By Dave Wilkerson
The application form was neatly typed, all signatures properly affixed; a job well done. All hour requirements were met for the certificate being sought. As I examined the student pilot certificate, no problems were apparent. Good. "May I see your logbook, please?" I asked.
The thick, black, flexible book changed hands like an artifact from a pharaoh's tomb. The room was just as silent. Had the slender volume creaked upon my opening it, the atmosphere would have been complete.
While the applicant returned to crypt-silence mode, I carefully examined the log. Quickly the story told by the flight records verified the statements heralded by the application form. The time to dig deeper into the record was at hand. Turning to review the flight instructor endorsements, I expected to find the authenticating markings of the workman whose efforts were being examined. What I found was akin to discovering "Made in Taiwan" stamped on the sarcophagus of Ramses II.
There for all the world to see was the instructor's authorization stating, "OK to solo." Literally. That was the entirety of the authorization for all this student's experience. He had been marked "OK to solo" on a given date, verified by the signature of an instructor whose knowledge seemed to terminate at that point.
When I asked the applicant in which aircraft he was authorized to solo, he replied that he thought it was whatever his instructor had for rent.
The practical test ended at that point.
Even though the student had in fact flown all the required times and distances, gaining all the experience mandated for the certificate, he had not done it as prescribed by the federal aviation regulations (FARs). The student was not qualified. The qualifications of such an instructor will be left for the reader to judge.
No FAR exists that mandates specific wording on endorsements instructors may be called upon to make, so the wording and format is up to individual instructors. Help can be found, though, in the FAA advisory circular (AC) titled "Certification: Pilots and Flight Instructors."
Available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, it's numbered AC 61-65D. This outstanding AC guides pilots and flight instructors through a host of certification standards, written test procedures, and other FAR requirements. Every flight instructor should have a copy of the current version --replace the older AC 61-65B or 61-65C.
Since flight instructors can find so many different situations requiring endorsement of a student's flight record, nobody can expect an instructor to remember them all. In fact, AC 61-65D has a sample listing of 43 endorsements. All have common elements: the instructor's signature, date of signature, the instructor's CFI number, and the certificate's expiration date.
Flight instructors, be advised that "123456789" alone is not your flight instructor number. The number must be followed with the letters "CFI." "123456789" is the number of the commercial pilot or air transport pilot certificate, the prerequisites for flight instructor certification.
An instructor's endorsement will have a signature followed by the full certificate number, "123456789 CFI." Even if the instructor happens to have every instructor rating, the letters following the certificate number are still "CFI."
The advisory circular can be separated into two parts -- discussion of endorsements and a sample of several different types of properly worded instructor endorsements. The main body of the AC discusses the various aspects of pilot training and testing. This work is so thorough that it covers acceptable evidence of completing ground instruction or a home study course, an area of frequent confusion.
More common than it should ever be is the occasion where an applicant presents himself without proper identification, then wonders why the examiner will not complete the practical test. Evidence of the applicant's identity and age are mandatory, and until now have been a misunderstood subject. This AC contains a welcome discussion outlining the FAA's requirements about this timely subject.
One of the best statements I have ever seen about flight instructor endorsements is found in this publication. "A practical test, whether or not satisfactorily completed, 'uses up' the instructor's endorsement for that test."
If the flying community obtains and reads this AC, there will be less confusion concerning flight training procedures and requirements, and a great deal of expense and aggravation will be avoided. The procedures for certification of student, recreational, private, commercial, airline transport, and flight instructor applicants are included, backed up by references citing applicable FARs. Instrument rating considerations, Gold Seal flight instructor requirements, and renewing flight instructor certificates are also included in the text.
Category, class and type ratings? These have not been overlooked, nor have additional ATP category ratings. The gathering of such information into a single document justifies the effort of procuring this AC, but its second portion, entitled "Appendix 1," contains information that most flight instructors crave: sample endorsements.
What if a recreational pilot applicant must fly farther than 50 nautical miles (nm) to an examiner for a private pilot checkride? There is a sample endorsement for this easily overlooked requirement.
Do tailwheel airplane pilots require an endorsement to act as pilot-in-command? FAR 61.31(i) is cited along with a sample endorsement.
Is an endorsement required for high-altitude operations? The instructor will discover FAR 61.31(g) referenced in the clearly worded specimen.
Be aware that this advisory circular has been written in "Politically Correct"-speak. The sample endorsements use Mr./Ms. in every case. You should be aware that many students will seethe silently at what may seem an insult, carried forever in the pilot logbook.
The FAA has no official policy on courtesy titles. With many foreign students in the United States, it's perfectly acceptable for the endorsement to refer to Senor, Senorita, Lord, Lady, Herr, Frau, or Gospodin (Applicant).
A number of women prefer to be addressed as Miss or Mrs., while others will have nothing but Ms. A flight instructor should be aware of the student's preference and use it for every endorsement. Understand that, in many cases, the student's logbook will travel with the new pilot to another country, another culture, where even the instructor's endorsement is a silent ambassador.
The AC exemplifies the change in date format that has taken place over the years. It assigns each month a number (e.g. December is "12"), and this system is used in the sample endorsements as well. Again, considering the international flavor of the aviation community and the wide array of dating systems used throughout the world, it might be less confusing to either spell out the month or use a three-letter abbreviation.
This advisory circular is a work of art from the Flight Standards Service, and should be procured without delay by every flight instructor.