The current testing provider PSI Services LLC (PSI) owned by Lifelong Learner Holdings (LLH) is under contract with the FAA and has made unilateral pricing model changes with their third-party providers. The third-party providers (in many cases flight schools) have no say in pricing the services to the aviation community. In essence, the test pricing is 100% controlled by PSI.

On Tuesday February 28, 2023, FSANA is offering a first-of-its-kind, full day seminar the day before the start of the FSANA annual conference and trade show in Orlando.

Accrediting organizations typically operate two accreditation seminars during the calendar year. The seminar will fulfill the requirement which is included in the updated accreditation standards being rolled out in March 2023.

The seminar will provide an opportunity for participants to gain insight into the key points of the accreditation standards, process, and procedures. Pre-accreditation is planned to open March 1, 2023. Schools that are pre-accredited will be among the first to be eligible to make the connection with the the U.S. Department of Education Title IV student loan program. The connection to Title IV funds is a bonus and added value to the core reasons for becoming an accredited flight training provider.

The accreditation program will enhance the overall quality and delivery in the career flight training system according to Bob Rockmaker, FSANA president & CEO. Some schools will seek accreditation in order to become a best in class provider. Schools will also have the option to enroll students who have borrowed funds from the U.S. Department of Education assuming they meet all of the accrediting standards.

Flight schools with the intention of becoming accredited need to attend this one-day event.

The seminar is a requisite for accreditation. Without accreditation, flight schools will not have the ability to enroll students who have borrowed under the Title IV loan program.

The 14th Annual International Flight School Operators Conference returns to the Rosen Plaza in Orlando, Florida, March 1-3, 2023. Register now to take advantage of the early-bird registration discount only available through December 31, 2022.

Registration includes:

FSANA is pleased to again have the conference return to the Rosen Plaza in Orlando for 2023. Rooms can now be booked at a special conference discount.

For FSANA dates February 28 and March 1-3, 2023, reserve rooms by Monday, February 6 for a special rate of $189.00 single/double plus tax. Daily resort fee is waived. After this date rates may be higher or rooms may not be available.

Many FSANA members are operators of testing sites through PSI LLC (PSI) (https://faa.psiexams.com/) at which FAA knowledge tests can be provided as a part of the pilot training and certification process. The centers that provide these tests were recently notified that the revenue they would receive for providing these tests would be reduced.

Operating on an already thin margin of profitability, and without an ability to control their portion of the profit, knowledge test centers that provide facilities, equipment, and staffing for the provision of knowledge testing through the PSI system (the sole source provider of FAA knowledge testing) find themselves between a rock and a hard place. These centers, many times FBOs, universities or colleges, or academy-style training operations, provide the resources and staffing to best serve the aviation community's needs to have the ability to source FAA knowledge tests. The price for these tests to the consumer is set by PSI, and the revenue shared with testing sites is 100% controlled by PSI.

In many cases, a test provider at a flight training operation will have only one or two applicants taking a test at a time. Under the new revenue sharing structure PSI is forcing upon their testing providers, in many cases a staff member who would be required to be present for the entirety of a test would result in less than even minimum wage compensation per hour back to the testing center for their efforts. FSANA has already had communication from many training providers who operate these sites that have indicated they are likely to consider terminating the provision of a testing site, and thus the tests.

FSANA is deeply concerned that the sole source provider relationship that the FAA has established with PSI is being leveraged and taken advantage of by PSI. There is significant concern that the new policies that are being implemented will reduce the number of testing sites available. There is concern that a reduction of the number of testing sites will result in applicants (persons seeking flight training and testing as a part of that process) needing to travel further distances to secure testing services. These are barriers to the pilot training process.

An industry discussion is needed to determine how to best move forward regarding this concern. A need to modernize how we provide pilot knowledge testing may be needed. In a time when the throughput of pilots is critical to keeping our airline operations moving and fulfilling their need to source pilots, further reduction of capacity due to failures of systems to provide services cannot be our roadblock.

An industry group letter has been sent to PSI which forms the foundational start point for what can be done to get the third-party testing center program back on the centerline.

You can see some history about the contracting of airman testing from a recent "Airman Certificate Testing Service (ACTS) Contract briefing" that the FAA did by clicking here.

To see the industry letter, click here.

To see the letter from PSI and the new pricing structure, click here.

Failing a practical test [checkride] can be a bit of a gut punch. But it can also be costly. There are real costs associated with failing a checkride.

When a student fails a checkride, they are going to typically incur a retest fee with the examiner. To get to the retest, they are going to require some additional training to brush up on what they failed and maybe a little currency flight to keep their skills sharp if there is a need to wait for the DPE to fit them back into the calendar.

