FLIGHT TRAINING NEWS

The Flight School Association International (FSAI) created in 2009 is a 17-year-old trade association dedicated to the flight training industry. FSAI has conducted a preliminary review of the 471-page Modernization report of Federal Aviation Regulation Part 141, submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) by the National Flight Training Alliance (NFTA).

While the report is 471 pages, it falls far short of addressing the needs of the Primary, Ab Initio flight training community. It has become clear to FSAI that the report, while certainly representative of what might be in the best interest of the NFTA and its members, is not necessarily in the best interest of safety, the overall pilot training process, or all providers of pilot training. Concurrently, the report does very little to improve safety for pilots who will be operating airline and/or corporate high speed turbine aircraft.

“The Part 141 report, as delivered to the FAA, reflects a focused industry carveout that primarily benefits a narrow set of special interests. The first major carveout occurred following the Colgan Air crash in Buffalo, NY, on February 12, 2009, where 45 passengers, two pilots, two flight attendants, and one individual on the ground lost their lives. In the aftermath, the collegiate aviation sector successfully lobbied for regulatory changes that now allow graduates of FAA-approved Institutions of Higher Education to serve as first officers in Part 121 airline operations under reduced experience requirements. The new Part 141 report appears to lay the foundation for a second round of similar carveouts, again favoring select institutions over the broader flight training community,” said Robert Rockmaker, President and CEO of FSAI.

The FAA originally began an effort to update 141 training processes, initially proposing an Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) (the draft of which was shared with some industry representatives and can be seen by clicking here) and then for unknown reasons avoided this commonly followed regulatory process by establishing a set of industry meetings to gather information for the federal record that would be utilized to guide future proposed rulemaking.

Several important facts which have helped form the foundation of the 141 report include the following reports which lead up to the 141 Modernization report submission to the FAA.

1. The P3-WG report which was a precursor to the 141 project has still not been provided to FSAI. FSAI submitted a FOIA in July 2025 and has yet to receive any information from the FAA. FSAI believes that the P3-WG was a small group of select people who met privately to begin a complete business reconstruction of the Primary, Ab Initio flight training industry in the United States. While it has not been confirmed due to the secrecy of the P3-WG, FSAI does not believe that there were any independent flight schools engaged with the study group.

2. The P3-WG report was then submitted to the Air Carrier Training Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ACT ARC). The ACT ARC was established by the FAA on January 21, 2014. The ACT ARC is led by industry co-chair Rob Thomas, Vice President of Flight Operations-Planning & Development at United Airlines and Lee Abbott, Manager, Air Transportation Division, Training & Simulation Group Manager AFS-280.

According to the FAA, the ACT ARC provides a forum for the United States aviation community to discuss, prioritize and provide recommendations to the FAA concerning operations conducted under parts 121, 135, and 142. Part 141 is not part of the ACT ARC charter. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is committed to maintaining the safest air transportation system in the world. One key area to ensure a safe system is maintaining the quality of air carrier training.

The FAA chose the NFTA as a representative tasked with collecting industry input and providing an industry-consensus report on agreed-upon proposed improvements to pilot quality and the integration of 141 programs with FAA oversight. What resulted was a special-interest group report on what would best serve their goals and improve efficiency for businesses engaged in large-scale training operations. While FSAI understands that businesses want what is best for their profitability, the FAA needs to ensure that our aviation training system first focuses on the quality and safety of the pilots it develops. 

From the report as stated, the goal of this modernization effort is unambiguous: to develop a robust certification and regulatory framework under 14 CFR Part 141 that stands alone as the preeminent accreditation and method by which aviators are trained throughout the world. Under this new framework, achieving FAA certification would represent the highest standard of training excellence available anywhere negating the need for further accreditation or external oversight. The American flight training system would, in this vision, stand alone already.   

As FSAI members and staff have reviewed the report intended to represent industry consensus, it has become clear that the task of providing a report that represented the industry was not accomplished. We have spoken with a wide range of industry participants who have raised concerns about various parts of the submitted report. The report fails to address the stated goal.

Major concerns with the proposed 141 Modernization changes include, but are not limited to that:

• The proposal allows reduction of overall pilot training requirements from initial to commercial pilot certificate issuance, and potentially for ATP pilots who will enter into service as airline pilots;
  
• External validation of airman quality through testing is removed for some training providers, with no minimum standards established for qualifications of individuals who will “test pilots” internally at schools that are given self-examining authority;
  
• FAA oversight of training standards and requirements is transferred to a special interest group, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), which would establish and maintain its own oversight of pilot qualification standards in the future.
  
