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The two bucket theory

March 13, 2015/in Personal stories, Tips and technique/by studentpltnews

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 […]

The two bucket theory

March 13, 2015/in Personal stories, Tips and technique/by studentpltnews

New ATP Certification Requirements: A Pilot’s Guide

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

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The two bucket theory

March 13, 2015/in Personal stories, Tips and technique/by studentpltnews

Many “seasoned” pilots reason a new flight student arrives for their first lesson with two buckets. One holds the student’s flying experience, which is empty. The other holds the student’s flying luck, hopefully it’s full. From that point forward the student’s goal is to fill his bucket of experience before the luck bucket is empty because it is known that good decisions come from experience and applying the lessons learned from those previous experiences to the current situation. Unfortunately, too often experience is obtained as a result of bad decisions that are survived by making a withdrawal from the luck bucket.

While these notions reflect a fair amount of pragmatism, in my opinion they diminish both the role of the pilot and his instructor in addition to any additional mentors encountered in his flying career. It implies that any of us pilots who are alive today are only alive because of luck. Like most endeavors, pilots that depend on luck to keep themselves, their airplanes and their passengers in the air will someday find they have run out of airspeed, altitude, skill – and luck – simultaneously.

Now I admit to having relied on my luck bucket more than once in my flying (as well as every other) career. After one flight from Lafayette, IN to Rochester, MN I put 36 gallons of fuel in a 38 gallon tank. On another occasion the Skyhawk I was flying at 7,000 feet developed over an inch of ice on the leading edges of everything in about a minute. On a flight to Kitty Hawk I flew into a developing thunderstorm where we climbed over 2,000 feet per minute from 7,000 feet to nearly 15,000 while the throttle was at idle and the only piloting skill I was using was keeping the wings level and the airspeed around 100 knots maneuvering speed. Sure glad I wasn’t in a downdraft! Each of these “experiences” was gained by bad go/no-go decisions and I was lucky enough to deliver myself, my airplane and my passengers safely to our airport of intended landing.

Once subscribed to the “Two Bucket Hypothesis” then you must also believe that your luck bucket only has a finite amount of luck in it. If true, can we have a long rewarding flying experience while reserving our luck for riskier enterprises – like finding our spouse? I believe we can by making sure ourselves, our airplane and the atmosphere is ready for the flight.

Ourselves – are we ready to make the planned flight? Are we healthy, prepared and certified for the trip? A cramped, stuffy cockpit on a hot ramp or in rough air is no place to be nursing a cold, stomach virus, headache or that dreadful combination of a hangover. Have we acquired the necessary skills to complete the flight and are you ready to use them? Practicing seldom used skills is a great way to maintain proficiency and provides an excuse to go flying (like we need an excuse). On every flight I like to try my hand at some skill like spot landing, simulating an engine out, no flap landings or navigating a leg by pilotage or dead reckoning. It can be too easy to take off, turn on George (old pilot’s slang for auto-pilot) and sit back letting the equipment do the work – until one day it doesn’t. It pays to be ready.

Airplane – is our airplane ready for the flight? You have probably checked to make sure the airworthiness certificate and registration is there along with the POH and weight and balance. Those documents are important and a lack thereof will keep you on the ground but there is nothing about pieces of paper that will keep you flying once you are aloft. A thorough physical preflight is a must. Occasionally get out the POH. Make sure your preflight inspection hasn’t somehow been abbreviated over time. If you find a squawk, make sure it is resolved.

Putting air in tires covered by wheel fairings can be a pain, but landing with a flat – at a commercial airport – requiring shutting down the runway – and a tow – and a large service charge – plus being the subject of an NTSB report saying something like “incident occurred as a result of pilot preforming an inadequate preflight inspection” is a much bigger pain. Using checklists for each phase of flight is a good idea and the preflight inspection is a good place to begin that practice.

Atmosphere – is it conducive to completing the flight? Is it VFR, not only at your destination but along the route? There is no such thing as an “all weather” airplane (OK those P-3s the hurricane hunters use are close).

Even the airlines will throw in the towel cancelling flights because of weather. And those airplanes have professional crews, an abundance of power, high wing loading, anti-ice, and tactical weather systems on board. Be prepared to make a no-go decision and stick with it. Do not allow others (or yourself) to talk you into a flight that proposes unacceptable risks due to the weather. Check winds aloft. How will the winds effect groundspeed? Do you have enough gas? Will your trip require an extra stop? If so, have you checked out the conditions at that intermediate airport? Will its FBO be open? Do they have self-serve fuel? Is it working?

Years ago we had a plethora of flight service stations with knowledgeable technicians to answer these questions for us. Now, although a version of flight service still exists, apps such as Fore Flight puts much of this info literally at our fingertips as we swipe our iPads. Teamed with a GPS receiver your groundspeed and time to destination is constantly computed leaving little reason to ever come up short on fuel.

On your next flight make sure yourself, your airplane and the weather is conducive to safely completing it so won’t waste any luck on something over which you have control. You want to have plenty of luck left some day when you might need it to keep the airplane flying in a dire situation – or win the lottery.

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/.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

The two bucket theory

New ATP Certification Requirements: A Pilot’s Guide

The two bucket theory

New ATP Certification Requirements: A Pilot’s Guide

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

The two bucket theory

New ATP Certification Requirements: A Pilot’s Guide

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