The quality (and future safety) of all pilots is largely determined by the content of the FAA testing standards. This codifies the required skill, knowledge, and judgment required of a “minimally viable pilot.” But flight training quality also depends to an even greater degree on the professionalism of the CFIs and DPEs who complete the training/testing in compliance with these standards. Adhering to the intention and content of the ACSs is critical for effective education and safety: “The instructor trains and qualifies the applicant to meet the established standards for knowledge, risk management, and skill elements in all Tasks appropriate to the certificate and rating sought.” As soon as a DPE’s test becomes a “well-known sequence” shared among CFIs and academies, the value of any testing standard is lost. Challenging areas are soon not trained or tested in the interest of “faster/cheaper” and future flight safety is compromised.
SAFE Pilot Training Reform 2011
SAFE inspired the first Airman Certification Standard (ACS) with the Pilot Training Reform Symposium in 2011. The original intention was only to reform the FAA knowledge tests, but the final process evolved into a total overhaul of the flight training/testing process and the creation of the new ACS format. The ACS primarily differed from the older FAA PTS by adding risk management and judgment to the earlier skill/knowledge dyad.
First ACS 2016
Unfortunately, when the first ACS was published in 2016, it eliminated Minimum Controllable Airspeed (MCA) and allowed for the “recovery of stalls at the first indication.” SAFE vociferously objected to this change. This created a generation of weaker pilots, from students through CFIs, lacking proficiency in slow flight and stalls. There are active CFIs now teaching who were never required to fly a full stall in their training – and some are still secretly pretty uncomfortable with stalls and slow flight.
New CFI-ACS 2024
The new CFI ACS addresses this problem head-on by including a very comprehensive requirement for MCA in the new CFI ACS: Area of Operation 10, Task B. If selected, this task requires an initial CFI to provide simultaneous flight instruction and demonstration. Task H (Secondary Stalls), if selected, requires the instruction/demonstration in the performance of a (full) secondary stall. SAFE has long advocated a more thorough understanding and frequent practice of these maneuvers in the slow flight area of pilot training (still lacking at the primary level). Congratulations to the ACS development committee, and especially our SAFE representative Dr. Donna Wilt, for creating a very useful tool for more thorough CFI education. It is, however, necessary for this tool to be comprehensively applied to be effective.
Both MCA and secondary stalls, are only required to be tested at the discretion of the DPE: “The evaluator must select either A or B.” (A pretty “streamlined” flight test is technically legal). And if a DPE’s test becomes well known, distributed, and perfunctory (the latest 2-hour versions), a CFI might never even train these critical skills. “Streamlined” flight tests ruin the intention and effectiveness of all testing standards.
Train All Tasks to Proficiency!
Remember, the FAA requires *ALL* Areas of Operation and tasks to be trained to proficiency. Every applicant for an initial CFI should be able to successfully perform *every* maneuver. If “Bob’s test” (🎅🎅🎅) is well-known and never requires MCA or a secondary stall – this DPE gouge is quickly revealed on social media. Inevitably, the more challenging maneuvers will never be taught or tested. The result is weaker CFIs and compromised standards. This leads to the downward spiral of pilot proficiency we have already seen: copying the same image to the point of illegibility. Fly safely out there and often!
Airventure (OSH)24 has been added to our “SAFE Toolkit” App (free download). This App has directions to all our events and provides push notifications of all SAFE events at the show -“allow notifications!” Additionally, the toolkit is chock full of CFI resources and helpful hints for applicants in the “Checkride-Ready™” tab (DPE best advice for success).
Register and attend our June 23rd Webinar on “Savvy CFI Tools.” The focus will be on common problems often seen during checkrides (by DPEs) and missed in training by many newer CFIs. See “Fly Not Drive,” “Landing Magic,” and “Teaching Rudder.”
Tell us what *you* think!