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New ATP Certification Requirements: A Pilot’s Guide

March 4, 2015/in Career, Regulations/by Studentpltnews

Airline pilots are required to possess an ATP. Part of the sweeping regulatory changes in the aftermath of the tragic accident near Buffalo, New York, involving a Colgan Air Bombardier Q400, are requirements for the new Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certification. The FAA released the final rule for pilot certification and qualification requirements for air […]

Out with the Old, In with the New

February 24, 2015/in Tips and technique/by Studentpltnews

Recently, the FAA formally announced that they would be removing a number of test questions from the Private Pilot Knowledge Test. These test questions included a number of weather related questions concerning Radar Summary Charts and TWEBs (Transcribed Weather Broadcast).
This notice from the FAA got me thinking about these and some other weather products that have gone away in the last few years and what has come along to serve the same or a similar purpose. I’ll touch on the TWEB and Radar Summary Chart in this post and perhaps touch on some others in a future post.

New ATP Certification Requirements: A Pilot’s Guide

March 4, 2015/in Career, Regulations/by Studentpltnews

Out with the Old, In with the New

February 24, 2015/in Tips and technique/by Studentpltnews

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

New ATP Certification Requirements: A Pilot’s Guide

March 4, 2015/in Career, Regulations/by Studentpltnews

: Airline pilots are required to possess an ATP.

Part of the sweeping regulatory changes in the aftermath of the tragic accident near Buffalo, New York, involving a Colgan Air Bombardier Q400, are requirements for the new Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certification. The FAA released the final rule for pilot certification and qualification requirements for air carrier operations, commonly referred to as the “1,500-hour rule,” in July 2013. First and foremost, to be eligible to serve as a crew member in a Part 121 Air Carrier (airline) operation, every pilot must now possess an ATP. While the experience and certification requirement for the ATP is vastly different on paper from the Commercial certificate and 250 hours previously required to be a first officer, it does NOT represent nearly as dramatic a change in practice.

Pilot hiring has always been market driven, and historically, pilots have been required to possess minimum experience at least close to the ATP requirements to be competitive for pilot positions. While exceptions exist for every rule, pilots generally have been expected to possess anywhere from 1,000 to 1,500 hours of total time and 50 to 100 hours of multiengine time to be marketable to the airlines. This requirement has not changed essentially in the new rule. The more dramatic changes in the new rule are the additional requirements that first officers possess a type rating for their aircraft and that captains have at least 1,000 hours of airline experience.

: R-ATP allows pilots to serve as FOs.

The new rule also creates the Restricted ATP (R-ATP) qualification, allowing a pilot to serve as an airline first officer before reaching the necessary 1,500 hours for a full, unrestricted ATP. The R-ATP requires that the pilot be 21 years of age and successfully complete a checkride; in lieu of the minimum hours, it offers credit for specified education and training, thereby acknowledging that specialized, quality training can be an effective substitute for total experience. The options for R-ATP minimum experience are:

750 hours of total pilot time for military pilots
1,000 hours for graduates holding a bachelor’s degree with an aviation major from an approved school
1,250 hours for graduates holding an associate degree with an aviation major from an approved school

For each of these R-ATP options, the majority of total flight experience must have been obtained while enrolled in the specified programs. It is worth noting that simply graduating from a two-year or four-year aviation program does not automatically grant eligibility for the R-ATP. Each school that desires to certify its graduates for the R-ATP must apply for and receive approval from the FAA and must meet criteria outlined in Advisory Circular 61-139.

: R-ATP is a good option for flight instructors who may not possess 500 hours cross-country experience.

A separate category of pilots includes those who may possess the 1,500 hours of total pilot time required for a full ATP but fall short of the requisite 500 hours of cross-country experience (e.g. flight instructors). These pilots, who also have at least 200 hours of cross-country time and otherwise meet ATP experience requirements, are also eligible to apply for the R-ATP.

When transitioning to an unrestricted ATP, an FAA inspector can remove R-ATP limitations and issue a full ATP with paperwork only. The applicant must present evidence that he has met the ATP age requirement (23) and the aeronautical experience requirements of § 61.155. The applicant then must complete section III – Record of Pilot Time, on FAA Form 8710-1, Airman Certificate and/or Rating Application Supplemental Information and Instructions, to be issued the unrestricted ATP.