Let’s assume a few basic things for the retest:

This would equate to the following cost to get to a retest:

This is a real cost. And it speaks to why the quality of training is important.

Training students to meet and exceed the standards so that they won’t need to retest in fact is likely to save them money. FSANA has heard too many reports of operations that train to meet experience requirements and then just send applicants to test and hope they pass. If they don’t, they re-train the items that they failed and send them again. Sometimes, multiple times, until they pass. This has a real cost to customers.

A best practice instead is to not send students until they are really ready to take the test.

If we assume a checkride failure and retest is going to cost the student $1,600, we might find that a couple of extra hours of training to avoid the cheaper. If we assumed a CFI was $75/hour and an aircraft $200/hour, and we spent two more hours of training to brush up and avoid a failure, we would only incur an additional $550 to the student. This is definitely cheaper than failing and needing the retest.

Holding to standards can actually reduce the cost to the student in the long rung.

There are also other less quantifiable ramifications to retests. The need to hold slots for retesting for DPEs takes away valuable time that could be used for new testing, the need to dedicate aircraft or CFI time to retesting efforts reduces a flight training provider’s ability to service more customers, and there are without a doubt potential hiring ramifications for applicants who have multiple practical test failures for future jobs to name a few.

A checkride bust isn’t just an inconvenience. It has costs and ramifications. High-quality training providers will make the effort to help their customers understand this and only take tests when they are fully ready and likely to pass.

This week the FAA posted a new proposed rule intended to manage how updates are conducted on the FAA Practical Test Standards and FAA Airman Certification Standards. A number of these standards documents have been held up over the past couple of years due to some changes in the governmental administrative procedures act, and the hope is that this rule will allow the backlog to be broken and updates to the standards we use to train and test our pilots to be made.

The proposed updates include a significant number of ACS and PTS document updates. While there are a number of documents that are getting updated (it appears to be 31 at the current count), this does not necessarily mean that there are significant changes in each of these documents. FSANA staff has taken a first look at some of them, and while formatting has changed and it is a little bit hard to see where actual changes were made in each document. While in the past "change bars" were included in most documents, this does not appear to be the case in these editions. "Summary of major enhancements" sections in a few of the documents are included, but the majority of them do not have these features. It is going to take a detailed side-by-side comparison with past documents to see what changes were made in each of these documents to see if any of the updates will have an effect on any currently in-place training standards or practices.

Of significant note is the fact that flight instructor PTS documents do not appear to have been updated and transitioned to ACS documents. This is something that had been hoped would be a change when the release of updated documents was again allowed. An additional significant point with this update is that there were included new ACS standard documents for power-lift category aircraft. This is a category of aircraft that did not previously have certification standards.

FSANA is going to be looking through these documents, but any comments or concerns from members and the flight training community are certainly welcome. Please contact us if you seen concerns or have comments that should be included in a response to this new issuance. We currently have 30 days (until January 11, 2023) to provide any feedback to the FAA on these recently release documents.

The posted changes and the draft ACS/PTS documents can be viewed by clicking here:

AeroGuard Flight Training Center, one of the largest global flight training academies in the U. S., is excited to announce the signing of a long-term agreement with Cathay Pacific as part of the airline's plans to train several hundred new pilots per year in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A.. AeroGuard has over 20 years' experience training more than 7,000 pilots from all over the world and will now support Cathay Pacific in their efforts to prepare for a global recovery of airline travel following the pandemic.

AeroGuard will support Cathay Pacific with two training programs - one for those joining the airline with no prior flight experience, and another for pilots looking to convert their licenses to the Hong Kong standard. Under these programs, Cathay Pacific plans to train over 1,000 cadet pilots by 2025, increasing capacity yearly to meet the growing travel demand expected within the premier Asian aviation hub.

Joel Davidson, AeroGuard's CEO said "AeroGuard is extremely proud to announce this partnership with Cathay Pacific, one of the most respected airlines in the world, known for their high level of quality and professional standards. As the aviation industry rebounds across the globe following the pandemic, AeroGuard plans to train hundreds of future pilots for Cathay Pacific."

The program structure takes advantage of AeroGuard's world renowned training expertise in addition to several environmental factors that make AeroGuard's four campuses premier worldwide flight training destinations. With ideal weather conditions, flight training is possible more than 350 days a year, and when combined with ample planes and flight instructors, students will be able to complete the program and fill pilot staffing needs quickly.

