U.S. Department of Transportation - Docket Operations

West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE

Washington, DC 20590

John D. Odegard School for Aerospace Sciences

Attn: Dick Schultz – Director of Flight Operations

2784 Airport Drive

Box 9051 – Flight Operations

Grand Forks, ND 58203-9051

SUBJECT: PETITION FOR GRANT OF EXEMPTION

Pursuant to title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) Federal Aviation 

Regulation (FAR) 11.61, the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences at the 

University of North Dakota (UND) is petitioning for exemption from 61.45(b)(1)(i) to 

permit UND to conduct all tasks required in the Flight Instructor Airplane Single-Engine 

Practical Test Standards in a noncomplex single engine airplane. 

NATURE AND EXTENT OF RELIEF

UND is requesting relief from 14 CFR 61.45(b)(1)(i) that requires a flight instructor 

applicant to provide a single engine complex airplane as required in the Flight Instructor 

Airplane Single-Engine Practical Test Standards (FAA-S-8081-6CS). On Page 10 of 

that PTS under the title Aircraft and Equipment Required for the Practical Test, subpart 

(3), states;

“Be capable of performing all appropriate TASKS for the flight instructor rating 

sought and have no operating limitations, which prohibit the performance of those 

TASKS. A complex airplane must be furnished for the performance of takeoff 

and landing maneuvers, and appropriate emergency procedures.”

The extent of relief requested, is to allow UND to conduct the “takeoff and landing 

maneuvers, and appropriate emergency procedures” in a noncomplex single-engine 

airplane while performing the Flight Instructor Airplane Single-Engine Land end of 

course stage check in our approved Part 141 training course outline.
PUBLIC INTEREST AND EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF SAFETY BENEFITS

Exemption No. 9651

UND understands that Exemption No. 9651 was denied for seeking relief from 14 CFR 

61.45(b)(1)(i) for the same complex airplane requirement in flight instructor certification. 

UND believes that in the four years since Exemption No. 9651 was made the flight 

training environment has changed to a point where the FAA should reconsider their 

decision.

According to the 2010 Nall Report, written by the AOPA Air Safety Institute, “2009 saw 

a total of 1,418 general aviation accidents” and “only 13 accidents were caused by errors 

in operating retractable gear systems.” Those 13 accidents accounted for only 0.9% of 

the total general aviation accidents in 2009. The report does not differentiate to how 

many of those 13 accidents were in single engine and multi engine aircraft. 

The FAA’s response letter to Exemption No. 9651 states, “Properly teaching pilots how 

to avoid such unfortunate incidents (landing gear up) is the responsibility of the flight 

instructor and such teaching skills should be demonstrated as a condition for acquiring an 

initial flight instructor rating.” UND agrees that the flight instructor has numerous 

responsibilities in ensuring their students and tomorrows pilots are operating as safely as 

possible. However, not all of these responsibilities are tested on initial flight instructor 

certification. 

According to the 2010 Nall Report, there were 403 airplane accidents in single engine 

conventional gear airplanes. That accounts for 28.8% of the total general aviation 

accidents in 2010. Conventional gear airplane operations are not required to be 

demonstrated for initial flight instructor certification. A flight instructor who possesses a 

tailwheel airplane endorsement may teach and endorse students to operate these airplanes 

without further evaluation. UND believes the evaluation of complex airplane operations 

should be handled just like the evaluation of tailwheel airplane operations. 

The FAA’s response letter to Exemption No. 9651 goes on to say, “Upon receiving his or 

her instructor certification, the candidate will be qualified to instruct multiple ratings, 

including the commercial rating which requires the use of a retractable-gear airplane; it is 

highly likely that the CFI will soon be asked to instruct in a retractable-gear equipped 

aircraft.” After this denial letter was issued, in August 2009 the FAA published the final 

rule to 14 CFR Parts 61, 91, and 141, “Pilot, Flight Instructor, and Pilot School 

Certification” (Docket No. FAA-2006-26661). Referencing that final rule, revision No. 

99 allows under Part 141 “the commercial pilot certification course for the single engine 

airplane rating to be approved with the use of either a complex single engine airplane or a 

complex multiengine airplane.” This final rule aligned itself with Part 61 where a 

commercial pilot applicant is no longer required to demonstrate complex airplane 

operations in both single engine and multi engine airplanes. 
As a result of this change, UND along with many other flight training programs have 

been adopting a commercial pilot flight training program without the use of a single 

engine complex airplane. Therefore, it is no longer “highly likely that the CFI will soon

be asked to instruct in a single engine retractable-gear equipped aircraft.” 

Financial burden contributing to a high load of student debt

The complex single engine airplane has become a financial burden to most flight training 

organizations without providing a great benefit to flight training and safety. Today, most 

aircraft manufacturers are no longer offering complex single engine airplanes. As a 

result, flight training organizations bear the financial burden of maintaining older less 

reliable airplanes in order to meet FAA requirements. This financial burden is then 

passed down to the student in the form of increased flight training fees.

High levels of student debt are a great concern in today’s aviation industry. The cost of 

flight training is influencing the levels of aviation interest in tomorrow’s student pilots. 

We all have a responsibility to promote aviation and provide quality aviation education at 

a reasonable cost. One way to reduce that cost is to allow the use of a lower costing 

noncomplex single engine airplane in flight instructor training and certification.

In UND’s specific case we are asking to replace the training required in a PA28R-201 

Piper Arrow with a Cessna 172S. Operating single engine complex airplanes require a 

higher insurance premium. Because of the aging fleet of PA28R-201 Piper Arrows at 

UND, the maintenance labor required is over twice as much required for the C172S. The 

75% best power setting allows the Cessna 172S to burn 25.2% less fuel than the PA28R201 Piper Arrow. This reduced fuel burn results in an overall reduced consumption of 

fossil fuels and lower operating cost passed on to the student. This benefits, the 

environment, the University, and the student. By operating a Cessna 172S, the student 

incurs lower costs because of lower insurance premiums, maintenance expense, and 

aircraft fuel burn.

Difference in the evaluation of high performance airplane operations

Not providing complex airplane experience in the flight instructor certification course is 

not a hazard to safety. The FAA currently allows a flight instructor to issue a high 

performance airplane endorsement as long as they possess the same endorsement. Most 

of these flight instructors did not receive any high performance airplane airplane 

experience in their flight instructor training. Yet they are providing the instruction and 

issuing the endorsement. UND believes the evaluation of complex airplane operations 

should be handled just like the evaluation of high performance airplane operations. 
SUMMARY

As required by FAR 11.81(f), a summary of the petition is as follows:

The John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota 

requests an exemption from 14 CFR 61.45(b)(1)(i) that requires a flight instructor 

applicant to provide a single engine complex airplane as required in the Flight Instructor 

Airplane Single-Engine Practical Test Standards (FAA-S-8081-6CS). The extent of 

relief requested, is to allow UND to conduct the “takeoff and landing maneuvers, and 

appropriate emergency procedures” in a noncomplex single-engine airplane while 

performing the Flight Instructor Airplane Single-Engine Land end of course stage check

in our approved Part 141 training course outline.

Sincerely,

Dick Schultz

Director of Flight Operations

University of North Dakota