Celebrating the 15th anniversary of FSANA and the 15th annual Flight School Operators Conference, FSANA officially kicked off the conference on Wednesday this past week after a number of committee meetings, an accreditation workshop and a briefing from representatives from two airlines.

The event marks a milestone in flight training industry collaboration as the 15th annual event brings together more participants and vendors than ever before. Maxing out the planned facilities, there is no doubt that participants have seen the event grow over the years and the need for such collaboration continues to grow.

Thursday continued the event with focused breakout sessions on safety management in the flight training community, marketing skills, flight school logistics, talent management, and airman testing discussions to name a few of the hot topics. This however was only after a briefing from numerous representatives from federal agencies that ranged from the FAA's offices of Airmen Testing and Certification and Office of Aerospace Medicine and the TSA's Flight Training Security Program.

Following the luncheon speaker, afternoon sessions continued into topics including growth efforts for flight training providers, tips and tricks for new operators, and a panel with aviation insurance underwriters. Wrapping up the day were round table workshops where participants were able to bring up any topics that might be affecting their training operations and share resources and best practices with other providers from around the country.

"Each year this event brings together participants from the industry, training and products providers, and representatives from federal agencies in a way no other event does for the flight training industry," said FSANA CEO and President, Robert Rockmaker.

When FSANA was formed, we knew there was a great need to bring flight training providers together for collaborative purposes in one location. We did not expect the growth that came forward in 2024.

While final numbers are not completed, it appears that over 280 attendees came to Las Vegas along with 55 exhibitors. 2024 set a new record with both attendee and exhibitor counts.

We are extremely appreciative of all who have helped get us to this point where we have a 15th anniversary of a growing effort. We look forward to continuing the growth of the event and providing even more collaboration for attendees."

While FSANA works throughout the year on behalf of its members in the flight training community, this key event is an opportunity to bring stakeholders together in person and share information in a way that just cannot be done in any other way.

Thursday was day two of the FSANA conference and it began with a panel of representatives from federal agencies spent time with attendees briefing current legislative efforts, regulatory changes and processes, and trends they are seeing that affect the flight training community.

Briefings from staff in the FAA who focus on airman testing, designee management, and airman’s medical processes were accompanied by a representative from the TSA who discussed current trends in foreign student training in the United States.

Everette Rochon, Manager of Training & Certification with the FAA began the briefing by discussing organizational changes that have recently been completed within the FAA’s General Aviation and Commercial Division. The changes have been made to align more areas of training and testing related to airman certification under one division for greater standardization and management.

Legislative and regulatory updates included a focus on the expected publication later in 2024 of new ACS final documents and updates to CFI renewal processes. Also discussed were some of the longer-term goals of developing a digital pilot certificate and modernization of training standards to accommodate new technologies such as electric and vertical lift aircraft.

He additionally shared some data related to what is being seen in instructional accident rates in aviation. When considering accident rates in aviation, personal flying remains the highest contributor to rates but it is followed in second place by instructional flight. While this is the case, the largest percentages of instructional flight accidents are in the approach and landing phases of flight. They typically are less fatal in nature than accidents that occur in other periods of flight.

A final highlight was put on an effort underway to have an aviation rulemaking committee (ARAC) established to review and consider changes to 141 training regulations. The goal is to review those regulations, which has not been done for a long time, and consider changes that might make future training efforts more effective and efficient with modern training practices and tools.

Manager of the FAA Delegation Program Branch, Trey McClure, followed with a briefing on some of the efforts of the division to select, train, and manage designees for service to the aviation industry. Of yearly interest, he shared information on the number of designated pilot examiners currently in place and expected class size for the current and upcoming fiscal year to onboard more individuals. His division is putting in place efforts to expand class sizes for new DPEs and maximization of use of current DPEs that are in place. While the industry is feeling pressure on the pilot examiner availability, this office continues to work to put more service providers in place to meet the demand.

Julean Thorpe, Program Manager for the TSA Flight Training Security Program took some time in this panel to highlight the high volume of foreign student approvals the TSA continues to experience. The number of threat assessment requests for students seeking training through the TSAs validation process continues to see growth. This is an indication that training for foreign students continues to return to and grow from previously experienced levels.

She additionally spent some time with the attendees highlighting common error areas that are experienced in the qualification process of students to meet 14 CFR 1552 TSA requirements. While the TSA conducts inspections, some common things are found in those inspections that training providers can focus on to make the inspections go more smoothly.

