This past January marked my 20th year as a DPE. Here are just 3 of the things I've learned.
1. If you test it, they will teach it 2. If in doubt, keep testing. 3. You will attract the type of applicant based on your testing standards.
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Yes! Per FAA 8900.1, Vol.5, Chapter 2, Section 9 Paragraph 5-436.
5-436 AIRCRAFT AND EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS. Section 61.45 prescribes the required aircraft and equipment for a practical test. The regulation states the minimum aircraft registration and airworthiness requirements as well as the minimum equipment requirements, to include the minimum required controls. Consistent with § 61.45(b) and (d), the aircraft must have: • The flight instruments necessary for controlling the aircraft without outside references, • The radio equipment required for ATC communications, • The ability to perform IAPs, and • GPS equipment must be instrument certified and contain the current database, if installed The new ACS became effective May 31st 2024. Most of the changes have been made known by a wide variety of sources. (see stuff by Jason Blair and Max Trescott). Here are may take on them and some of the items that have not come up elsewhere.
Private and Commercial airplane: The FAA made some changes to the coding and clarified a few things but overall, not much has changed. Instrument Airplane: More coding changes and clarification of the use of RNAV approaches with DA could be used to demonstrate a precision approach on the checkride. The FAA also added requirements for non-precision approaches to be flown with a course reversal and one without the autopilot in a non-radar environment. Yes, the partial panel non-precision approach is still in the ACS. Instructor ACS: This is the new ACS everyone has been waiting for! How will it affect your CFI ride? In my opinion it could shorten the ride. How? Under the old PTS, a DPE had to test all the elements under the Task required and/or selected. However, under the ACS, the DPE can "sample" if you will. The requirement under the ACS is for the DPE to select one knowledge element, one risk management and all the skills under each required or selected Task. For example, under the CFI PTS, one required Task was runway incursions. That Task had 17 elements under it that were required to be evaluated. Under the CFI ACS, a DPE could develop a scenario that covers 1 Knowledge element, 1 risk management and all the Skills. So lets say the DPE give you a scenario like this......"Your student came back from his private pilot checkride with a notice of disapproval. Your student failed to write down the taxi instructions and almost crossed a runway without a clearance. The examiner had to stop the airplane as the hold short lines where reached." The DPE could ask you to take a few minutes to decide the necessary retraining and then provide it to him/her. There are a couple of new required Task in the CFI ACS. One is Risk Management. For those of you who took rides with me, odds where pretty high that we covered this. Well, now it's a required Task. Again, this is one where a scenario could be developed by the DPE for you to show your risk management teaching skills. When I did this on previous CFI rides, it was basically an academic discussion. Under the new CFI ACS I won't be doing it that way. The other new change is the applicant has to do either AOO X Task A "Maneuvering During Slow Flight" or Task B "Demonstration of Flight Characteristics at Various Configurations and Airspeeds". Task B is new. Unfortunately, the Airplane Flying Book doesn't give us step by step instructions on how to fly this maneuver but the ACS kind of eludes to how the FAA wants this maneuver to be conducted. I look at it as an energy management discussion/maneuver. Here's the problem with the ACS that may make your Ground/Oral longer, a poor score on the FOI or CFI Knowledge test. The DPE is required to include all the test codes on the knowledge test into the checkride. So if an applicant showed up with a 70% on the FOI, they will be tested on all those missed elements. You could see how this would add time. Instructor Multi Engine Add-on: First of all take a look at the Add-on Table on Page 98 of the ACS. Notice the minimum Task Required (Note, the DPE is authorized to add Tasks beyond the minimum required at their discretion. However most don't) Under AOO II Task C, K and P are required. Under the old PTS, we could skip the Runway Incursion Task under certain situation. That exception is gone. Also note that AOO XIII Task C is now required (most know this Task as the Drag Demo). Under the old PTS this maneuver was optional CFII: Well, look no ACS for the CFII? Yep. However, the FAA did do an update to it. Most of the update aligns the PTS with the requirements and policies of the Instrument ACS. Helicopter ACS: The PTS is gone and the long awaited ACSs are here. This is a major change to how helicopter check rides are conducted but overall the knowledge and Skill requirement remain the same. Except for the Autorotations. Take a look at those. I'll follow up with a more detail discussion on here shortly but for now, I recommend you give me a call to discuss. That way I can answer questions as they come up and hopefully eliminate confusion. |
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