• Under the proposed provisions of the NFTA proposal, large flight training providers will be prioritized and given advantages. It is FSAI’s belief that many smaller, local training providers in both the Part 61 and 141 segments will likely be marginalized or driven out of being able to provide pilot training. This will likely reduce availability at a diversity of locations and sizes of training providers around the United States, consolidating it into a few large academy and collegiate training pathways.

The report fails to note the negative economic impacts that will develop if the report were to be made into regulation. These impacts include:

1. Overall cost of “Primary” Ab Initio flight training will substantially increase.
   
2. The number of training outlets will be greatly reduced.
   
3. Local airports and their respective communities will be negatively impacted.
   
4. Many flight training providers will be forced to close over time as the career pilot track becomes marginalized by college aviation programs and a select number of large academy flight training providers.
   
5. The supply chain will become consolidated which will lead to fewer vendors.
   
6. Future innovation will be stymied due to a reduction in the supply chain.

FSAI has noted many more concerns, and we continue to find more as we evaluate the proposal. But these are some major ones that lead FSAI to determine that, as the report is written, FSAI cannot support the recommendations given to the FAA as direction for the modernization of the 141 training sector, or aviation training as a whole, in the United States.

There are proposals that FSAI agrees with. A central office for management of the 141 programs in the FAA is needed, but it has to be well-managed to be effective. We agree with the concept of self-examining authority, but it cannot be done without FAA minimum standards for those who provide internal tests, and it cannot be done without reporting pass-fail results to the FAA for airmen test events. 

There are other proposals that might be able to be well implemented if they were fully developed with established standards and reporting requirements. But the report strategically leaves such considerations out, providing hot topic highlights of “QMS” and “SMS” systems referenced that sound great, but have no parameters associated with them. This would allow minimal quality-focused business interests to circumvent real quality standards, since the proposals allow providers to establish their own internal standards rather than be required to meet externally set ones established by an agency such as the FAA. Just having a QMS system does not mean the standards it tracks or maintains are high-level.

The public comment extension provided by the FAA has been sufficient for a preliminary review, and FSAI believes more time is now needed. The extension granted by the FAA so far is insufficient to do what now must be done to properly provide feedback to the FAA’s 141 Modernization Federal Register request.

The pilot shortage that was experienced post the 2020 pandemic was a once in a lifetime event similar to the 500 year storm. FSAI does not believe that the “Primary” Ab Initio flight training industry is any need of planning for the aviation 500 year storm. “The pilot shortage following the 2020 pandemic was an extraordinary, once-in-a-generation event, more akin to a ‘500-year storm’ than a sustained industry trend. FSAI does not believe the primary, ab initio flight training system should be restructured around a short-term disruption driven by unprecedented global circumstances,” said Robert Rockmaker, President and CEO of FSAI.

There will always be a need for pilots however using the Part 141 “Modernization” project as a lever to accomplish un-needed goals is not in the best interest of flight training providers and their students.

The back of the 141 report contains a full list of stakeholder participants and/or organizations including FSAI. By including all stakeholders in the report does not mean that all stakeholders are in agreement with the report. At the present time, FSAI does not endorse the Part 141 “Modernization” report.

FSAI strongly believes that further extension of the comment period is required to respond to the report proposals that the NFTA made and to provide new input regarding 141 modernization regulatory improvements that would best serve safety and improvement of pilot quality and integration with FAA oversight, not just recommendations to make certificate generation go faster with less FAA oversight or integration into the quality of airmen development in the United States.

FSAI has requested that a minimum of 180 days of additional time be provided with regards to the federal register comment period on the 141 report.

FLIGHT TRAINING NEWS

In a key determination, the recently FAA ruled that the City of Santa Barbara violated Grant Assurance 22 (Economic Nondiscrimination) and Grant Assurance 23 (Exclusive Rights) by allowing its nonprofit Santa Barbara Flying Club (SBFC) to advertise and operate in direct competition with commercial flight schools.

Above All Aviation, a Part 141 flight school and full-service FBO at Santa Barbara Municipal Airport, filed the Part 16 complaint alleging that SBFC was functioning more like a commercial operator. Evidence included SBFC’s Facebook posts promoting itself as a “more cost-effective” and “better way to fly” alternative to local flight schools—language that clearly targeted students seeking flight training and aircraft rental. The FAA agreed, citing FAA Order 5190.6C, which strictly prohibits flying clubs from holding themselves out to the public as flight schools, advertising flight training, or competing with commercial aeronautical service providers. Flying clubs must remain true nonprofits organized solely for members’ personal use and enjoyment; they cannot evade Minimum Standards Requirements (MSRs) while gaining an unfair price advantage.

The FAA found no violation regarding independent operators. The City had conducted investigations, ramp checks, and warnings, satisfying its enforcement obligations on that issue. However, the Director expressed concern that the City’s $2 million insurance requirement for independents may be unreasonable if coverage is not readily available in the marketplace and urged the City to ensure requirements remain attainable.