A hot topic in aviation, airman mental health, and the approval process for special issuance medical was focused on by Dr. Penny Giovanetti, Director of the Medical Specialties Division. She highlighted efforts the FAA is making to streamline special issuance medical for commonly managed concerns such as a history of ADHD. Along with this, they are working hard to make it possible to update FAA practices for airman reporting and management of other mental health-related factors and return them to flight operations.

Too many pilots are perceived to be not reporting or hiding medical concerns instead of going through the reporting and medical consideration process due to barriers or perceptions that they will not be allowed to proceed with a career. Acknowledging the current challenges, she indicated a commitment by the FAA to modernize its approach to helping pilots be more free to report potential concerns and not end up ending their careers. A significant effort is underway to expand acceptable treatment options.

FSANA conference attendees every year list this panel discussion as one of the highlights of the conference. The access to direct conversation and interaction with representatives from federal agencies helps attendees, the industry, and associations work best together to understand the working climate and what changes might be coming. FSANA is greatly appreciative of all of the panel attendees, and their agencies, for taking the time to participate in this panel and help the industry best manage flight training efforts.

Preparing aviation for the hydrogen economy in aviation-related markets is a challenge that Infinity Fuel Cell and Hydrogen, Inc., started working toward when the company was founded in 2002. Focused on the application of PEM technology to fuel cell and hydrogen systems, the work has been on lightweight, simplified fuel cells and electrolyzers.

Rick Mullins Jr., Director of Business Management gave a visionary perspective of the industry and market needs related to alternative and futuristic propulsion options. While many of these are somewhat theoretical, or "beta" in nature, his company is seeing hydrogen fuel cell technology starting to be adopted in everything from space travel to underwater vehicles, and even into eVTOL products that are slated to enter service in the near term. Slightly longer lead times are seeing these technologies intended to be integrated into more traditional regional and even large aircraft mainline service.

As aviation training works toward the future of our training fleet, modern and futuristic power source discussions may be a part of the solution mix. FSANA conference attendees got a little look into some potential future power solutions with this keynote address.

Learn more about Infinity Fuel Cell and Hydrogen by clicking here.

The customers of many flight training operations across the country are seeking their training with the ultimate goal of eventually securing employment as pilots in airline or corporate operations. As such, it is always an important session at the FSANA conference to get feedback from 121 operators about how the training environment interacts with training providers and what training recipients should be doing to be best-qualified candidates for 121 operation employment.

Joining the panel this year were Tyler Tenbrink, Director - Talent & Development from Piedmont Airlines, and Corey Pettit, Manager Pilot Pathways at Southwest Airlines. They both shared current insights on how the 121 sector interacts with the flight training community, what they are seeing in terms of hiring trends at both regional and major carrier operations, and how they work with cadet programs to source talent.

Notable was an indication that some airline operations are scaling back their 2024 hiring efforts. Some indications are that this is potentially to be more like 50% of what was forecasted in 2023. The slowdown in hiring is intended to help stabilize the effects of losing pilots to major airline hiring and transitioning pilots from First Officer (FO) positions to captain positions. Regional airlines are also working to fill FO positions that were vacated as they upgraded pilots to captain positions. Additional consideration is being given to potential economic climate effects through the rest of 2024.

This should not be seen as an indication however that hiring was in any way stopping. It is more of an indication that hiring is becoming more structured and measured, and less desperate the perception over the last couple of years.

When the discussion transitioned to what made candidates "best qualified," it was noted that it isn't just about having "the hours" to get the job. They both highlighted how important it is for those seeking airline employment to understand what the career path really looks like when they enter it. Helping candidates understand "what airline life is really like" is a key factor in getting pilots to successfully transition from their training to airline service. This helps avoid instances where pilots are hired and then self-select out of employment due to quality of life desires and the unique dynamics of airline pilot employment perhaps that they didn't understand before they began doing the job.

Key differentiators that were discussed for highly qualified candidates covered what else a pilot does beyond just completing certification efforts. Finding well-rounded candidates who have had leadership roles, can discuss how they work well with others (and would in a crew environment), and what they have done to improve their skills beyond the basics is something those involved in recruiting for pilot positions focus upon.

One audience member asked about where airlines are primarily sourcing their employees from in the industry at the current time. While historically many were from military service, with much reduced military pilot pools transitioning out to civilian life, most major airlines are sourcing their pilots from regional airlines and the civilian market. To some degree, the regional airlines are sourcing pilots from charter operations, many are coming from experience bases in flight training and most are from civilian activities; not the military.

