People you will meet on your path to a pilot certificate

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You will meet many important people while working on a pilot certificate. They all play an important role in keeping you safe. Remember to treat each of them with respect and common sense.

Certificated Flight Instructor (CFI)

One of the most important people you’ll meet is your flight instructor. This is the person you will probably spend most of your time with, and is the person you are trusting to keep you safe while learning to fly. It is very important that you both have schedules that easily mesh together, have similar or compatible personalities, and compatible learning styles. Everyone learns a little bit differently, and it’s important that a CFI can effectively communicate with you. This is the person who is ultimately responsible for your safety and the safety of others when he allows you to solo. Most flight instructors have great intentions; however, some are not always correct about some things. If you feel you disagree with something your CFI tells you, try to find proof to back up your side of the argument, and ask him to provide his own proof. It is hard to argue one technique over the other, but, it is easy to argue and prove a certain federal regulation. For some regulations, you may need to consult the FAA Chief Counsel. One big argument is how to log time. There are several FAA Chief Counsel Legal interpretations of the regulations regarding how to log time. It is the opinion of the Chief Counsel that will hold up in a court case.

FAA Chief Counsel Legal Interpretations can be found here:
http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/agc/pol_adjudication/agc200/Interpretations/

There are a couple more things to keep in mind with respect to flight instructors. Often enough, an instructor is instructing as a stepping stone to something else and is trying to build time. This means, you might be halfway through your training, and suddenly your instructor accepts a job at a regional airline and you are left trying to find a new instructor to finish your training. Others may try to take advantage of you and your money to build their own time. Most students will solo an airplane between 15 and 20 hours of flight time. If you are coming up on 50 hours, and haven’t flown solo yet, you may be having a learning difficulty, or you may have a bad instructor who might be trying to take advantage of you. If you happen to take that long to solo, perhaps fly with a different instructor for a flight or two for a second opinion and different point of view.

Aviation Medical Examiner (AME)

This is the person that determines if you are physically fit to fly. They are appointed in accordance with 14 C.F.R 183.21. The AME will issue your student pilot certificate and medical certificates. They can be your best friend or worst enemy, and it’s important to find one who will work for you. It is important to know you will pass the medical before your officially try, or you are permanently disqualified for flying under parts that don’t require a certificate (well, kind of. The Sport Pilot Certificate does not require a medical certificate). If there are medical concerns that make the AME nervous (a DUI 9 years ago or Sleep Apnea?) some AME’s will do what it takes to get you certified. That is, they will recommend additional tests required to prove you are fit enough to fly, or tell you what you need to do to get a Special issuance medical. Some will simply say “no”, while others will try and send the required information to headquarters in Oklahoma City. Some cases will require OKC to determine if you should get a medical certificate or not. A lot of AME’s are also pilots.

To find an AME near you, use the AME Locator.

Designed Pilot Examiner (DPE)

The Designed Pilot Examiner is the person who will administer your practical test; also known as a “Check Ride”. They do not work for the FAA, but are acting as a representative of the FAA. They are appointed in accordance with 14 C.F.R 183.23. This person usually charges a fee for his or her services; which can range from $100 to $500. After you have completed all of your training, including check ride preparation with your CFI, you or your CFI will schedule a check ride with a DPE. The DPE will review your logbooks, endorsements, student pilot and medical certificate, and will give you an oral exam, followed by the check ride. I will go into the check ride in much greater detail in a later section.

For more information about DPE’s, check out FAA Order 8900.2
http://fsims.faa.gov/wdocs/orders/8900_2.htm

In my personal experience, DPE’s are often airline pilots, retired airline pilots, or are also flight instructors.

Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic (A&P)

The A&P Mechanic is the person who repairs and maintains the aircraft you fly. At some point in your training, you may encounter an airplane that just won’t start, has a flat tire, or just some other mechanical problem. You may encounter a problem on your preflight (flat tire), or an in flight problem (example: engine roughness). You will need to be able to effectively explain the problem (example: the engine was running rough and not developing full power) and what you were doing when the problem (example: I moved the throttle to full while in a turn, and the engine started running rough) came up. The A&P Mechanic is the guy who will take what you tell him, and investigate the problem and make the repair. Some A&P mechanics are also pilots, just as some pilots are also A&P mechanics. Some may know what you are talking easily when it is regarding something specific to flying, but maybe not. If you find a problem on an airplane, especially in a rental aircraft, make note of it on a “squawk sheet” and notify the owner or mechanic as soon as possible. If the pilot renting the aircraft afterwards doesn’t notice, it could be life or death; especially if an engine quits.

FAA Inspector

You can also take your check ride with an FAA inspector at a local Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) for free, instead of having to pay a DPE. An FAA Inspector is not legally allowed to accept payment for a check ride while employed by the FAA as an inspector, so if you encounter one who tries to charge, report him to another inspector or another FSDO. The FSDO will most likely not let you do a private pilot check ride with an inspector because they are busy, and they mostly only do check rides for flight instructors or other examiners. With this in mind, you may be asked to let an Inspector ride along on your check ride. You have the right to say no, however, keep in mind that just like you need to be tested by a designated pilot examiner, that designated pilot examiner also needs to be tested or reviewed. Someday, you might encounter an FAA inspector for what is known as a “ramp check”. A ramp check is sort of like being stopped by police when you are driving. If an FAA Inspector happens to observe something they believe is unsafe or just doing routine surveillance, they make ask to check you and the aircraft. They will most likely ask to see your pilot certificate, medical certificate, and other items that are required to be on the aircraft such as the airworthiness certificate or registration. I don’t want to go into too much detail on ramp checks under this section, but for more information on ramp checks, check out the following two links from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA).

http://www.aopa.org/members/files/topics/rmpcheck.html

http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2006/060120ramp.html

Inspectors Handbooks 8300.10, 8400.10, and 8700.1, have been incorporated into FAA Order 8900.1, Flight Standards Information Management System (FSIMS).

http://fsims.faa.gov/PICResults.aspx?mode=EBookContents

Air Traffic Controller (ATC)

You may not meet an Air Traffic Controller in person, but you will definitely talk to one at some point. You will talk to them at towered airports to get a clearance to taxi, take off, and land. You may also talk to an Air Traffic Controller when you get “VFR Flight Following” or “VFR Traffic Advisories”. I believe that every student pilot should try visit a control tower to meet the people on the other side of the radio. They will get to see what the tower sees, and realize they are people too and might not be as afraid of the microphone. I believe all flight instructors should do their best to encourage a visit and help set one up. All it takes is a phone call to the tower, and just simply ask if they would allow a short visit.