Dear Part 61 flight school owner
Dear (Part 61, we’re guessing) flight school owner,
We don’t know where you’re located and that’s probably for the best. What we do know about you, based on the account of a flight instructor on Reddit, is that you may be incredibly cheap or willfully ignorant of the federal aviation regulations, or possibly both.
This flight instructor recently asked other pilots what he or she should do about being pushed to flight instruct in an airplane that has, at any given point in time, the following issues:
- Airspeed indicator that doesn’t go above 60 knots
- Rigging out of whack, so to fly straight, you “have to hold the controls about 20 degrees to the right”
- Tachometer placarded as reading 75 rpm high, but the engine will redline until the throttle is pulled halfway out
- Unreliable radio with frequent unreadable transmissions caused by static
For that reason, and some others, the flight instructor is ready to walk away from the flight school and was wondering, “Am I making a big deal out of this?”
About the radio, maybe. Who among us hasn’t flown a beater airplane with a first-generation radio that has seen better days?
About the rest of it, absolutely not. The Reddit commenters were unanimous that the flight instructor should run—not walk—to another flight school, if not to a flight standards district office.
From a regulatory perspective (FAR 91.205), the instructor and student shouldn’t be operating an airplane with a malfunctioning airspeed indicator; it’s a required piece of equipment for day VFR flight. From a flight instruction perspective, how can this person possibly teach someone to operate an airplane when the rigging is off so much? How can the instructor teach a student pilot to manage power and airspeed when the instruments displaying vital information about those functions aren’t—well, functioning?
The flight school owner who is trying to convince a CFI to fly an unairworthy airplane may be clueless about the regulatory requirements. He or she may be tightfisted on the maintenance budget. Neither of these conditions is an excuse. (“Everyone knows some part 61 schools have shady maintenance and planes with little quirks, but those aren't little quirks, that's not airworthy,” one pilot commented.)
Unknown flight school owner, please get your airplane in the shop and get it fixed. Yes, maintenance is expensive. Yes, grounding the airplane could remove a revenue-maker from your flight line for an unknown length of time. Yes, half-decent trainers are commanding sky-high prices these days. But consider what you’re risking each time by not getting it fixed. Also, it looks like you’ve got a flight instructor with one foot out the door. How soon before others follow?
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