REGULATORY AFFAIRS BRIEFING
REGULATORY AFFAIRS BRIEFING
university / collegiate flight training programs or military training programs) relative to the
amount of credit given, or not given at all, to the general aviation training paths of part 141
schools or part 61 individual flight instructors. AOPA recommended more credit be available for
training conducted under parts 141 or 61. AOPA believes the FAA has too narrowly interpreted
the term “academic training courses” and feels Congress would have been more specific had it
intended this statement to be limited to collegiate or university programs.
The effectiveness of a flight training course depends in great part to the competencies of the
individual flight instructor, whether that flight instructor is training under a university program, a
flight academy, a part 141 flight school or through individual flight instruction. Many flight
instructors giving training under part 61 have part 121 or 135 air carrier experience and so may be
more qualified to train pilots wishing to pursue a professional pilot career than any other flight
instructors. We believe this point is overlooked in offering credits only to pilots completing a four-
year degree or military training program.
Also, important to keep in mind is that, regardless of the training path taken, all pilots are
required to pass the exact same FAA administered written knowledge exams and must meet the
same Practical Test Standards for certificates earned. The core competencies that must be met
are exactly the same.
Although there is definite benefit of additional academic courses taken in aviation, AOPA believes
that a 500 hour advantage given to pilots who received training through a university four-year
degree program puts the pilots who are not able to pursue a four-year degree program, the
individual flight instructor and part 141 schools at a great financial disadvantage. With the credits
currently offered through this recommendation, potential students are faced with the choice of
enrolling at a university or face a 500 hour disadvantage. That 500 hour disadvantage (at an
average of $175 / hour of aircraft rental) equates to over $87,500.
AOPA also believes significant safety benefit can be realized through the completion of individual
academic training courses and a full four-year degree program is not necessary to enhance safety.
The FAA’s proposal only provides credit for completion of a four-year degree program. This forces
a pilot to commit to a substantial financial burden in order to receive credit towards ATP
certification flight hours. Instead, the FAA should allow pilots to attend individual courses and
receive flight hours credit commensurate with the coursework. AOPA is not advocating the FAA
provide credit for courses unrelated to aviation like accounting or creative writing. Rather AOPA
believes courses related to crew resource management, human factors, meteorology, advanced
jet training, and similar topics related to the air carrier environment should be credited towards
flight hours. This would provide students outside of the often prohibitively expensive four-year
degree programs an avenue to receive credit towards flight hours. And for students enrolled in an
aviation four-year degree program, it will encourage electives to be chosen that would have the
most benefit in their future air carrier careers, instead of courses that simply offer credits towards
graduation without any safety benefit.