Or are CFIs just making a lot of mistakes?
That’s a question the flight training community is wrestling with right now.
According to officials with the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE) aviation is “suffering from an epidemic of flight test applicants failing to even qualify for their flight tests — they never even get started.”
During a meeting of Designated Pilot Examiners (DPE) and FAA personnel at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2022, it was estimated that one-fifth of applicants never even qualify to start their FAA flight tests due to incorrect endorsements or inadequate pilot experience.
These CFI errors waste applicants’ time and money while also squandering scarce DPE appointments, SAFE officials noted.
That led SAFE officials to develop a set of tools to “help solve this wasteful problem.”
The tools are free to all aviation educators — you don’t have to be a member of SAFE to use them.
SAFE has created “All-In-One” templates for common check rides. These formatted pdf documents, which are on the SAFE website and also on the free SAFE Toolkit App, list all required pilot experience in checklist format. They also provide the required pilot endorsements for common flight tests.
The SAFE Toolkit App also provides “Checkride Ready!” for even more extensive check ride preparation of test applicants at all levels, SAFE officials noted.
I became a PP in 1965, age 17. 1990-1996 was an ASI. Last 18 months at ABQFSDO. Talk about the deep state. My last day I was assigned to give a renewal ride to a long time DPE for that FSDO. He could not even properly plan a VFR cross country. The flight passed a parachute jumping area, marked on the sectional and the AF/D. He did not call Flight Service or consult the AF/D to determine when the jump zone was active. Obvious mistake, but he was totally ignorant. There is more about the FAA, but it would make a movie.
If you want this fixed, you will have to write your congress persons and point out the problems with the FAA. First, go for the competitive bid process that appointed a single entity for doing all written exams. The FAA created a monopoly with this. There should be at least 3 winners of the bid process so that they have to have a some competition that would hold down costs and extra fees, etc.
Then point out the ASI problems, and so forth. The FAA has a history of having to have Congress tell it what it has to do.
The shortage of DPE is in the eyes of the beholder! I have attempted to become a DPE for over 4 years in my region, even before the release of the DPE to do a check ride outside of his region. I won’t bore you with my resume, but I will put it up with ANY other applicant. My FSDO stated (quote), “we can’t process and monitor the DPEs in the region currently”. I am not a person to complain but I will say that this issue of DPE shortages is totally FAA related.
The information on this website should fix any CFI with his student and 8710 application errors.
Tried to open and print the tools mentioned but had no luck. Both in the browser and after downloading the app on my iPad. ALl that would print was the photo with the “arrow”. Perhaps not doing it correctly on my end.
+1 for the malfunctioning SAFE Toolkit website. 😖
With the current pilot-hiring opportunities, the FAA is suffering from a severe lack of qualified personnel. The FAA had >40 ASI openings last year and only managed to hire two. This FAA shortage is causing a lack of DPE appointments due to the “ability to manage.” Additionally, new and inexperienced ASIs are often terminating DPEs for minor infractions, just when we need more.
Wasting 20% of flight test opportunities is obviously not helping (low-hanging fruit). DPEs receive logbooks written sloppily in pencil with numbers that don’t even add up (is this professional?) Seldom are the endorsements correct (and every DPEs is now under the FAA microscope). We all need to work together to solve this current mess!
Every flight test applicant should have a second set of (experienced) eyes on their qualifications before they are sent to a flight test. It would help a lot if senior CFIs stepped up and mentored every new CFIs still learning. 2/3 of active CFIs have taught for less than a year!
SAFE has a free mentoring program for CFIs and the free Toolkit App has all the steps for success here: http://bit.ly/SAFEtoolkit The new pdfs are simple checklist-driven tools to help prevent mistakes: https://bit.ly/SAFE-Testpdfs
Exorbitantly priced? When a professional pilot can make 1500-2500/day simply flying, without all the additional paperwork, prep time and exposure of a checkride, why should a checkride cost any less than 800-1000? If you don’t contact your FSDO, they will assume there is no issue scheduling a DPE.
The practice of “blaming it on the other guy” seems prevalent in SAFE’s (and other federal Activities) statements: “ These CFI errors waste applicants’ time and money while also squandering scarce DPE appointments, SAFE officials noted.”
One has to wonder if the shoe on the other foot? How much of the current dysfunction in getting pilots “examined” falls into the DPE’s laps? Seems to me that the costs (in time and money) grew worse over time with the management of the DPE program?
I know that is going to garner me a lot of hatred from the DPEs out there but all I am asking is that perhaps we need to re-examine all three sides (student, CFI, & DPE) of the problem to look for Process Improvement opportunities?
Blaming this issue on CFIs is irresponsible. There IS a shortage of examiners. There are hundreds of thousands of tests needed each year and a very tiny number of examiners.
hundreds of thousands? really?
My flight school has to book a DPE almost the day a student start their training. If we wait any longer, then the student is ready, but all the DPE’s are booked. My school has had an over 90% pass rate for the last six years, for Commercial, Instrument, Multi-engine and almost 100% for the CFI courses, but can’t get the FAA to give us Examining Authority. The only area that we have a lower rate is the Private Pilot and there we average about 80-85%, The students are paying almost $1000 for the practical when adding the cost of the flight to where the DPE is based.
Another area where pilot applicants are getting ripped off is written exams. The cost to take a written constantly has been going up at the FAA designated vendor. I have a student taking his exam this week and it cost him $175.00.
My location has anywhere from 2 to 4 month wait for check rides. Sometimes an applicant can fill a cancellation to reduce the wait. ATP has taken a lot of available slots from one DPE, a military transition program at another airport takes a lot of another DPE’s slots. Another doesn’t do check rides during airshow season. We’re a busy flight school so this area needs a couple more DPEs.
I applied to be a DPE after retiring from a 43 year career in Military and civilian government aviation. I continue to fly GA as I have been involved in aviation since my first solo at 17. Unfortunately, I was told by several FAA personnel I know that I will never get selected because I have not kissed the ring of the FAA.
I could almost sign my name to this post as the same thing applies.
Ok, let’s blame everyone else for the DPE shortage. It’s the students fault, it’s the CFI’s fault, it’s never the FAA’s failed policies that are at fault. First DAR’s now DPE’s. Seems like they want to limit general aviation pilots to reduce their workload.
Yes, there is a DPE shortage that has paved the way for examiners to charge exorbitant fees for their device, fail applicants for minor deviations on paperwork in order to extract even more money from those applicants while blaming their excess charges in the CFIs. The FAA should move quickly to resolve the problem by appointing more DPEs.
As a DAR, I am constantly amazed why people think a designee’s knowledge, skill, experience and exposure to liability should be “cheap”.
Arnold Holmes
Nor should their “knowledge, skill, experience and exposure to liability” be exorbitantly priced?
Instead of pointing our fingers at the other guys, we should focus on improving all of our processes to grow aviation instead of creating dystopian aviation.