It has been personal. It has been passionate. It has taken a long time. Many caring, competent members of the aviation training community have given countless hours of their time, traveling many thousands of miles. Every one of them has been stirred by needless accidents, where lives might have been saved if only those pilots had known how to effectively manage risk. The lost pilots and their passengers were a constant presence and motivation. But it’s now here.
Starting in June, pilots taking the Private Pilot and Instrument Rating checkrides have been using the Airman Certification Standards (ACS) instead of the Practical Test Standards (PTS)—ensuring that future pilots will have the risk management tools they need. We have put together an ACS information page that we hope you will find useful Click Here – ACS information page.
King Schools has released a new version of our “Private Pilot Practical Test (Oral Exam & Flight Test)” course with new video to cover every ACS task. It contains over 5 hours of oral and in-flight HD video. It features a simulated ACS checkride. Mary Schu is the DPE (Designated Pilot Examiner) and joined John and me on camera to demonstrate complete check rides from first to last handshake in this brand-new course.
You will find these new ACS Practical Test courses useful whether you are an applicant, a flight instructor, or a designated examiner.
The process that led to the ACS started with an Airman Testing Standards and Training Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC), which determined the need for change. Next was the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC) Airmen Certification Systems Working Group, which made it all happen. The group members came from aviation associations, universities, manufacturers, pilot unions, course developers, and training providers—all collaborating and cooperating with the FAA. King Schools supplied two members of each group: John King and John “Mac” McWhinney. It was a privilege and a big responsibility for everyone who participated.
As a result, the checkrides (Practical Tests) will ensure pilots understand how knowledge, risk management, and skill work together. Using the ACS for training and testing will fashion the habit of thinking systematically about what’s happening now, what bad thing might happen if you don’t do something about it, and what you can do now to prevent it from happening. The ACS provides the standards for what a pilot is expected to demonstrate on both the knowledge test and practical test. The tests will now be relevant to a pilot’s ability to get utility from the aircraft, and to identify and mitigate the risks of flight. No longer will a pilot be tested on the trivial and obscure.
We hope you enjoy our new course.
Happy Flying,
Martha
