Are You Experienced?

This sounds like malpractice on the part of his FBO and possibly flight instructor. How can a student pilot in primary training with about 20 hours get checked out in a different aircraft with that little training? I remember that being approved for solo flight in my FBOs 172 was a big deal, like it is for most students: you do some landings with the instructor, then he or she gets out and tells you to do it yourself while observing from the ground, something that apparently didnt occur in this case since the instructor was with him for that sole hour of dual. Im even wondering how the students insurance company would have covered him (or if he was covered at all...).

Editorial Staff

Thursday, July 26, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The article features letters raising concerns about student pilot training standards and adherence to regulations, specifically regarding inadequate aircraft checkout time and lack of instructor endorsements for solo flights.
The editor clarifies that some incidents occurred under older, less detailed regulations and emphasizes the flight instructor's discretion in endorsing student solo flights without a minimum hour requirement.
Recent FAA regulatory changes are discussed, including amendments to commercial pilot certificate requirements that now allow training in turbine-powered or technically advanced airplanes (TAA) to fulfill the 10-hour "complex" time.

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I found the Learning Experience in June’s issue (“Remember Your Training”) a little alarming. The writer says he had “recently been checked out” in the FBO’s Cherokee, a plane in which he “may have had a total of an hour of dual instruction (the implication is that he had less).

This sounds like malpractice on the part of his FBO and possibly flight instructor. How can a student pilot in primary training with about 20 hours get “checked out” in a different aircraft with that little training? I remember that being approved for solo flight in my FBO’s 172 was a big deal, like it is for most students: you do some landings with the instructor, then he or she gets out and tells you to do it yourself while observing from the ground, something that apparently didn’t occur in this case since the instructor was with him for that sole hour of dual. I’m even wondering how the student’s insurance company would have covered him (or if he was covered at all…).