Revising Slow Flight

By now, U.S.-based flight instructors and training organizations should be fully up to speed on last years formal implementation of the airman certification standards (ACS), which is designed to eventually replace all practical test standards (PTS). For now, only the private pilot and airplane instrument rating checkrides employ the ACS, but more are coming. The new standards went into effect June 15, 2016-if youre in the primary training environment and dont know about the ACS, you havent been paying attention.

Monday, January 30, 2017 at 12:00 AM ET

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The Boeing 747 has been a big draw at aviation events such as EAA AirVenture 2019, when the latest model in UPS livery flew in to hang out at show center. Julie Boatman

Key Takeaways:

The U.S. FAA's Airman Certification Standards (ACS) are progressively replacing the Practical Test Standards (PTS) for pilot certification, introducing significant changes, particularly to the "slow flight" maneuver for private pilot and instrument rating checkrides.
The new ACS redefines slow flight as maintaining an airspeed 5-10 knots above the 1G stall speed, explicitly requiring it to be performed *without* activating the stall warning, a departure from the previous standard of flying at minimum controllable airspeed often with the stall warning engaged.
This change, clarified by SAFO 16010, aims to reduce Loss of Control In-flight (LOC-I) accidents by ensuring pilots are not inadvertently trained to disregard critical stall warnings during maneuvers.
The revised standard creates practical challenges and confusion for instructors and pilots, as it necessitates training for two distinct slow flight methods: one for ACS-based checkrides and another for real-world operations, stall demonstrations, and other certificates still using the old PTS.

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By now, U.S.-based flight instructors and training organizations should be fully up to speed on last year’s formal implementation of the airman certification standards (ACS), which is designed to eventually replace all practical test standards (PTS). For now, only the private pilot and airplane instrument rating checkrides employ the ACS, but more are coming. The new standards went into effect June 15, 2016—if you’re in the primary training environment and don’t know about the ACS, you haven’t been paying attention.

The ACS presents a better-organized set of requirements for the desired certificate or rating while basically requiring the same maneuvers as the old PTS. Risk management concepts are woven into the new standards and require applicants to apply them during the checkride. And there are other changes. For example, the ACS slow-flight standards have been revised and have raised concerns among independent flight instructors, training organizations and safety advocates. To understand why this is a thing, you also need to understand how it’s been done for decades.