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:

Reader letters raise concerns about historical student pilot training practices, including insufficient instruction for aircraft checkouts and lack of proper endorsements for solo cross-country flights.
The editor clarifies that these incidents occurred under older, less detailed FAA regulations, acknowledging the evolution of industry standards and rules over time.
The article details recent FAA regulatory changes impacting commercial pilot aeronautical experience, specifically updating FAR 61.129(a)(3)(ii) to allow complex, turbine, or technically advanced airplanes (TAA) for the 10-hour training requirement.
These new rules, effective this summer, also expand the definition of a Technically Advanced Airplane (TAA) and include other revisions to Part 61, such as simulator use for IFR currency.

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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…).