FAA only recently began granting institutional authority to certify for R-ATP. A complete list of approved schools is available at https://www.faa.gov/pilots/training/atp/media/Institutional_Authority_List.pdf. Given the recency of the rule and approval of schools, there exists a population of pilots who have graduated from programs prior to FAA approval and the ability to certify for R-ATP. Unless the school takes steps to include this group in its approval or by other means, it’s conceivable some may not technically meet eligibility requirements – even if having graduated and followed the exact curriculum.

: ATP-CTP requires training in a full motion flight simulator.

Also included in new ATP certification rules is the requirement to complete an FAA-approved Airline Transport Pilot Certification Training Program (ATP-CTP) prior to taking the FAA written exam for multiengine ATP. ATP-CTP is a 40 hour course – 30 hours of ground school and 10 hours of simulator training – intended to prepare the applicant to operate safely in those operations which require an ATP. Of the 10 hours of simulator training, six (6) hours must be completed in a Level C or higher full flight simulator that represents a multiengine, turbine airplane with a maximum takeoff weight of at least 40,000 pounds, rendering many corporate aircraft ineligible.

The ATP CTP serves as a prerequisite for the multiengine ATP written exam and includes training in:

Aerodynamics,
Automation,
Adverse weather conditions,
Air carrier operations,
Transport airplane performance,
Professionalism, and
Leadership and development.

: ATP-CTP training may be included in some airline new-hire programs.

As of August 1, 2014, all persons applying for the ATP knowledge test are required to present a graduation certificate certifying the completion of an ATP-CTP before taking the written test. For written tests taken before August 1, 2014, those test results still remain valid for 24 calendar months. Written tests for multiengine ATP taken after July 31, 2014 are valid for 60 calendar months. The ATP-CTP graduation certificate itself does not expire so there is no penalty and no harm in taking the ATP-CTP anytime that is convenient.

Single-engine ATP does NOT require the ATP-CTP course, but does require a separate single-engine ATP written exam. Previously held exceptions for taking the ATP practical exam with expired written test results still hold true as provided in § 61.39(b) and (c) which relate to crewmembers of Part 121, 125 or 135 operators or certain foreign pilot license holders.

To date, very few approvals for ATP-CTP have been issued. Sporty’s training partner, ABX Air, in Wilmington, Ohio, was one of the first outside of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. A list of eligible providers is available at https://www.faa.gov/pilots/training/atp/media/ATP_CTP_Providers.pdf.

The movement in the industry appears to be that many regional airline training departments will be creating ATP-CTP courses and seeking FAA approval indicating that completion of the ATP-CTP requirement may be accomplished in large part, as part of the hiring or on-boarding process of some regional airlines.

As you can see, there have been some dramatic changes in certification and the cost of the ATP written for multiengine has essentially gone from $150 to something north of $4,500 factoring in the costs of ATP-CTP. But practical experience requirements to fly as an airline pilot remain nearly the same. It’s much too early to see what effects the changes in certification may have on safety, but if you are in the category of having passed the ATP written exam prior to the ATP-CTP mandate, keep a close eye on those written test results and make sure you’ve earned the ATP before expiration. And if you’re a collegiate aviation program graduate, ensure your institution had received institutional approval for R-ATP and if not, engage your school to determine where they may be in the process.

For additional information, FAA resources are available at https://www.faa.gov/pilots/training/atp/.

Out with the Old, In with the New

February 24, 2015/in Tips and technique/by Studentpltnews

Recently, the FAA formally announced that they would be removing a number of test questions from the Private Pilot Knowledge Test. These test questions involved topics such ADF/NDB and Medevac. They also involved a number of weather related questions concerning Radar Summary Charts, EFAS (En Route Flight Advisory Service), and TWEBs (Transcribed Weather Broadcast).

Of the weather topics, the Radar Summary Chart and TWEB products have been essentially eliminated in the Continental United States. Alaska still has TWEB products as of this writing.

This notice from the FAA got me thinking about these and some other weather products that have gone away in the last few years and what has come along to serve the same or a similar purpose. I’ll touch on the TWEB and Radar Summary Chart in this post and perhaps touch on some others in a future post.

TWEB

TWEBs existed when I started flying many years ago and I’ve known about them from that early time. As a pilot and a flight instructor, I can’t recall ever listening to one over all of those years. I would generally just speak to a Flight Service or EFAS briefer instead.

TWEBs were designed to be a prerecorded location or route briefing. These recordings would be broadcast over NDB or VOR facilities and you could tune in to listen to the message. Some TWEB stations allowed you to call in via the telephone as well to listen to the recording. The broadcast would include general weather information along with hazards, local METARs, and a forecast for the respective area.

