Read More…(Knowledge tests)
Currently, there are two approved testing companies: Computer Assisted Testing Service (CATS) and PSI/LaserGrade Computer Testing. Together, they have more than 700 knowledge test locations nationwide. Both charge $150 per FAA knowledge test.
The FAA’s Statement of Work for the contract says the winning company will be required to accommodate as many as 150,000 airman exam applicants nationally every year.
Read more…(Instructor ACS)
She said early validation testing with a group of designated pilot examiners in Florida has so far resulted in positive feedback but also showing a need for guidance on managing the overall risk of flight instruction. Once developed, that new guidance will be incorporated in the next edition of the Aviation Instructor Handbook. The next revision of the Airplane Instructor Handbook is scheduled for release this September, and the FAA Instructor ACS subgroup is hoping the new guidance will be finished in time to be included.
SAFE has played a major role in the development of all the new pilot certification standards. The new Private Pilot Airplane and Instrument Rating Airplane standards were introduced in June of 2016, with the Commercial Pilot Airplane following last year. Dr. Wilt said the complexity and differing needs of the ACS account for the delay in issuing final standards for that certificate. Also, the Instructor ACS (I-ACS) references private and commercial ACSs, so these standards had to be in place before validation testing of the new I-ACS could begin.
“To meet the June 2019 date, the flight instructor handbook safety guidance will have to be updated, the validation tests completed and the FOI and FIA knowledge test questions all need to be reviewed and edited to make sure they align with the new ACS codes,” she said.
Read more…(ACS Update)
Other ACS activity includes changes in the knowledge test for military competence for a Commercial Pilot Certificate. Beginning in June, a single knowledge test will replace the current multiple Military Competency Knowledge Tests for commercial pilot airplane and rotorcraft. The new single test will cover all categories: airplane, rotorcraft, and powered lift, and will be only for military pilots.
Aviation Maintenance Technicians (AMT) aren’t being forgotten, either. The FAA’s ACS Working Group maintenance subgroup has been creating a new ACS and guidance material for Aviation Maintenance Certificates. The current timeline for the AMT ACS calls for conducting a prototype test in 2018, collecting public comment this summer and having a final draft in 2019. If all stays on schedule, the new AMT ACS will debut in 2020.
The FAA-830 is changing for the format for providing sample knowledge test questions on their website. The commercial test is the first to be updated and questions no longer have a sample test, but rather sample questions to show the format and style of the questions, but not the specific content ofthe test. There is a more detailed description of the test and rely on the ACS for the content of the test.
Read more…(Piper sale)
Fanmei Aviation Technology’s president Don Li, said the agreement was a “key element” in China’s GA plan to address the country’s increasing travel appetite. “Everything else was already in place,” Li said, “including a quality training program with committed staff and outstanding facilities.”
The sale is confirmation of a 2016 Rand Corp. report that indicated China would make the country more accessible to GA operations by doubling the number of GA airports, relaxing certain altitude restrictions, and accelerating flight plan approvals to bring things more “in line with international GA norms.”
Read more…(Sun ‘N Fun Career Fair)
Last summer, Alaska Airlines subsidiary Horizon Air canceled more than 300 flights over two months for lack of pilots. Republic Airways filed for bankruptcy protection in 2016, citing a pilot shortage that forced it to ground flights.
Participating companies this year include United Airlines, United Parcel Service (UPS), General Electric Aviation, Frontier Airlines, Air Wisconsin, Compass, Endeavor, Envoy, Express Jet, Go Jet, PSA, Republic, Sky West and Trans States.