FAR 141.36 — Assistant Chief Instructor Qualifications
FAR 141.36 sets the certificates, flight hours, and instructor experience required to serve as an assistant chief instructor at a Part 141 pilot school.
In Plain English
FAR 141.36 lists what a pilot must have to be designated as an assistant chief instructor at a Part 141 pilot school. The rule combines certificate requirements, recent experience, testing, and minimum flight hours that scale with the type of course taught.
Every applicant must:
- Hold a commercial or ATP certificate and a current flight instructor certificate (CFI not required for lighter-than-air-only courses), with the appropriate category, class, and instrument ratings for the course.
- Meet § 61.57 PIC recent flight experience.
- Pass a knowledge test on teaching methods, the AIM, Parts 61/91/141, and the course's objectives and completion standards.
- Pass a proficiency test on the maneuvers in that course.
Flight-time minimums depend on the course:
- Recreational/Private courses: 500 hours PIC plus instructor experience of 1 year and 250 hours, or 500 hours.
- Instrument courses: 50 hours actual/simulated instrument, 500 hours PIC, plus CFII experience of 1 year and 125 hours, or 200 hours.
- All other courses (e.g., commercial): 1,000 hours PIC plus instructor experience of 1 year and 500 hours, or 750 hours.
Glider, balloon, and airship assistant chiefs need only 40% of those hour totals. For a ground school course, the applicant only needs 6 months as a ground instructor at a certificated pilot school. This matters because the assistant chief is the back-up to the chief instructor for course oversight and student endorsements.
Regulation Text
14 CFR § 141.36§ 141.36 Assistant chief instructor qualifications.
(a) To be eligible for designation as an assistant chief instructor for a course of training, a person must meet the following requirements:
(1) Hold a commercial pilot or an airline transport pilot certificate and, except for the assistant chief instructor for a course of training solely for a lighter-than-air rating, a current flight instructor certificate. The certificates must contain the appropriate aircraft category, class, and instrument ratings if an instrument rating is required by the course of training for the category and class of aircraft used in the course;
(2) Meet the pilot-in-command recent flight experience requirements of § 61.57 of this chapter;
(3) Pass a knowledge test on—
(i) Teaching methods;
(ii) Applicable provisions of the “Aeronautical Information Manual”;
(iii) Applicable provisions of parts 61, 91, and 141 of this chapter; and
(iv) The objectives and approved course completion standards of the course for which the person seeks to obtain designation.
(4) Pass a proficiency test on the flight procedures and maneuvers appropriate to that course; and
(5) Meet the applicable requirements in paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of this section. However, an assistant chief instructor for a course of training for gliders, balloons, or airships is only required to have 40 percent of the hours required in paragraphs (b) and (d) of this section.
(b) For a course of training leading to the issuance of a recreational or private pilot certificate or rating, an assistant chief instructor must have:
(1) At least 500 hours as pilot in command; and
(2) Flight training experience, acquired as either a certificated flight instructor or an instructor in a military pilot flight training program, or a combination thereof, consisting of at least—
(i) 1 year and a total of 250 flight hours; or
(ii) 500 flight hours.
(c) For a course of training leading to the issuance of an instrument rating or a rating with instrument privileges, an assistant chief flight instructor must have:
(1) At least 50 hours of flight time under actual or simulated instrument conditions;
(2) At least 500 hours as pilot in command; and
(3) Instrument flight instructor experience, acquired as either a certificated flight instructor-instrument or an instructor in a military pilot flight training program, or a combination thereof, consisting of at least—
(i) 1 year and a total of 125 flight hours; or
(ii) 200 flight hours.
(d) For a course of training other than one leading to the issuance of a recreational or private pilot certificate or rating, or an instrument rating or a rating with instrument privileges, an assistant chief instructor must have:
(1) At least 1,000 hours as pilot in command; and
(2) Flight training experience, acquired as either a certificated flight instructor or an instructor in a military pilot flight training program, or a combination thereof, consisting of at least—
(i) 1years and a total of 500 flight hours; or
(ii) 750 flight hours.
(e) To be eligible for designation as an assistant chief instructor for a ground school course, a person must have 6 months of experience as a ground school instructor at a certificated pilot school.
[Docket 25910, 62 FR 16347, Apr. 4, 1997; Amdt. 141-9, 62 FR 40907, July 30, 1997, as amended by Amdt. 141-10, 63 FR 20289, Apr. 23, 1998]
Oral Exam Questions a DPE Might Ask
Q1What certificates must an assistant chief instructor at a Part 141 school hold?
Per FAR 141.36(a)(1), the person must hold a commercial or ATP certificate and a current flight instructor certificate with the appropriate category, class, and instrument ratings for the course — except a CFI is not required for a lighter-than-air-only course.
Q2What are the flight-time minimums to be an assistant chief instructor for a private pilot course?
FAR 141.36(b) requires at least 500 hours as PIC, plus flight training experience of either 1 year and 250 flight hours, or 500 flight hours, as a CFI or military instructor.
Q3What does it take to be an assistant chief instructor for a ground school course?
Under FAR 141.36(e), the applicant only needs 6 months of experience as a ground school instructor at a certificated pilot school.
Studying for a checkride?
Related Sections in Part 141