Other members include Advanced Creations Inc., Cessna, Raytheon Aircraft Co., Jeppesen, Ohio State University, and the Civil Aeromedical Institute. In terms of total time, under the old FAR Part 141 regulation, a student pilot needed to spend somewhere around 125 ground and flight training hours before earning private and instrument ratings. We cut that down by taking advantage of the new FAR Part 141.57 regulation to develop this curriculum. Total hours required to complete the course varies among students, between 80 to 100 hours. After that, flight training for private and instrument ratings accompanies the ground training.
Students learn by book, then by action.
The bookwork reinforces the hands-on training, and vice versa. It meets FAA requirements spelled out in Advisory Circular 61-126, issued last year. The first stage covers basic attitude flying and mastering equipment like the VOR, ADF, and so on. This program tackles not so much the technology, but the infrastructure. As many aviation managers can attest, the FAA tends to adopt change on the same time scale as mountain formation.