There is no doubt that continued efforts to keep discussions between 121 operators and the flight training community help providers ensure their customers will be well prepared to fill the jobs that they eventually may be seeking. This panel will remain a vigorous discussion at FSANA conferences for many years into the future.

Ahead of the official conference kickoff, multiple committee meetings took place that focused on specific flight training-related concerns. Each of these committees brought together industry participants to discuss current pain points, concerns related to safety trends, and future plans and expectations for the direction of the flight training industry.

FSANA has formed a new committee focused on wellness and medical concerns in aviation training from the early points of training and how that will flow through to individuals' experience later in their careers.

Randy Georgemiller, PhD, ABPP, Aviation Psychology Branch Manager, Chief Neuropsychologist at Federal Aviation Administration Office of Aerospace Medicine joined in the meeting to listen to industry concerns and bring feedback to the FAA.

Attendees discussed concerns relating to medical certification for students who have pre-existing conditions, pilots who hide potential concerns that might affect their medical certification, and even how flight training providers might need to help their staff deal with behavioral anomalies in students.

Airman mental health has gotten more attention in recent years and FSANA is hopeful that industry and agency collaboration will help us better identify potential concerns, but also help pilots better manage reporting pre-existing conditions and still have a path to pilot careers when appropriate.

The Airman Testing Committee met with key discussion points related to DPE availability, increasing levels of pilot training demand and how to meet the demand, and what airman testing changes might be coming in the FAA certification process.

Some of those changes will include updated Airman Certification Standards in the near future and updates of some FAA handbooks. The coordination of these efforts with the flight training providers is key to the members of FSANA adapting and updating to modern training industry changes.

Focused specifically on safety in aviation training the Safety Committee discussed trends, tools, and goals. The committee expects formalized safety management systems (SMS) will at some point become required for some training provider environments.

Working to improve training safety is a key factor in any flight training business operation and sharing how to do this improves all the participants in the industry.

A committee meeting focused on availability and options for training aircraft dug into currently available options, future needs, and future potential options.

The discussion touched on changes potentially coming from the FAA adoption of the MOSAIC efforts that will have an impact on what aircraft will qualify for pilots to fly in different operational environments, including sport pilot training. Part of the expected changes of MOSAIC include allowances for manufacturers of light sport aircraft to increase gross weight beyond current limitations. Doing this will allow aircraft that may be certificated under LSA certifications to potentially increase their utility in the flight training community.

More theoretical, discussion also touched on future technologies that might become available. As our entire industry looks at potential electric or hybrid technologies, modifications of legacy aircraft, or improved ways to utilize current assets, FSANA committees continue to monitor what our industry might be able to adopt going forward.

A final Wednesday committee meeting discussed some of the legislative affairs work that FSANA is doing, and what work they are expanding into going forward. With the help of an engaged lobby group, FSANA has aggressively worked to help guide legislative bill action to improve airman testing processes.

FSANA is working on developing prioritization of top legislative efforts to tackle in the near- and long-term on behalf of the flight training community. These legislative efforts are not only targeted at communications with agencies but also with elected representatives to help them develop any legislation or funding efforts to help the aviation sector as a whole and the training components within it.

While these committees meet at each conference, the goal will be to take the committee meeting content into actionable changes in our industry. FSANA hopes to be able to take the feedback received and help spread best practices throughout the entire industry. To do this, we need help from all who are involved throughout the year.

The International Aerospace Accrediting Commission (IAAC) conducted their second Accreditation Workshop lead by Thomas Kube, IAAC Executive Director. The workshop is designed to help flight schools better understand the accreditation process and why accreditation is important for flight training providers.

At the highest level, accreditation improves the overall culture of a business and brings about higher levels of standardization.

For eligible schools, the accreditation effort has been developed as a part of FSANA's work to allow training providers to become eligible to onboard students who have borrowed money under the USDE Title IV loan and/or grants program.

Access to U.S. Department of Education (U.S. DOE) based funding for non-collegiate training providers has historically not been available to students seeking flight training. The IAAC is working through the final stages of this approval process with the U.S. DOE and those schools that are completing pre-accreditation will be the first in line to be eligible to access these funds when the accrediting body has finalized all approvals with the U.S. DOE.

You can learn more about the IAAC by clicking here.

In the latest episode of the Pilot Minute video series, Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Susan Northrup reviews the requirements for BasicMed and the mental health, neurologic, or cardiac conditions that would require a pilot by law, to be reexamined by an aviation medical examiner (AME). See this and past Pilot Minute videos at:

This video can be a help for students or instructors wanting to know more about BasicMed options and requirements.