There are some key takeaways from this finding for flight school owners:

• Airports must actively monitor and enforce flying club advertising and operations. Failure to do so can result in federal grant assurance violations.

• The ruling reinforces long-standing FAA policy: flying clubs cannot masquerade as low-cost commercial alternatives.

• The City must submit a Corrective Action Plan and is strongly encouraged to implement better oversight of SBFC’s ads, training logs, membership lists, financials, and aircraft ownership.

This decision is a clear victory for legitimate commercial flight training providers.

Read the FAA finding.

FLIGHT TRAINING NEWS

The Flight School Association International (FSAI) was on the ground at Sun n Fun 2026 in Lakeland, FL. for the first time with an outdoor exhibit space.

There were hundreds of people who visited with the FSAI team during the week. Current and prospective FSAI members took the time to stop and talk about numerous topics related to the flight training industry. FSAI staff appreciated all of their input as it works to represent the entire landscape of those providers of flight training.

Many young people, along with their parents, also stopped to chat about learning to fly and other aviation-related career paths in the industry. Conversations covered a wide range of items, and the FSAI team worked hard to answer everyone's questions.

Several FSAI Board members attended at various times during the week to help share information and answer questions. "It was a good week at Sun n Fun, and we enjoyed meeting many new people, all of whom had an interest in the world of aviation," according to Robert Rockmaker, president & CEO of FSAI.

FLIGHT TRAINING NEWS

FAA InFO on Privileges and Qualifying Endorsements Part 61 Flight Instructors with a Sport Pilot Rating Issued

The FAA has issued InFO 26006 (April 10, 2026) to address questions following the MOSAIC rule, which expanded sport pilot aircraft privileges effective October 22, 2025.

Flight instructors with only a sport pilot rating (14 CFR Part 61 Subpart K) are limited to providing training, checking, and endorsements solely for sport pilot privileges under Subpart J. The same restriction applies to Subpart H instructors when they exercise sport pilot privileges.

Any endorsements issued—including flight reviews, high-performance, complex, or tailwheel endorsements—restrict the recipient to sport pilot limitations (§ 61.315 and 61.316), even if the pilot holds a higher certificate.

A sport pilot only flight instructor who provides flight training, including a flight review, even to the holder of a higher-level certificate, is only allowed to provide training that would allow the recipient of that training to exercise sport pilot privileges. To highlight this point in an example consider the following:

• A private pilot has an expired medical, but is flying exercising "sport pilot privileges."
• That private pilot receives a flight review from a Sport Pilot (only) CFI.
• That private pilot is limited to flying only under sport pilot privileges, even if they then get a new third-class or higher medical or meet the requirements of BasicMed.

For Sport pilot CFIs who are providing a flight review, to make this more clear, the FAA recommends using this sample language for flight reviews (and similar wording for other endorsements) to clearly state the limitation:

“I certify that [name], [certificate grade/number], has satisfactorily completed a flight review of 14 CFR § 61.56(a) on [date] and is limited to sport pilot privileges and limitations (Subpart J).”

Flight training providers and instructors are encouraged to review the full InFO and incorporate the clarified endorsement language to avoid inadvertent privilege limitations. This guidance will be added to future updates of AC 61-65 and AC 61-146.

Find this document by clicking here.

FLIGHT TRAINING NEWS

The FAA is investigating reports of corrosion on the forward wing spar attachments of Piper PA-28, PA-32, PA-34, and PA-44 airplanes following multiple discoveries of severe corrosion in a fleet of Piper airplanes. The corrosion was found by following the recommended inspection in Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) AIR-21-10 in a location that has been found to be difficult to access and assess the extent of the corrosion.

FAA’s East Certification Branch (ECB) recently issued an Airworthiness Concern Sheet (ACS) to highlight this concern and included photographs of the severe corrosion. The FAA is recommending operators of these aircraft inspect this area, per Piper Service Bulletin No. 1400A, and provide information including descriptions, photos, serial numbers, time in service and feedback on any difficulty completing inspection instructions.

Find this notice at:

https://www.faasafety.gov/spans/noticeView.aspx?nid=14907

FLIGHT TRAINING NEWS

by Jason Blair

As an overall trend, pass rates on practical tests went up slightly in 2025, compared to 2024. You can see that broad trend in the following chart.

But that's a lot of different kinds of tests. When it comes to the pilot pipeline, I like to break it down more in terms of some of the common testing events. We can see the pass rates on the Private Pilot, the Commercial Pilot, the CFI, and the ATP practical tests.

We saw positive trends on the Private Pilot, Commercial Pilot, and ATP practical test events. Not signficant changes in the pass rates, but at least not going down. The CFI was the one that continued to show a trend downward, though.