Tim Burns, Cathay Pacific's General Manager Flying, said: "We're incredibly excited to be partnering with AeroGuard to provide our cadet pilots with the opportunity to learn and gain valuable flight experience at such a premier flight training school. Our people are very important to us and our success as an airline, and this partnership with AeroGuard will help us maintain a strong pipeline of talent that will enable us to continue to provide the exemplary standards of service and operational excellence that underpin the Cathay Pacific brand."

Cathay Pacific's first class of student pilots completed their ground school training in Hong Kong, and started at AeroGuard earlier this month, with additional classes planned throughout 2023 and beyond.

You can learn more about this new partnership by clicking here.

Flight training supply chain providers are invited to participate in the 2023 FSANA Conference and Trade Show scheduled for Orlando, Florida, March 1-3, 2023.

The supply chain plays a key part in the flight training process and for many of our attendees FSANA's targeted trade show acts as their yearly one-stop shop.

The Regional Airline Association (RAA) recently releases its 2022 Annual Report highlighting the evaluation of the first full year’s air service after the previous two years that were significantly affected by Covid. RAA notes the report is a “hard look at a story of declining connectivity for American communities and people who rely on regional air service as a part of their full and vibrant lives.” This is no doubt a reference to the challenges that many communities have seen in their efforts to keep regional airline service as the regional airlines struggle to meet staffing needs.

Their press release discusses how “deeply most of the country relies on regional air service, and must serve as a wake-up call to policymakers.” They go on to talk about the position that “the pilot shortage and the associated Captain shortage have only worsened” in recent years. A strong implication that some of the causes of this rest on “policymakers” decisions is present and that “if they fail to do their job, and do not give the pilot shortage the urgent attention it warrants, small community air service will be a thing of the past.”

There is no doubt that the RAA report highlights their current concerns and includes topics that the entire industry needs to evaluate. It is certain that the flight training community is a part of this discussion and that regional carriers are the direct beneficiary of the products many flight training providers put out. FSANA encourages members and readers to read through this report to help best understand the aviation landscape from all perspectives.

To read the full RAA 2022 Annual Report, click here.

The FAA has recently issued a safety notice regarding the Garmin GFC 500 Autopilot.

Garmin has identified an issue with GFC 500 autopilots with optional auto-trim installed in certified, experimental and Light-Sport Aircraft, including certified installations installed with optional GSA 28 pitch trim in accordance with Garmin STC SA01866W. This issue may result in an uncommanded automatic trim runaway when the autopilot is first engaged. This condition could result in a sudden and significant deviation from the intended flight path.

Garmin Service Alert 22109 Revision A requires operators of certified installations to pull and collar the autopilot circuit breaker and placard the autopilot as “inoperative” prior to further flight. Operators may contact a Garmin dealer regarding reactivation of the GFC 500 autopilot with the optional pitch trim configured off in accordance with recommended service bulletin 22110 Revision A.

You can learn more about this notice at: https://www.faasafety.gov/spans/noticeView.aspx?nid=12741

On Wednesday, December 21, NAFI will be having a MentorLIVE discussion with guests Karen Kalischek, Jason Blair, and Greg Feith talking about the state of flight training, with some focus on concerns about recent trends in pass rates on practical tests.

Flight instruction has always played a vital role in aviation. In periods of high pilot demand such as the present time, well-trained flight instructors become even more important. Effective flight training efficiently produces successful pilots and minimizes retraining requirements. Ineffective training can result in systemic bottlenecks, higher costs, and potential safety impacts. Join this MentorLIVE presentation in which a panel of experienced aviators, pilot examiners, and an accident investigator discuss the current state of flight training, sharing statistics, recent trends, and personal stories.

Click here for more information or to register.

NBAA is actively working with stakeholders to oppose legislation, which would be detrimental to business aviation across the state of New York. Having passed the State Assembly and State Senate, the bill was transmitted to Governor Kathy Hochul on December 12th. The Governor now must sign or veto the bill by December 23rd. NBAA and numerous aviation organizations strongly oppose this legislation and ask you to contact Governor Hochul TODAY to urge her to veto the bill.

Senate Bill S7493A would allow anyone to sue a pilot, flight department, line service personnel, or company employee for alleged rotorcraft noise pollution by a flight operation in the state of New York, even if the operation complied with federal law and regulations.

Please take action today urging Governor Hochul to veto New York Senate Bill S7493A and let her know that you strongly oppose this legislation that will have detrimental effects to you and business aviation. If you have already communicated with the Governor, please do so again as the matter is urgent and time is of the essence.

In New York, the general aviation industry is responsible for 43,200 jobs and more than $8.6 billion in total economic output. The Governor must hear from the general aviation community that this legislation will be detrimental to business aviation across the state of New York.