FAATestCodeLookup Site Relaunched and Updated!

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Tired of looking up codes from FAA knowledge tests the hard way?

Me too, which is why I created a website to make that easier a few years. I recently reworked the website and expanded the functionality and options for lookups!

Check out www.FAATestCodeLookup.com
where you can enter ACS or PTS (LSC) codes from FAA knowledge tests.

The updated database includes newer ACS codes for Private, Commercial, and Instrument tests, Mechanic tests, and older PLT codes from CFI or CFI-I tests.

Enter codes from your or your student’s knowledge test reports to get the associated topics and if desired, enter an email address to have them sent to you, or even your examiner!

Enjoy all, and I hope you find this as helpful as it is for me in my daily flight training work.

Are We Making More, or Less CFIs per month?

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A week or so ago I was talking with a friend at a flight training provider and we were discussing the challenges many flight training providers are experiencing at sourcing new employee CFIs as airline hiring has actively hired away as many CFIs as can meet ATP (or R-ATP) experience requirements. In some cases, I have been talking with flight training providers that are finding their operations losing more CFIs per month than they can hire.

It got me thinking, will we be experiencing a reduction in training throughput due to a lack of available CFI resources to train the following sequence of pilots? My gut said this might be a real possibility.

That was until I pulled some data from a source that reports the number of CFI certificates issued per month for U.S. and non-U.S. citizens. I took a little time, and put this into a quick table to see what the trend actually looked like, and here is what I came up with.

It appears in fact that we are producing MORE CFIs per month recently than we were over the past years. Continue reading →

ATP Certificates Issued Year-to-Date 2023 Tracking Close to 2022 Numbers

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Halfway through the year, the question of how we are tracking when it comes to the numbers of ATP certifications issued for airplane multi-engine pilot certificates. The numerical flow of issuance of these ATP certificates is directly related to how well we are doing at continuing to provide a flow of pilots able to provide service in the airline environment. It is without doubt a data point worth following.

The good news is that we are tracking very closely to the number of issuances, in fact, slightly higher year-to-date as of June than we were in 2022. Considering 2022 was a high-point year in recent history, this means we might be producing as many ATP certifications as our system may allow.

You can see the monthly issuance on a month-by-month basis in the table here to the right. A track of the yearly track as the months go by each year from 2017 through 2023 as of June this year is below and offers further comparison. The chart does show drops in 2020 and 2021 as the system was affected by covid restrictions as one might expect, but also tracking higher in numbers than years previous to 2022.

The production rates seem to be relatively stabilized, perhaps indicating what a maximum potential production rate per month in our current infrastructure might be overall.

Today is deadline for The First 2023 Paul and Fran Burger WINGS Sweepstakes Entry Deadline, June 30, 2023!

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The WINGS Industry Network (WIN) administers the Paul and Fran Burger Sweepstakes. In 2023, WIN offers two sweepstakes drawings, each including cash AND prizes. The sweepstakes is designed to provide incentives to participate in the FAASTeam WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program. WIN offers a chance to win one of fifteen awards in the bi-annual contest. To be eligible, pilots must complete a phase(s) of WINGS, and CFIs must validate phase(s) of WINGS.
The first half of the 2023 sweepstakes consists of ten cash prizes of $250 and five prizes generously donated by Gleim, Gene Benson, Pilot Institute, AOPA, and ASA. That means fifteen lucky aviators are eligible to win!
The first half 2023 entry deadline is June 30, 2023, so get busy and complete or validate a phase and get a chance to win real cash and prizes! You can enter the sweepstakes in the Team Member Rewards section of the “My WINGS” page at FAASafety.gov.
For more information on the sweepstakes and to learn about the mission of the WINGS Industry Network, visit www.wingsindustry.net