The Cost of Missing Critical Deadlines
G. Watson
A couple of critical deadlines have come and gone. The first one was the September 2004 cut off date to have been registered as a pilot with an organization such as EAA, ASC or USUA. Those who did not make that deadline could not use their prior flying experience toward becoming a legal FAA Sport Pilot. Those who were registered as a pilot before 9/1/2004 needed to then follow the necessary steps to becoming legal, as described in Procedures By Which to Become Legal, before the next deadline of January 31st 2007.
Relatively few of our members have taken advantage of the FAA's generosity. They didn't need to give us a break by allowing us to use our previous flying experience in lieu of getting additional training, yet they did. Very few of us like what is happening to our sport and many were determined to merely complain about the changes instead of adhering to them. I, as well as many others, tried to reason with our pilots that it is going to be extremely costly to procrastinate and miss the next deadline of January 31st, 2007. Well, most of our pilots have done just that. They have basically complained themselves into a corner to the point that some may give up the notion of flying altogether.
January 31st, 2007 is the point at which your previous flying experience will no longer help you out like it would have before that date. However, it will still help out - to a point. If you have logged enough hours between 9/1/2004 and now, it may cut down on the amount of training hours you will now need to receive from a CFI (Certified Flight Instructor). However, those registered will still need to receive a minimum of 3 hours from an instructor regardless of your experience. The CFI, will then recommend you to a DPE (Designated Pilot Examiner) who will then conduct the practical examination. Those not registered before 9/1/2004 are basically starting from scratch needing to take a full training course. Even for those who were registered, this process is proving to be very costly and is why I pleaded with our members to reconsider their alternative tactics of complaining and procrastination.
CFI’s can and will charge what they want or believe they can receive for their training classes. They have themselves taken the time and effort to become instructors to not only help others become proficient and safe pilots but to also make money. Now is their time and they are definitely taking advantage of it, as well they should. Be prepared to pay more than $100.00 per hour for flight and ground school time. If registered as a pilot before 9/1/2004, three hours is the minimum. If the CFI feels that you need more hours of training time, then it will take more hours before he/she will sign you off for the practical. Another cost will be the plane in which the training is being conducted. Be prepared to pay upwards of an additional $100.00 for each hour of airplane use.
When the CFI is convinced of your proficiency, he/she will then recommend you to a DPE who will conduct the practical examination. The cost of this could be as much as $350.00 or more. The flying portion of this test will need to be done in an “N” numbered aircraft which could be at an additional cost. This test can take as long as five hours. The FAA has laid out for the DPE the procedures by which to conduct the examination in a book called the Practical Test Standards (PTS). The Flight Standards Service of the FAA has developed this book as the standard that shall be used by DPE’s when conducting sport pilot practical tests. The PTS include the Areas of Operation and Tasks for the issuance of an initial Sport Pilot Certificate.
Areas of Operation are phases of the practical test arranged in a logical sequence within each standard. They begin with preflight operation and end with post flight procedures with all areas of actual demonstrated flying operation being covered in between. The ground portion of the test will be completed before the flight portion. The verbal ground part of the examination can last up to three hours and also follows the PTS.
Becoming familiar with the PTS is a must before deciding to take the practical examination. It can be purchased from the FAA or can be downloaded from the FAA website. The book is close to 200 pages in length and covers everything that you will be asked to demonstrate. Don’t be of a mind that the DPE will cut anyone slack in taking this test. Lives are at risk and he/she will not take that risk. The FAA has made sure that DPE’s cannot do that anyway. That is the reason for the PTS. The FAA has laid out in that book the mandatory abilities that the pilot must demonstrate that he/she is proficient. The DPE cannot leave any Area of Operation out of the test.
I know of at least one incident in which a DPE from Michigan has recently come to a nearby Kentucky airport in order to give approximately 10 examinations over the course of a week. They all failed. The examiner, however, was paid well for his trip – approximately $350.00 per person. They took the examination far too lightly and did not study because, frankly, they did not feel the need to do so. The DPE, being the professional that he is, did not feel the need to pass anyone out of guilt or sympathy. He will simply wait and be paid again for their next attempt at becoming Sport Pilots.
The next critical deadline is January 31st, 2008. Read the article Last Critical Deadline - Get Your Plane Legal for further information.