CFI Certificate Changes

RyanB

RyanB

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Seems I recall seeing a thread on this, but I can’t find it. So FYI, some new changes for CFI certs.
  • CFI and CFI Sport certificates will no longer have expiration dates See 202489 FR 80020.
  • CFI and CFI Sport can now update their 'recency' (formerly renewal) if they are qualified under the WINGS program.
  • CFI and CFI Sport will have 3 months after their 'recency experience end date' to reinstate via Flight Instructor Refresher Course (FIRC).
  • Sport Pilot application (8710-11) form has received substantial updates including the incorporation of Aviation English Language Standard (AELS) questions.
Question is, I can’t find it anywhere, what is the ‘recency’ that is being described and what is considered ‘recency experience’?
 
Here's an AOPA article, read through the FAQs. Basically the rule change adds a WINGS path to maintain recent experience, otherwise it's the same as before.

AOPA CFI change article
 
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RyanB said:
Thanks, OK, I’m understanding now.
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Yep. That's all it is. The 24 calendar month expiration date printed on a piece of plastic has been replace with a 24 calendar month recent experience requirement, so the FAA doesn't need to print and mail out a bunch of plastic every two years. You know, like your flight review. Nothing more mysterious than that.
 
The WINGS option seems like a lot of hoops to jump through, but I guess if you regularly participate as a CFI it's a good option.

I don't know anyone who participates in the WINGS program though. :dunno:

I've had one person who said they were interested, so I researched how to get the WINGS flight activities done. When I explained to the person it would involve more flight time than a flight review, they balked.
 
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Walboy said:
The WINGS option seems like a lot of hoops to jump through, but I guess if you regularly participate as a CFI it's a good option.

I don't know anyone who participates in the WINGS program though. :dunno:

I've had one person who said they were interested, so I researched how to get the WINGS flight activities done. When I explained to the person it would involve more flight time than a flight review, they balked.
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That's the most significant problem, in my opinion, in the way that the WINGS program is marketed. Yes, completion of a phase counts as a flight review, but the problem is that that aspect is typically mentioned FIRST, so pilots think it's an "every two years instead of a flight review" kind of thing. Which it's not.

If it's been two years since your last flight review, doing a phase of WINGS doesn't make sense from a financial or time commitment standpoint.

Rather, WINGS is designed for those pilots who want to do recurrent training more often anyway - meeting up with a CFI every few months to sharpen those skills. If those sessions are done with an eye toward creditable WINGS activities, then you can easily get credit for a flight review in addition to improving your skills. That's pretty much the whole goal of WINGS, to encourage continual education and training.

But to show up 23 months after your last flight review and expect to save time and money by doing WINGS, yeah that's not how it works.
 
Walboy said:
Here's an AOPA article, read through the FAQs. Basically the rule change adds a WINGS path to maintain recent experience, otherwise it's the same as before.

AOPA CFI change article
Click to expand...

I thought there already was a WINGS path, something like signing off 15 activities and doing a phase yourself, although I almost never did that many myself so I never did that option.

Am I mistaken?
 
Walboy said:
The WINGS option seems like a lot of hoops to jump through, but I guess if you regularly participate as a CFI it's a good option.

I don't know anyone who participates in the WINGS program though. :dunno:

I've had one person who said they were interested, so I researched how to get the WINGS flight activities done. When I explained to the person it would involve more flight time than a flight review, they balked.
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Not enough to use it for currency, but I do WINGS regularly. My own flight reviews are WINGS based. I'm not sure what you researched but there are two ways to use it.

One is periodically. That's really it's original intended use. Recurrent training dueling the course of a year rather than once every two.

The other is one-shot in place of a flight review. I don't find it takes any longer than a traditional flight review. The last one I gave was 0.9 on the Hobbs. And the ground credits can be done over the course of a year with seminars, webinars, and a slew of online courses.

But I guess if one feels they never need recurrent training and doesn't want to be bothered with learning things in a course, it's kind of a pain.

The single biggest problem with the program is the web site.
 
Walboy said:
The WINGS option seems like a lot of hoops to jump through, but I guess if you regularly participate as a CFI it's a good option.

I don't know anyone who participates in the WINGS program though. :dunno:

I've had one person who said they were interested, so I researched how to get the WINGS flight activities done. When I explained to the person it would involve more flight time than a flight review, they balked.
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Well, at least it has a better acronym than its predecessor: ICARUS. :cool:
 
RussR said:
I thought there already was a WINGS path, something like signing off 15 activities and doing a phase yourself, although I almost never did that many myself so I never did that option.

Am I mistaken?
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Okay, yes, I was correct, CFI renewal by WINGS activity has been an option since at least 2011. AC61-91J, dated 2011, had that option.

So the AOPA article is misleading in that regard, it's not a "new" method at all.
 
RussR said:
I thought there already was a WINGS path, something like signing off 15 activities and doing a phase yourself, although I almost never did that many myself so I never did that option.

Am I mistaken?
Click to expand...

I don't know if there was an existing path before, but the requirements are what you describe plus getting someone to sign off an 8710 in IACRA.

midlifeflyer said:
The other is one-shot in place of a flight review. I don't find it takes any longer than a traditional flight review. The last one I gave was 0.9 on the Hobbs. And the ground credits can be done over the course of a year with seminars, webinars, and a slew of online courses.
Click to expand...

Actually, I was just rereading the rules on WINGS where it says a flight activity doesn't have to be an hour long for a credit, so I guess I didn't understand the rules. I didn't understand that you could combine all the activities in one flight. It's up to the discretion of the CFI doing the flight activity. Still, you have to validate the activity through the WINGS portal.

If anything, it gets someone out of having to do at least one hour of ground with a CFI.
 
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