What will become of the Practical Test Standards? That’s the question officials at Aviation Supplies & Academics (ASA) are asking.
Over the past several months, ASA has been participating on the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC) Airman Testing Standards and Training Working Group, which resulted from the Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) conducted in 2011. One of the primary tasks of the ARAC was to provide an integrated Airman Certification Standard (ACS) which will replace the Practical Test Standards (PTS).
The ACS aligns the aeronautical knowledge standards set out in 14 CFR Part 61 with the flight proficiency standards (“Areas of Operation”) from the PTS.
In addition to supporting the FAA’s effort to improve the relevance, reliability, validity, and effectiveness of aeronautical testing and training materials, the draft ACS documents contribute to the goal of reducing fatal general aviation accidents by incorporating task-specific risk management considerations into each Area of Operation. Each Area of Operation includes Tasks, which consist of an Objective, Knowledge, Skill, and Risk Management component. The FAA views the ACS documents as the foundation of its transition to a more integrated and systematic approach to airman certification testing and training.
Draft documents of these Private Pilot and Instrument Rating ACS have been published in the Federal Register, along with an invitation for the public to review and comment.
“This is one of the most significant changes to the airman certification process we’ve seen in the last 20 years and will have far-reaching ability to improve the training and testing process associated with airman certification,” ASA officials said in a prepared release.
“We encourage everyone in the industry to participate by offering feedback on the important draft documents” found here.
On second thought….
1. …
awkward quote. Professor Gleim
4.
specifying the provider/supplier of that course, and affirming
5. …
…
…
and production incapacities),
1. I hope any written contributions ASA made were worded better than that awkward quote .Proessor Gleim or Doctor Dave would never have stumbled into that mishmash.
2. How many “officials” had to convene at ASA to write that anyway?
3. Did ASA ever dump, burn, or recycle those pallets of thousands of Rec Pilot Study guides they insisted on publishing after being warned the whole idea was a dud?
4. Was there some kind of ground/flight instructor union at the ARAC table also? If not, why in the HELL does the proposed rule add a new requirement that those saving hundreds in time and travel by completing a home study prep course for the written must ALSO find and pay a CFI to review their work and approve them to take their first shot at the written test?
Presenting an online graduation cert… even self-cert for hard-copy prep course…should suffice. If their prep was insufficient, they will fail and need to redo… and the reg already requires a CFI sign off for that redo.
Change 1-1 to read:
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Test Authorization
In order to take the Private Pilot knowledge test, you must provide one of the following:
• Graduation certificate issued by an FAA certificated pilot school (14 CFR 61.71), or a
• Written statement certifying that the applicant completed a classroom ground training or commercial home study course, specifying the provider of that course,, and affirming the applicant is prepared for the knowledge test (14 CFR 61.35, 61.96(b)(3) or 61.103(d)(2)).
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5. To try and restore the steadily eroding aviation and American traditions of truth (as best evidenced by increasing “ParkerPen” flightlogging and the debacle of Czech SLSA manufacturers and their USA sales and media shills covering up airworthiness defects an production incapacities),
change 1-2 to read:
Cheating or Other Unauthorized Conduct
….., any airman certificate or rating the applicant holds may be revoked. In addition, the applicant may be prohibited from applying for or taking any test for a certificate or rating under 14 CFR part 61 for a period of five years and a notation of “Don’t trust this sonofabitch: liar/cheater” shall be permanently affixed to any publicly accessible airman records.