Proposal to improve the Part 61 flight instructor rating (CD 1713FS)

Closed 22 Apr 2018

Opened 23 Mar 2018

Contact

Flight Standards Branch

131 757

regulatoryconsultation@casa.gov.au

Results updated 29 Aug 2018

CASA published CD 1713FS 'Proposal to improve the Part 61 of CASR flight instructor rating' on the CASA website from 23 March 2018 to 22 April 2018.

The consultation survey asked people to consider proposed changes to the pilot instructor rating provisions in Part 61 of CASR. A summary of the feedback is provided below.

About this consultation

New regulations for pilot instructors including several significant changes to the requirements for pilots conducting flight training came into force on 1 September 2014. Subsequent feedback from the aviation community led CASA to review aspects of the regulations and develop improvement solutions. The following is a list of areas for improvement:

  • extend the scope of the privileges of the grade 1 training endorsement to align with the previous grade 1 instructor rating privileges
  • replace the generic instructor rating units of competency with training endorsement specific units plus one common unit
  • provide guidance material and sample courses of training
  • refresh the instructor rating advisory circular.

The consultation survey asked respondents to consider each proposal and the associated artefact for each improvement area as identified above.

Respondents

CASA received a total of 12 submissions. Five respondents consented to having their comments published on the CASA website.

Summary of feedback

The overall feedback on the proposal was very positive and helpful with most respondents answering yes to most of the questions. There were no common themes, which is not surprising given the small number of responses. The following points were submitted — some of which were from 1 respondent:

  • The Part 61 Manual of Standards (MOS) is complex to use. The guidance material and new standards helps instructors and operators to apply the MOS standards.
  • The FAA Instructor Manual is still a useful reference for instructors.
  • The briefing and air exercise guidance is overly complicated and unnecessary, and the tutorials are not useful.
  • The old instructor rating worked well and didn't need to be fixed.
  • The briefing and guidance materials are useful and adaptable for schools to use. They provide useful standardisation of the content.
  • There is a lot of duplication in the standards which could be removed and included in common units.
  • The grade 3 aeroplane training course is not logically sequenced.
  • CASA should provide model training courses for all training endorsements.
  • The annual instructor check required by Parts 141 and 142 should be eliminated as it is unnecessary.
  • Instructors with a grade 2 or 1 training endorsement should be allowed to conduct training independently.
  • The changes to the grade 3 helicopter training endorsement are not appropriate and are unsafe.
  • Flight instructors should be sufficiently competent to apply their general knowledge and skills in instructing to other areas and should not need to do training and a test for additional training endorsements.
  • With the changes to the privileges of the grade 1 instructor, guidance material will be needed on how to administer the training endorsements they will be able to grant.
  • The content in the MOS units is overly detailed and pedantic.
  • The materials should have been made available at the start of the transition period.
  • The hours allocated to the night VFR rating training endorsement are excessive.
  • More use could be made of flight simulation training devices for teaching an instructor to conduct basic instrument flight training.
  • The guidance material could be improved.

Next steps

CASA has considered the feedback and based on the strong support, will proceed to implement the proposals. CASA will consider expanding the suite of training courses for other training endorsements in the future.

Published responses

View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.

Overview

CASA is proposing to improve the Part 61 flight instructor rating.

The improvements have been developed and refined via ongoing consultation between CASA and the aviation community since the introduction of the flight crew licensing regulations in September 2014.

The proposed improvements aim to support flight training operators and trainers to develop and deliver their flight instructor training courses, amend the privileges and limitations of certain training endorsements and enhance the guidance material.

The proposed improvements would:

  • enhance and extend flight instructor training guidance material
  • introduce a new single unit of competency, FIR4 (flight instructor rating – general), amalgamating the three generic practical units of competency  FIR1, FIR2 and FIR3, thus reducing the complexity of course development.
  • introduce separate units of competency for each training endorsement 
  • expand the grade 1 training endorsement to include additional training and assessment privileges
  • add basic instrument flight training (BIFT) as a privilege of the grade 3 (aeroplane) training endorsement
  • remove the grade 3 (helicopter) training endorsement limitation on conducting simulated engine failures with the activity to be managed by the flight training operator
  • make BIFT optional for the grade 3 (helicopter) training endorsement.

Implementing the proposed improvements will involve amending the flight crew licensing regulations. An interim approach may be considered.

Why your views matter

To continue the collaborative approach with the aviation community, we are seeking feedback on the consequences and benefits of implementing the proposed initiatives.

This consultation is particularly relevant to:

  • flight training operators and flight instructors who conduct training for the grant of a flight instructor rating and training endorsements
  • pilots who undergo training for a flight instructor rating and training endorsements
  • flight examiners who conduct flight tests for a flight instructor rating and training endorsements
  • pilots and operators who conduct flight training.

If you are using an iPad to complete the survey you will be asked to 'download the relevant PDF'.  Depending on the software you have on your iPad you may need to download the free viewer to review the single document PDF files.  Where a file is a 'multi-file or portfolio PDF you will need to source the Adobe free view  - available from iTunes.  More information on the 'how to' is available below in 'related' section below.

What happens next

Once this consultation has closed, we will register and review each submission received through the online response form.

We will make all submissions publicly available on the Consultation Hub, unless you have requested that your submission remain confidential.  We will also publish a summary of consultation which will summarise the feedback received.

Audiences

  • Flight instructors and flight examiners
  • Flight training operators
  • Pilots

Interests

  • Licensing