701 North Terminal Service Road · Greensboro, NC 27409

April 3, 2012

VIA ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION

U. S. Department of Transportation

Docket Management System

400 7th Street, SW, Room PL401

Washington, DC 20591-0001

Ladies and Gentlemen:

In accordance with §11.61 of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR), Dynamic Airways

(2DYA562M) petitions the Administrator for an exemption from §121.434(c)(1)(ii) to the extent necessary to 

substitute a qualified and authorized check airman in place of an FAA Inspector to observe a qualifying pilot 

in command (PIC) while that PIC is performing prescribed duties during at least one flight that includes

a takeoff and a landing when completing initial or upgrade training as specified in §121.434.

The specific section 121.434(c)(1)(ii) – OPERATING EXPERIENCE, OPERATING CYCLES, AND

CONSOLIDATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS reads in pertinent part:

“In addition, if a qualifying pilot in command is completing initial or upgrade training specified

in FAR 121.424, be observed in the performance of prescribed duties by an FAA Inspector

during at least one flight leg which includes a takeoff and a landing.”

This petition requests relief from §121.434(c)(1)(ii) in those circumstances when an FAA Inspector

is unavailable to observe a qualifying pilot in command during any operating experience flights.

- Dynamic Airways will nominate qualified check airmen to perform this initial operating experience

observation. The FAA will approve the qualified check airmen to conduct the observation through a letter of 

authorization.

- The requirement of §121.434(c)(1)(ii) will be considered fulfilled if the FAA authorized check airman 

performs the observation. The observation requirement will be documented in the qualifying pilot’s record.

- The authorized check airman would be a check airman other than the one who is conducting the operating 

experience flights of the qualifying pilot.

The original intent of §121.434(c)(1)(ii), issued in 1970, was to validate the training that a pilot received in a 

visual simulator. Since the adoption of the rule, the airline industry has gathered more than 30 years of 

experience with basic and advanced simulation.

The FAA has the authority to observe any pilot any time at the discretion of the Administrator and continues 

to do so regularly. However, the FAA conducts these routine observations on a schedule defined by the 

local office without the requisite burden of specifying a particular flight or flight series necessitated by the 

carrier’s training and service schedule. Relieving FAA Inspectors from §121.434(c)(1)(ii) will allow the FAA 

to focus the efforts on higher priority safety concerns.

Operational issues related with this request for exemption are listed below:

- The majority of Dynamic Airways operations are often short notice and international in nature. Scheduling

of FAA personnel to observe a qualifying pilot in command on an international operation with short notice is 

difficult to impossible.
701 North Terminal Service Road · Greensboro, NC 27409

- Dynamic Airways growth plans over the next several months will require in excess of 12 FAA 

observations.

As a result of these issues, many of our PIC candidates are serving in OE status in excess of the hours 

required for the completion of the qualification segment while waiting for FAA participation. This impacts 

our crew scheduling ability and places unnecessary financial burden on the company.

Granting of this exemption is in the public interest and would allow the FAA to focus its inspection force on 

higher priority safety issues. It would also provide for a higher level of PIC candidate scrutiny by using 

Dynamic Airways check airman who are more familiar with company operating policies and procedures 

while eliminating delays in OE completion. Additional benefits are realized in increased productivity and 

reducing unnecessary additional costs to the company.

Granting and using this proposed exemption would have no significant impact upon safety. The authorized 

check airman will be highly trained, experienced, and qualified in the specific aircraft type. In addition, any 

check airman used must be approved by the FAA. Dynamic Airways check airman will only be used to 

satisfy the requirements of §121.434(c)(1)(ii) when a qualified FAA Inspector is not available. The FAA has 

the authority to observe any pilot at any time during line operations.

Dynamic Airways is aware that the FAA has granted several exemptions to individual operators for similar 

relief sought by this request. Therefore, since granting this exemption is not precedent setting, Dynamic

Airways requests that publication of this petition in the Federal Register be waived in accordance with

Section 11.87(b). Any delay in granting this exemption will have an adverse impact upon Dynamic Airways

operations.

SUMMARY

Dynamic Airways Petition for an Exemption to FAR 121.434(c)(1)(ii).

Dynamic Airways petitions the Administrator for an exemption from §121.434(c)(1)(ii) to the extent

necessary to substitute a qualified and authorized check airman in place of an FAA Inspector to observe a 

qualifying pilot in command (PIC) while that PIC is performing prescribed duties during at least one flight 

that includes a takeoff and a landing when completing initial or upgrade training as specified in §121.434.

Should you have any questions or need additional information, please contact me at 937.609.2747 or

mvollmer@dynamicairways.com.

Respectfully Yours,

Michael D. Vollmer

Director, Operations