FSANA understands that the FAA is reviewing this matter which started at the Orlando FSDO. At this time, the FAA is reviewing the case and hopes to have new policy guidance which will address the scope of the judicial decision handed down by the Court.

In the spirit of transparency, Warbird Adventures has shared with FSANA much of the documentation that has been a part of the legal process to date. We are sharing that with the industry to review as FSANA watches and engages with this case that has potential future implications for the flight training community. If you have the time, spending some time to review what is being said in this case is interesting and potentially considerable for many in their own future operations.

FSANA is committed to the value of an in-person conference and after a decision to reschedule, is committed to the event in August this year in Orlando.

DATE: August 18-20, 2021

LOCATION: Rosen Plaza in Orlando, Florida

The 2021 conference will set the stage for the strong rebound that is already taking hold in the flight training arena. FSANA is dedicated to the pursuit of helping flight schools achieve their goals. Our ongoing advocacy for the training market continues to help create the next generation of aviators.

Please visit https://www.fsana.com/details.php for the latest information on the 2021 conference.

Want to save $100 off the regular registration rates? Register before July 6, 2021 and qualify for the Special registration rate.

Aside from reminding everyone at our Orlando conference to be COVID smart (masks, social distancing), our host hotel, the Rosen Plaza, has gone to great lengths to assure everyone's safety at every turn and will continue to make this effort for our rescheduled conference dates. Rosen's Covid Commitment

Guests who prefer to phone in their reservations can call the hotel Reservation Center at 800-627-8258. Conference group name is Flight School Conference. Callers may also use group code 70073.

FSANA staff, board and conference committee members have worked hard to put together a productive and beneficial slate of content for the 2021 conference. The conference program is available to view and registration is open.

Want to sponsor or exhibit at this year's conference? Click the following link for more info:

2021 Sponsor/Exhibitor brochure (.pdf)

Have you ever had that sinking feeling deep inside because you knew you just accidentally made a mistake in your flying that was a violation of the FARs? No, do doubt that the Tower or ATC knows you messed up. Now what?

Since April 15, 1976, a pilot in the above scenario could feel out a NASA ASRS Report within 10 days of the event and receive a get out of jail free card of sorts. In fact, FAR 91.25 guarantees the FAA will not use the reports for enforcement except in criminal cases or an accident. Over 377 reports are filed every day by pilots. Neither civil penalties nor certificate action will occur as long as you filed the report under most situations. Although administrative actions are still recorded on your file with the FAA, no enforcement actions are generally taken. What are the benefits?

NASA, an independent third party administers the program. It removes all data that could identify the event. Then, it is studied by the aviation community, and recommendations are made to the FAA. This self-reporting program has been highly effective in improving aviation safety over the years.

It appears some FSDOs are not taking the program seriously anymore. In fact, some instances have been recorded by pilots that filed a timely report and were still violated by the FAA. This is a wonderful program and we DO NOT need to lose this program, its effectiveness, or its benefits.

We are making the effort to determine if this behavior is isolated to a few FSDOs or if it is a widespread problem that needs to be addressed, your help in the short survey below would be a great asset in this inquiry. Post this article in your airports, flight schools and spread the word about his survey. The more responses we receive, the better.

Please respond to info@fsana.com. When you respond, please place ASRS in the subject line.

Thanks so much for your help and participation.

If you ever find a need to file one of these reports, you can find them at the following address:

"Why is the FAA transitioning away from the radar and towards ADS-B technology? Below is the FAA's core value statements located on their website.

FSANA has had reports from DPEs and Instructors who have used Flight Aware and other platforms to capture flight times. The reports conclude that there can be significant discrepancies between actual flight times versus the reported flight tracks.

FSANA is concerned that ADSB is being used to determine if Airman Practical tests are being conducted whereas tests are being shortened which creates what the industry calls the "DPE Santa Claus" model.

Technology has both a good and bad side. Just this week, Instagram and Facebook made a major announcement that users can now turn off the "Likes" feature on the applications.

View more about ADSB by clicking here.

Flight schools that anticipate becoming accredited in order to accept students who have borrowed money and/or received grants through the United States Department of Education (USDE) Title IV program will need to be licensed by their State Education Departments.

