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:

Readers expressed concerns about insufficient student pilot endorsements and non-compliance with solo cross-country regulations, with the editor noting that some reported incidents occurred before current, more detailed FARs were in place.
A letter clarifies that a perceived contradiction regarding complex aircraft requirements for commercial pilot certificates is due to differing processes for updating administrative standards versus regulations.
Upcoming FAA rule changes will allow commercial pilot applicants to count 10 hours in complex, turbine, or technically advanced airplanes, expand the definition of TAAs, and permit simulator use for IFR currency without an instructor.

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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…).