Tracking DPE Volume and Activity 2025

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The number of available and how active DPEs are in our U.S. training system.

The good news is that we have seen an increase in total number of available flight qualified DPEs  in the last couple of years, with FY2024 ending with the FAA reporting a total of 1035 DPEs in service.

Increasing DPEs numbers helps provide more available testing resources.

It’s is worth contextualizing the number of available DPEs to the demand for testing additionally. We can see looking back from 2011 where we saw 60,621 tests conducted by the then 944 DPEs that the demand has gone up to the high point in 2023 when DPEs conducted 140,954 practical tests with 969 DPEs. 2024 saw a decrease in testing numbers conducted by DPEs as the DPE overall numbers increased.

Another key factor to look at is the utilization of the DPEs in our system; how actively they are providing tests. Having a lot of DPEs who don’t do many tests doesn’t help move the volume of tests conducted metric very well.

So, a goal is to have DPEs who are actively engaged in providing greater numbers of tests (within reason).

We can see from the chart below that we have improved the number of DPEs actively engaged in providing greater numbers of tests in the last year.

Where we historically saw fewer numbers of DPEs providing testing volumes of over 100, or even 200 per year, in RY2024 we saw both those metrics improve. Back in FY2012 – FY2023 it was common to see smaller numbers of DPEs bearing the burden of larger workloads. As new DPEs are being brought on, it does appear that the workload volume is spreading more across DPEs willing to more actively conduct higher test volumes. This has the potential, if it continues, to help better serve DPE services (practical test) demand going forward.

CFI Signoff Frequency in 2024

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I always find this post fun every year. We get to see how many CFIs signed off applicants for practical tests, and how many CFIs did it at high levels!

When we look at the total number of CFIs who signed off even one applicant for a practical test in 2024, we see that number up a little bit. The chart below shows the trend of this data point since 2017.

When we compare this in the tabular format year to year, we see that the number of CFIs who are signing people off for a practical test has been climbing each of the recent years.

This matches up with the general trend of higher certification levels each year, and while we don’t have the airman certification numbers for 2024 just yet, I think this data point is an early indicator that 2024 will again be a year that saw high numbers of FAA certificates and ratings issued.

It can also be an indicator that CFIs are turning over in their jobs and that more CFIs are signing people off for tests as they work to gain experience and then transition into other professional pilot jobs for which they become qualified based on the hours they gain as a CFI along the way.

Another interesting data point is how many CFIs signed off more than 5 applicants for practical tests in 2024. These are some of the more active CFIs in our system in a given year. We see this number climbing year-to-year also in the chart to the right here.

But like most years, it still represents a small number of the overall holders of CFI certificates (probably over 120,000 at this point) in our aviation system. A smaller number of CFIs are doing the bulk of our training toward issuance of a certificate or rating that is tracked when an applicant is signed off for a practical test.

And for the last fun data point of this post, you can compare how your own signoff efforts relate to other CFIs this year if you are a highly active CFI when it comes to applicants you signed off in 2024. The chart below shows how many CFIs signed off applicants in ranges, quite obviously the higher numbers of signoffs in a given year fall to rare company. Pretty amazing that 7 CFIs were the recommending instructors on over 100 certificate and/or rating applications!

How many ATP certificates in 2024?

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Tracking the number of ATP certificates issued every year helps us understand the flow of pilots who might be able to enter into service in airline operations for passengers and cargo in the United States.

While there has been some concern that airline hiring has decreased in 2024, the data we see from the ATP certification numbers indicates that there is still strong ATP certification happening in our pilot career pipeline.

When we look a the monthly rate, we see a slight drop in 2024 in the later months, as we approach the holiday season. This is a very common trend in the monthly certification efforts.

But let’s look a this from a more “yearly” perspective.

When we track the yearly month-by-month to a total at the end of the year, we do see that 2024 was a lower number of ATP certifications than 2023, which was a peak year in the recent past. It was, however, right on track with what was experienced in 2022.

When we look at the overall trend, we still see the dip year in 2020 during the effects of Covid-19, but since then we have been on a continued upward trend of ATP certificates overall even with some drop this past year from the highest point. It does still show that the recent 2024 numbers included robust ATP certification issuance.

Another interesting data point relates to the percentage of ATP certificates that are initially issued as R-ATP (Restricted ATP) certificates.

Since its inception in 2013 the number of these that have been issued increased and has stabilized at roughly 1/3 of the ATP certificates issued each year. This again relates to the fact that many initial ATP certification events are paired with initial airline training events at regional airlines. These pilots then follow that certification with removal of the restriction when they meet additional minimum requirements for full ATP certification. This is most commonly met after some time in service as a First Officer at a regional airline.

This data point is relevant because it is a continued indicator that a large number of pilots might not be able to enter into service as airline pilots without the lower R-ATP minimums in place. It is additionally an indicator that many pilots are entering into airline pilot jobs who met R-ATP minimum eligibility, typically through having trained and gained experience in collegiate aviation programs that qualify a pilot for an R-ATP certificate. This remains a critical part of our pilot training pipeline.

Hopefully, you find this data on ATP certification as interesting as I do!