FSANA encourages flight schools to contact their State Education Departments and begin to dialogue with them. There are three primary components that must be met in order for a flight school to be fully eligible to participate in the USDE Title IV program.

The three components are:

You can locate your State Department of Education at:

Each state has its own license policies and procedures. All State Department of Education agencies will be invited to attend the FSANA annual conference in Orlando. FSANA will have a more detailed story on this topic in the June newsletter.

You can also see and reference this article by Jason Blair at: https://jasonblair.net/?p=3188

With a year of uncertainty behind us there were questions about pilot certification numbers that many in the industry were asking. Did we keep training the next generation of pilots in 2020? How did flight training operations fair with shutdowns, very different business pressures, and a unique regulatory environment that was affected by local and national restrictions?

Just this past week, the 2020 US Civil Airman Statistics (https://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/civil_airmen_statistics/) were released and the data included allows some interpretation of what happened in 2020 compared with past years.

There is mostly good news in here with a little bit of expected bad.

Here are some highlights from the 2020 year and some comparisons with previous years.

In a year when many businesses were closed, or at reduced capacity, and when we know that many flight training providers did experience at least temporary stoppages in training provision, the rally that was experienced is impressive.

Compared to 2019, 2020 saw an overall reduction in pilot certificate issuance of a mere 463 certificates, or an equated 0.049% compared with 2019 and was still an increase over 2018 of 8239 certificates, a nearly 10% increase in pilot certificate production. The gist, the pilot training industry is jamming and churning through certification of pilots at a good pace and that didn’t slow down in 2020.

About mid-way through 2020, as the country managed its responses to COVID-19, most regional airlines stopped hiring new pilots due to reductions in the need for pilots as airline service needs were significantly reduced. Without an actively flying public, fewer flights were needed, and that meant fewer pilots were needed. Most of these pilots were put on reduced hours or even given time off. And airlines stopped running training courses that made ATP pilot certification happen.

Compared to 2019, 2020 production as a 52% drop in ATP certificate issuance.

While our country is beginning to return to some higher volumes of flight activity, we still haven’t reached the same production level of ATP certificates that we were seeing approximately one year ago at this time. We are seeing many airlines restart their training classes, so expect these ATP certification numbers to start to climb through 2021, but the loss of certification process in 2020 may create some gap in the numbers of hireable pilots in the short run.

For more detailed information specifically on ATP certificate pilot production, check out my post at, A Lost Year of Full ATP Pilot Certificate Production?

The reduction we saw in ATP pilot certification numbers was made up by increases in other areas when considering total pilot certification events.

The base certificates that are completed as pilots transition from new student pilot through ratings and certificates actually saw small upticks in 2020 compared to 2019 and remained significantly up compared to 2018.

While not up in large numbers, not being down in a year where many businesses in other industries stopped for a period of time or even went out of business, the fact that the flight training industry continued to produce future pilots is impressive. It is a testament to the dedication of the flight training industry’s ability to adapt to the changed conditions and keep churning out future pilots.

Specifically, here is what some of the numbers showed for total pilot certificates issued in the respective years for and for respective ratings/certificates:

When we compare this to increase or decrease percentages for these same categories, we find the following:

The pool of pilot training candidates kept going in 2020 and the flow of pilots who completed base level certificates and/or ratings that would then be eligible for future pilot employment. This is a good thing for the employment pipeline.

We do still see the total number of CFI certificates and ATP certificates out there climb, but the average age of those holders is increasing. This is a trend that at some point indicates we will see a major dropoff of CFI and ATP certificate holders as this population ages out of the pilot community. It is a trend to be watched over the next decade.

Numbers don’t tell us everything, but they can be interesting indicators and help us understand our industry and some of the trends when contextualized. 2020 was certainly an interesting year in many ways, but at least in terms of pilot training, it seems to have rallied in ways that many might have thought would have trended in different directions.

A part of the PPP loan program is that the loans given are public data. Companies that utilized the PPP loan program, the amount of the loans they received, and interestingly, the number of jobs reported that they used this money to help protect, are viewable to the general public.

Man of the names you know as large players in the flight training real are on this list. The big airlines took big advantages from federally available funds, and it is good to see that some flight training providers also took advantage of some of the programs available through last year’s challenges.

