October 5, 2011 

Mr. William R. Wallace 

201 Lone Man Overlook 

Wimberley, Texas 78676 

Dear Mr. Wallace: 

In your April 12, 2011 letter, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to 

amend § 61.197(2)(ii) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). 

You have made some good points. However, when the FAA responds to petitions for 

rulemaking, it must follow the requirements of 14 CFR part 11, particularly those guidelines 

for processing petitions for rulemaking found in § 11.73. As stated in that section, the FAA 

uses the following criteria when making a decision as to whether or not to amend current 

regulations based on a petition for rulemaking: 

1) the immediacy of the safety or security concerns the petition raises; 

2) the priority of other FAA issues; and 

3) the resources we have available to address these issues. 

That petition for rulemaking, if amended, would specifically allow training center flight 

instructors to renew their flight instructor certificate on the basis of having instructed air 

carrier pilots pursuant to an approved part 121 or part 135 training program. 

The current regulation, in pertinent part, provides for renewal of a flight instructor certificate 

on the basis of the holder of that certificate being able to produce a record of having served 

within the preceding 24 calendar months as a “company check pilot, chief flight instructor, 

company check airman, or flight instructor in a part 121 or part 135 operation, or in a 

position involving the regular evaluation of pilots.” 

The FAA notes that parts 121 and 135 operators must specifically qualify and designate each 

person used as an instructor for that operator. This includes those instructors associated with 

a part 142 training center or another air carrier under the same CFR part (“contract flight 

instructors”). Such instructors who can provide evidence that they served as a flight 

instructor for a part 121 or 135 carrier would meet the provision found in § 61.197(a)(2)(ii). 
2

The existing regulation is, therefore, adequate and already provides a basis for flight 

instructor certificate renewal for current air carrier contract flight instructors. 

The FAA notes that the petitioner has also included those training center flight instructors 

who give flight instruction in a part 91K operation. While the petitioner makes multiple 

references to part 91K in the letter, the examples and arguments that the petitioner provides 

focus on those instructors who teach for entities operating under parts 121 and 135. The 

FAA does not believe that the petitioner has provided sufficient evidence to support a need to 

amend § 61.197(a)(2)(ii). However, instructors who are only teaching courses for entities 

that do not operate under part 121 or 135 may, depending on their specific job duties, still be 

in a position of regularly evaluating pilots. If the instructor is in such a position, then again 

the holder of the flight instructor certificate would be able to renew his or her certificate in 

accordance with the current regulation. 

For the reasons above, we are unable to consider and thereby deny your petition for 

rulemaking in accordance with 14 CFR § 11.73 

Accordingly, Docket No. FAA-2011-0440 is being closed. 

Sincerely, 

/s/ 

Raymond Towles 

Acting Director, Flight Standards 

 Service