To be useful, you needed to be flying the route specified or flying a local flight at the particular location.

If you were really a glutton for punishment, the National Weather Service (NWS) also prepared a text version of the TWEB complete with lots of abbreviations for your viewing pleasure.

249 TWEB 251402 KISN-KMOT-KGFK. ALL HGTS AGL XCP TOPS. KISN-50NM E KISN TIL 00Z P6SM SKC… AFT 00Z P6SM SCT050 LCL P6SM -TSRA BKN050. 50NM E KISN-KDVL TIL 20Z P6SM SCT070… AFT 20Z P6SM SCT070 LCL SFC WNDS VRB35G45KT 3-5SM TSRA CIGS OVC030-040. KDVL-KGFK TIL 16Z P6SM SCT-BKN020 AREAS 3-5SM BR… AFT 16Z P6SM SCT040.

Self-briefings through DU AT and later Lockheed Martin Flight Service’s website (let alone a call to Flight Service) allow you to get the same information but specific to your own route. In-flight use of EFAS (Flight Watch) along with satellite and ground based weather downlink/uplink have eliminated much of the need for this prerecorded product. Additionally, the consolidation of the many FSS stations under LM FSS has made this product more difficult to keep up to date even if there hadn’t been suitable replacements.

Radar Summary Chart

The Radar Summary Chart was a great product back in its day. It was one of the few products that would give you an indication of the weather between reporting stations. It would provide information on the height of the precipitation along with the intensity of storm cells and their general speed and direction of movement. It contained a great deal of information that you need as a pilot.

Back in the days before the Internet and smart phones with live radar, this was great information in a relatively compact product that could be received by teletype and later via FAX machine. Black and images with contours for intensity told you much of what you needed to know.

There were a number of issues with the Radar Summary Chart but if you understood them, you could deal with them. First, the chart only came out once per hour. This meant that the information displayed could be out of date, especially with fast moving thunderstorm cells. People complain that the Nexrad information being supplied to our cockpits isn’t real time but compared to the Radar Summary Chart, a 10-15 minute data delay is amazingly close.

Nowadays, one would think that the radar data shown in the Radar Summary Chart would be a digital transfer from live radar screens composited onto a single chart. In its latter years this may have been the case, but for most of the life of this product it was actually compiled from a textual radar product known as a Radar Weather Report or RAREP. RAREPs were and still are an ugly product. They are tough to interpret without plotting them which is what the Radar Summary Chart did.

Here is a RAREP from today as I write this post (there is snow heading this way):

CLE 1935 AREA 8SW+ 262/20 108/11 27W
AUTO
^ML13 NL2
ILN 1935 AREA 6SW+ 272/19 116/10 30W
AUTO
^MM3 NM2
OHX 1935 AREA 2SW++ 273/125 137/110 153W
left: 30px;”>AUTO

^LL41 MI1 ML31 NI1111 NO11 OL111111 PI1111 QI111121

The black and white Radar Summary Chart saw its last transmission from the NWS back in June, 2013. The FAA released a new computer testing supplement for the Sport, Recreational, and Private tests later that year with the old chart still a part of the test. Thankfully, as of February 9^th, 2015, it is no longer on the test.

The NWS does have a color replacement product but it does seem to be missing some of the elements of the old chart. The new product appears to come out every half hour which is an improvement and it does show more intensity levels through color than the old. One important thing that it does not show is whether an area is blank because there are no echos or because there is no information (ie: equipment failure). Also missing is an indication of the precipitation type that was found on the old chart. Cell movement appears to be there but the symbology has changed from arrows to pennants.

In addition, nearly live radar with motion and color intensity are available from a number of resources. Most of these products unfortunately do not include precipitation height which can be an important indicator to those of us who fly. You also need to be fully aware of any limitations that the bright and shiny color radar display may have. You may not want to stake your life on the latest free app that all of your ground-bound friends are using.

Conclusion

For many years, change in aviation was a slow process and it really still is, but change does come and we all need to keep up. TWEBs and the black and white Radar Summary Chart both had their day. Now, they are moving on to make way for bigger and brighter things. Enjoy the ride!

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Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

New ATP Certification Requirements: A Pilot’s Guide

Out with the Old, In with the New

New ATP Certification Requirements: A Pilot’s Guide

Out with the Old, In with the New

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

New ATP Certification Requirements: A Pilot’s Guide

Out with the Old, In with the New

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