We can see this more clearly in the chart to the right here. Looking at the data, we can see that the CFI practical test pass rate peaked in 2021 and has been dropping over the past few years.

Pass rates help us understand the number of tests required in the system, are some metric on the quality of training happening, and help us see any trends in the success rates of our pilots in training who are taking tests with DPEs or FAA inspectors.

*Note: These pass rates do not include any certification events that take place under self-examining events.

FLIGHT TRAINING NEWS

Ms. Jodie Gawthrop is the 2026 recipient of the Women In Aviation International (WAI) Martha King Scholarship for a Female Flight Instructor. The scholarship provides $5,000 cash to support a woman pursuing her initial flight instructor (CFI) certificate, or any add-on rating, along with lifetime access to the entire library of King Schools training courses and biennial Flight Instructor Refresher Courses (FIRCS), a total value of over $20,000.

Jodie’s aviation journey was initiated with curiosity. It began as a simple question, “why?” when faced with mechanical issues during flight training. That curiosity was followed up with determination and commitment and ultimately led to her becoming both a pilot and an A&P mechanic with Inspection Authorization.

“Flying is more gratifying with an understanding of how every nut and bolt fits together on that airplane,” said Gawthrop.

Her career has spanned roles from the FBO line and front desk to a Citation maintenance shop and the classroom as an aviation maintenance instructor. Today, she works at TxJet in Indiana, where she helps maintain a fleet of jets that transport lifesaving organs—work that underscores the real-world impact of aviation.

After earning her private pilot certificate, Jodie pursued maintenance training before returning to the cockpit to advance her flying credentials. While working full-time, she earned her instrument rating along with commercial single- and multi-engine certificates. With the support of the Martha King

Scholarship, she has now achieved her goal of becoming a flight instructor, passing her CFI checkride during the week of the 2026 WAI Conference in Dallas.

“I am on cloud nine since receiving the scholarship and immediately dove into CFI training, enjoying every minute of it,” Gawthrop said. “The possibilities are limitless with a flight instructor certificate, and I’m excited to support others in discovering aviation from new perspectives. I had so much fun

meeting John & Martha at the WAI Conference in March. I’ve taken so many of their courses. To see them live and in person was a hoot!”

“My goal in aviation has always been to fly what I fix, and fix what I fly,” she said. “This scholarship is helping to support me in achieving that dream and contribute all I can to general aviation.”

The Martha King Scholarship for Female Flight Instructors is awarded annually to a woman who demonstrates exceptional dedication to aviation, a passion for teaching, and a commitment to expanding opportunities within the industry.text

FLIGHT TRAINING NEWS

Following four days of incredible momentum, Tecnam announces the conclusion of its most successful AERO Friedrichshafen exhibition to date. Commanding the largest booth at the entire show, the 2026 edition served as the perfect global stage for Tecnam to unveil groundbreaking new aircraft, secure massive fleet expansion contracts, and celebrate the strength of the general aviation community.

Throughout the week, the Tecnam booth was the epicenter of major deal signings. The company proudly announces it secured 86 confirmed aircraft orders during the show, fueled by substantial commitments from global stocking dealers—including strong demand from South American partners—and major fleet expansions. Several other significant agreements remain in final negotiations. Europe’s top Approved Training Organizations (ATOs) and commercial operators consistently chose Tecnam’s sustainable, highly efficient fleet to power their future.

Learn more about Tecnam and its recent announcements by clicking here.

FLIGHT TRAINING NEWS

A key document for pilots and those in study for pilot certificates and ratings, the FAA Aeronautical Chart Users' Guide is the source for all data and information utilized in the publishing of aeronautical charts through authorized publishers for each stage of Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) air navigation including training, planning, and departures, enroute (for low and high altitudes), approaches, and taxiing charts.

This guide was updated in January 2026.

Click here to see the current updated FAA Aeronautical Chart Users' Guide.

FLIGHT TRAINING NEWS

The FAA has released an updated FAA Aviation Weather Handbook as of April 13, 2026.

The FAA Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28B) is a comprehensive reference that consolidates U.S. aviation weather services, meteorological theory, hazards (thunderstorms, turbulence, icing, mountain waves), and practical tools like METARs, TAFs, AIRMETs, and SIGMETs. It covers atmospheric science, observations, forecasts, and decision-making resources.

Vital for flight training, it equips student pilots with the knowledge required for FAA knowledge tests, safe preflight planning, and real-time weather avoidance—key to preventing weather-related accidents.

Get an updated copy of it by clicking here or on the graphic above.

FLIGHT TRAINING NEWS

The Flight School Association International (FSAI) 2027 Flight School Operators Conference is set to be hosted in New Orleans.

Mark your calendars for February 9-11, 2027, and get ready to visit the Hyatt Regency New Orleans for next year's conference.