Focused on keeping flight training going, many flight training providers worked hard to keep the flow of trained pilots going. The results proved themselves out in the certification numbers that were generated through 2020. It is highly possible that some of these programs helped keep those pilot training numbers flowing.

If you are curious and want to see “PPP Loans granted to "Flight Training" companies”, click here.

Piper Aircraft announced today that it is sponsoring a team of dedicated aviators for the 2021 Air Race Classic. The Piper sponsored team, named “Tres Aviadoras” consists of three passionate aviators who seek to inspire and champion women in aviation.

This year’s race will be an Air Derby format, where participants are able to choose their own 5-leg, one-day route. Team members, Elise Wheelock, Captain Olga Custodio and Captain Tammie Jo Shults, will launch their route from Boerne, TX the second week of June. The team will fly a normally aspirated, piston powered, Piper Pilot 100i – the newest addition to the Piper trainer product line up.

The oldest of its kind, the Air Race Classic has long been the lead event in women’s air racing. With pilots ranging in age from 17 to 90 years old, the diverse group of participants represent a wide range of backgrounds, career groups, and flight experience. Each of these participants play a critical function as role models for future aviators.

"Role models, like Elise, Tammie Jo and Olga have each led the charge with their own list of “firsts” in our industry”, said Jackie Carlon, Senior Director of Marketing for Piper Aircraft. “This team truly embraces the legacy that past female aviators have created and they themselves have helped pave the way for a new generation of aviators. Young females need to continue to see more examples of successful women throughout the aviation industry – flying aircraft, working on airplanes as aviation maintenance technicians, and leading global airline operations to inspire and motivate them – it is up to us to continue to mentor the next generation of aviators.”

“I am honored to have the opportunity to participate in this year’s Air Race. I am excited to fly alongside these aviation legends, who are also my role models”, said Elise Wheelock, Piper Aircraft Fleet Sales Representative. “Olga and Tammie Jo have inspired me personally and have helped female pilots everywhere by paving the way with their drive and enthusiasm for aviation. These women are a huge part of the reason I am a pilot today.”

Olga E. Custodio is a Retired Captain from American Airlines with over 11,000 hours of flight time and has flown the Boeing 727, Fokker 100, Boeing 757 and Boeing 767 to the Caribbean, Central America, South America, Europe, Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. Her education includes a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Puerto Rico. She is a graduate from the Masters Leadership Program, MLP, in San Antonio. Learn more about Olga Custodio at purflygirl.com.

Tammie Jo Shults possessed an early interest in flying, but she faced various obstacles on her path to becoming a military pilot. Applying her lifelong trait of perseverance, she eventually became one of the first female F/A-18 Hornet pilots in the U.S. Navy.

Learn more about Tammie Jo Shults at captainShults.com.

Elise Wheelock is a Fleet Sales Representative for Piper Aircraft. In her time at Piper, Elise has logged landings in 43 states and 2 countries. She spent the past few months presenting the Pilot 100i to flight schools throughout the U.S. Elise is qualified to fly all models that Piper currently produces, and is the youngest pilot to have completed factory training for the M600. Elise holds a Commercial Pilot's License for single and multi-engine aircraft, and is also a Certified Flight Instructor - Airplane, Instrument Airplane, and Multi Engine. Today, Elise has logged nearly 2,000 hours of flight experience.

Nashville Flight Training has joined with International Aviation Services (IAS) to offer local student pilots a direct, FAA-approved track to the highest certification in the industry: Airline Transport Pilot (ATP). More info»

The partnership enables student pilots enrolled at Nashville Flight Training a path to receive expert ground instruction as well as personal training in a Boeing 737 or Airbus A320 or A330 full-motion Level D simulator at IAS’s facility in Miami. It provides a start-to-finish route for student pilots to gain the experience needed to fly with major airlines worldwide.

“The timing of this partnership couldn’t have been more appropriate, given the fact that airlines have restarted hiring at a rapid rate,” said Chris Erlanson, president of Nashville Flight Training. “Local pilots who want to go to the major airlines now have a convenient, streamlined way to reach that ultimate goal, and we’re thrilled to offer a training path from 0 all the way up to this highly coveted certificate.”

