weren’t aware, we do a one-hour live show every Saturday, from Noon until 1 pm Eastern time (1700-1800 Z.)  We have done over 214 shows with attendance from 100 to 300.  Topics include flight instructor-centric topics such as How to give an effective flight review, A review of the top FAA training handbooks of all time, How to handle challenging students, etc.  We also have topics for everyday pilots and pilots in training.  We regularly review ForeFlight’s newest features, Deep dives on the Commercial Maneuvers, How to make better landings with techniques that are NOT in the FAA handbooks, and so on.  

We submit all power hour shows to the FAA for approval for Wings credit.  Almost all are approved!  So now you’ll be able to get Wings credit for attending a live show.  You need to register to be able to participate in the live show.  You then get three emails about the show as reminders.  One is sent on Wednesday or Thursday announcing the show’s topic, link to use, and the date and time.  You’ll also get an email an hour before the show starts and one last one right before the show starts so you don’t miss out.

During the show, there is a link you can click for wings credit. It is an automated process. You enter your email and name, and we get the validation for you from the FAA.

Here is the link to the power hour registration page.

We’ve updated the Online CFI Course with 16 New Videos and More.

We updated a lot of videos and even made some new ones.  The new ACS is fully addressed, and the new AC 61-65J has its own video!  We revamped the airspace video with graphics from ForeFlight and gave you step-by-step instructions on how to teach airspace using ForeFlight.  The Student, Recreational, Commercial, Flight Instructor, and Sport regulations videos have all been completely redone, aligning with the FAA’s rule changes on Flight Instructor and BasicMed regulations.  

In addition, the workbook and any assessments are now part of each lesson, so there is no longer a need for a study guide or separate workbook. The workbook was completely reformatted to work within the online course, and everything looks a lot tighter.

We will release the new version of the online course very shortly and send out an email when it’s ready to go. Expect it in about a week.

We’ve updated the Endorsements and Scenarios Book with ten new scenarios and new flowcharts in a sleek format.

One of our products, which saves you a lot of time and money, has been updated with a brand new format, new flowcharts, and nine new scenarios.

These scenarios cover Student Pilots, Initial Pilot Certification, Adding additional categories and classes, Soloing a pilot who is not a student pilot, Sport Pilots and Sport Pilot Flight Instructors, Flight and Ground Instructors, and One off activities like flight reviews, IPCs, Complex endorsements and so on.  All scenarios have a textual description solution, and most have a flow chart to guide you through the regulations so you can check to see if you solved them correctly.

In the flight instructor scenarios, they conform to the new ways to meet recency of experience and reinstatement.  

The flowcharts were all completely remastered and have color elements to help navigate them faster.

Using this book saves you a lot of ground instruction from an instructor qualified to train first-time instructor applicants.  By solving the scenarios and checking the work and FAR logic with the flow charts you are able to do this on your own!  Your CFI then only needs to be sure you do it on your own.  Most of our customers find this book to be the most used in everything we make.

This book should be ready in about a week.  We will send you an email when we release it.

In the meantime, here is an excerpt

No more CFI Expiration dates?  What will we do?

Effective December 1, 2024, CFI certificates won’t be issued with an expiration date.  They are changing the old “Renewal” process to be a Recency of Experience requirement.  To exercise your CFI privileges, you’ll need to complete the Recency of Experience requirement before 24 calendar months elapse from when you either did it last or your expiration date on your current CFI certificate.  The methods to meet the recency of experience are as follows:

1. Recommend at least five applicants for a practical test with a first-time pass rate of at least 80%.

2. Complete a phase of the Wings program yourself and provide 15 hours of instruction for at least 5 Wings Pilots seeking Wings Phase completion.

3. Complete a military instructor competence test.

4. Complete a Flight Instructor Refresher Course (FIRC.)

5. Pass a practical test instead of meeting the recency of experience requirements.

6. Pass a practical test for an additional flight instructor rating.

These require you to create an IACRA application.

Most of these require a certifying official to sign your IACRA application. This will reset your recency of experience requirements for 24 calendar months.

For those with expiration dates on their current CFI certificate, you’ll need to meet one of the recency of experience requirements before your certificate expires.

If you don’t have your recency of experience requirements met after the 24 calendar month period, you have three calendar months to reinstate.  The reinstatement requirements are:

1. Complete a FIRC.

2. Pass a reinstatement practical test.

3. Pass a practical test for an additional flight instructor rating.

After the 24 calendar month recency of experience passes, you can only exercise the privileges of your instructor certificate once reinstatement is accomplished as indicated above.

Endorsing is nearly the same as it has been.

If you have an expiration date on your current CFI certificate, continue to use this format:

Date/Signature/CFI certificate number/Expiration Date

If you have a CFI certificate without an expiration date, then use this format:

Date/Signature/CFI certificate number/Recency of Experience End Date in the format RE date.

How to Log time in a SIM in a studentor your Logbook.

This is always a topic that is not very well understood.  With so many CFIs and different opinions, it seemed time to set the record straight finally.

Too often, CFIs only look at the regulations, and then, when it doesn’t directly address their case, they start relying on what others do or the opinion of others.  That’s not a good way to go.

There is an advisory circular that addresses how Sims, AATDs, and BATDs are approved, as well as instructions on how to verify your device is approved.  That’s all good, but what about how to log instruction when received in one of these devices?  Well, fortunately, the FAA addressed that in the AC, but most people probably wouldn’t find it easily.  It’s in Appendix D, Paragraph Reference Section - D.3,  of AC 61-136B - FAA Approval of Aviation Training Devices and Their Use for Training and Experience.

FAA releases over six updates to ACs - Here are the ones that matter to you.

Early in November, the FAA updated 6 ACs of interest to Flight Inflight instructors we list the ACs, I want you to understand how to get an email update when an AC changes.  If you go to the Advisory Circular site at FAA.gov, you can click on an AC series, like Part 61, and subscribe to that.  When changes come out, you’ll get an email from the FAA.

Revised and New AC’s that are important to CFIs’:

AC 61-65J - Replaced AC 61-65H.

AC 61-98E - Currency Requirements and Guidance for the Flight Review and Instrument Proficiency Check.

AC 61-145 - NEW AC - Flight Instructor Enhanced Qualification Training Program - Part 141.

AC 61-91K - Wings - Pilot Proficiency Program.

AC 61-83K - Nationally Scheduled, FAA-Approved, Industry-Conducted Flight Instructor Refresher Course.

PROTIPS

1. Be sure you save enough time to conduct a Post Flight Briefing after every flight.  It’s easy to hurry with students after student flights and deadlines.  Remember that giving a thorough critique, including how to improve, is one of the most important parts of the student’s training/lesson.  Approach each student as an individual and suggest how they can improve the lesson’s outcome by recommending videos, chair flying, solo flight, etc.  It makes a huge difference.

2. Students should be able to use a model airplane and describe how they will perform the maneuver(s) you intend to perform on a given flight. This gives you a chance to see how much of your briefing they received and helps ensure the success of the flight’s outcomes.

3. There are many underwritten rules in aviation.  Have you heard “Don’t push the airplane on the spinner?”  It’s true but isn’t in any FAA handbook or POH.  The spinner is a solid piece that is connected to a plate that is fitted to the part of the engine that turns the propeller.  The connection to the plate is by quite a few screws, and they are relatively small.  Pushing in the spinner to the left or right can cause the screw holes to tear and crack.  The replacement for a spinner and nut plate cost around $800.00.  We’ll take a new Underwritten rule weekly in the pro tips until summer 2025!