Flight Crew Licensing — Page 83, Lesson 137

Let’s pick this up right where the licensing structure leaves off — the Flight Instructor rating, the FI(A). I want to walk you through the prerequisites first, because that’s the gate you have to pass before you can even begin the training course. To start the course of training for an FI(A) rating, the applicant must hold a CPL(A) — that’s a Commercial Pilot Licence for aeroplanes — or, if you hold a PPL(A), a Private Pilot Licence, you need 200 hours of flight time, of which 150 must be as PIC, Pilot in Command. You also need the theoretical knowledge of a CPL(A) holder. On top of that, you must have completed 30 hours in single-engine piston-powered aeroplanes, with at least 5 of those hours in the last six months — so they want to see recent, current flying. You need to have received at least 10 hours of instruction, and of those 10, not more than 5 may be instrument ground time — meaning at least half of it has to be actual flying instruction. You must have completed at least 20 hours of cross-country flying as PIC, with the distance and landing requirements the same as for the CPL(A). And finally, you have to pass a pre-entry flight test before the course even begins. Now, once you hold the FI(A) rating, what can you actually do with it? These are the unrestricted privileges, subject to specific experience conditions set out in JAR-FCL 1.330. You can conduct flight instruction for the issue of a PPL(A). You can instruct for the issue of class and type ratings for single-engine aeroplanes. You can instruct for the issue of a CPL(A) — but that requires 500 hours of flight time and 200 hours of instructional time on your part. You can instruct at night, provided you hold a night qualification. You can instruct for the issue of an IR(A) — that’s an Instrument Rating for aeroplanes — for single-engine aeroplanes, and also for multi-engine aeroplanes. You can instruct for the issue of single-pilot multi-engine type or class ratings. And you can even instruct for the issue of an FI(A) rating itself — that’s how the system reproduces itself. Next, let’s talk about examiners, because there are five recognized roles. There’s the Flight Examiner, abbreviated FE(A). There’s the Type Rating Examiner, TRE(A), and the Synthetic Flight Examiner, SFE(A). There’s the Class Rating Examiner, CRE(A). There’s the Instrument Rating Examiner, IRE(A). And there’s the Flight Instructor Examiner, FIE(A). The requirement for examiners is this: an examiner must hold a licence and rating at least equal to the licence or rating for which they are authorized to conduct skills tests or proficiency checks. And unless specified otherwise, they must also hold the privilege to instruct for that licence or rating. So an examiner has to be at least as qualified as the thing they’re testing, and normally able to teach it too. Then the period of validity — an examiner’s authorization is valid for not more than three years. After that, examiners are re-authorized at the discretion of the Authority. So it’s not automatic; the Authority decides. Now let’s move to the medical side, JAR-FCL 3. The requirement is that to apply for, or to exercise the privileges of, a licence, you must hold a medical certificate issued in accordance with JAR-FCL 3, the Medical requirements, and it must be appropriate to the privileges of the licence you hold or want. And the holder of a medical certificate must be mentally and physically fit to safely exercise the privileges of that licence. So it’s not just about passing a one-time exam — you have to remain fit. JAR-FCL defines two classes of medical assessment certificates for pilots. Class 1 is for commercial pilots — that covers CPL and ATPL holders. Class 2 is for private pilots — the PPL. So the class of medical certificate you need is tied directly to the class of licence you’re exercising.