IAS is one of the few training centers able to offer the ground portion of the FAA’s ATP Certification Training Program (CTP) virtually via instructor-led live classes, facilitated via Zoom. These can be accomplished in the comfort of the student’s own home prior to traveling to IAS’s state-of-the-art facilities for the remaining two-day simulator course. The total course duration is seven days and prepares the pilot for the FAA knowledge test.

The ATP certificate is available to pilots who have received a Private Pilot Certificate, followed by Instrument, Commercial and Multi-Engine ratings, all of which are offered at Nashville Flight Training’s facility located at Nashville International Airport.

IAS is one of only a few institutions of higher education authorized by the FAA to conduct the ATP Certification Training Program, required by 14 CFR Part 61, § 61.156.

“International Aviation Services is excited to announce our recent collaboration with Nashville Flight Training. IAS and NFT share common guiding principles, and our combined commitment to the success of our trainees provides an excellent opportunity for deep cooperation and a future of aviation training excellence,” said David Kuhn, CEO of IAS.

More information is available at www.nashvilleflighttraining.com or by calling (615) 366-9192.

International Aviation Services was established in 2006 to perform training in compliance with 14 CFR Part 142. IAS employs a team of industry-leading staff, notably active and current airline and corporate pilots, who are all dedicated to the latest instructional methodologies and techniques. IAS’s Flight Training Devices are minimum Level D approved, which allows precise and realistic training to be conducted without interruption. Its curricula are focused on achieving a high level of competence and certification for all trainees.

More than half of retirement-eligible pilots took early retirement.

For years, airlines, business aviation and even the military struggled with workforce shortages. Covid-19 led to furloughs and, of course, the accelerated retirement of thousands of airline pilots, technicians and manufacturing personnel. While providing a brief respite, retirements only mean a more acute pilot shortage that could start as early as this year since, for the first time we have an estimate of how many pilots took early retirement.

So it is not surprising to see airlines rejuvenating their pipelines such as United’s recent announcement it would hire 5,000 pilots by 2030, at least half of which would be women and people of color. It expects to enroll 100 students this year.

In a recently released study by Oliver Wyman, the company notes the experience after 9/11 and the Great Recession when new pilot certifications fell 30% to 40% in the five years after the crises. Compounding this will be the departure of what the study estimates as 25,000 to 35,000 current and future pilots abandoning the cyclicality of the aviation industry in favor of more stable careers over the next decade.

But this time, at least for pilots, there is hope for operators in search of new hires. In addition to airline programs, the flight training business is booming which means at last, the pipeline is increasing not just for duffers but for those seeking careers. The question is whether the industry can build capacity fast enough to feed the 34,000 global pilot gap expected by 2025, according to the Oliver Wyman study.

For more, visit Future Aviation/Aerospace Workforce News

FSANA is hosting the first annual Designated Pilot Examiners Symposium for the flight examiner community in Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday October 27, 2021, with pre-events scheduled for Tuesday. The conference will bring together DPEs and those interested in becoming DPEs to share and exchange information which will lead to improvements in the examiner segment. FAA officials will be on hand to share their insights and observations on the Designee system.

Designated Pilot Examiners (DPE) form the backbone of the airman practical testing system in America. There are over 800 DPEs in the Designee system and they are responsible for providing over 40,000 airman practical tests each year.

The event kicks off on Tuesday October 26 at 2:00 pm with a session for those wanting to become DPEs in the future. There will be an open forum and discussion which will follow the opening session. The following day will be a series of general sessions along with a workshop where attendees will break into smaller groups.

Symposium registration opens in late June so please watch for more information.

FSANA has been collecting DPE names who have expressed a willingness to travel to help flight training providers secure practical tests since our last newsletter.

This list is published on the FSANA website and is kept up-to-date with contact information, so if you are a flight training provider who is finding a challenge of scheduling DPEs in your local area, feel free to reach out to these individuals and you may be able to have them help serve some of your local testing needs.

This effort is being made in general, but also as many DPEs have self selected to delay a return to providing practical tests during the effects of COVID-19 periods and in some locations. FSANA will continue to hep provide this information as the flight training industry continues to move forward with both new and existing students in all phases of their training.

If you are a DPE who is not on this list but would like to be, please let us know by emailing us at info@fsana.com with your email and phone number and we will add you.