Researchers at Middle Tennessee State University are seeking the opinion of flight school professionals to help evaluate the current status of the Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) program.
It’s all part of a review of current DPE policies in response to the increased national need for pilot checkrides.
In June 2021, the DPE Reforms Working Group made several recommendations, including changes to the DPE application process, development of an applicant feedback system, changes to the number of checkrides a DPE can effectively conduct in a day, a national DPE oversight model versus the current FSDO oversight model, the treatment of oral and flight tests as separate events, and the effectiveness of the DPE locator on the FAA website.
The survey results will “help evaluate the current status of the Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) program, as well as to solicit perceptions on the recommendations of the DPE Reforms Working Group,” researchers noted.
You can find the survey here.