FAR 141.85 — Chief Instructor Responsibilities
FAR 141.85 outlines chief instructor duties at Part 141 pilot schools: certifying records, proficiency checks, stage checks, and availability requirements.
In Plain English
FAR 141.85 spells out what a chief instructor at a Part 141 pilot school (or provisional pilot school) is on the hook for. Think of the chief instructor as the person who owns the quality and integrity of the training program.
Key responsibilities include:
- Certifying student records — training records, graduation certificates, stage check and end-of-course test reports, and course completion recommendations. These duties may be delegated to an assistant chief instructor or recommending instructor.
- Initial and recurrent proficiency checks for every flight instructor, ground instructor, or commercial LTA pilot before they teach in the approved course, and again every 12 calendar months.
- Ensuring students complete required stage checks and end-of-course tests per the approved syllabus.
- Maintaining training techniques, procedures, and standards acceptable to the Administrator.
The chief or assistant chief instructor must be available at the school — or reachable by phone, radio, or other electronic means — whenever training is being conducted. The chief instructor may delegate stage checks, end-of-course tests, and instructor proficiency checks to an assistant chief instructor or a check instructor. This structure is why Part 141 schools can offer reduced minimum hour requirements: oversight is built in.
Regulation Text
14 CFR § 141.85§ 141.85 Chief instructor responsibilities.
(a) A chief instructor designated for a pilot school or provisional pilot school is responsible for:
(1) Certifying each student's training record, graduation certificate, stage check and end-of-course test reports, and recommendation for course completion, unless the duties are delegated by the chief instructor to an assistant chief instructor or recommending instructor;
(2) Ensuring that each certificated flight instructor, certificated ground instructor, or commercial pilot with a lighter-than-air rating passes an initial proficiency check prior to that instructor being assigned instructing duties in the school's approved training course, and thereafter that the instructor passes a recurrent proficiency check every 12 calendar months after the month in which the initial test was accomplished;
(3) Ensuring that each student accomplishes the required stage checks and end-of-course tests in accordance with the school's approved training course; and
(4) Maintaining training techniques, procedures, and standards for the school that are acceptable to the Administrator.
(b) The chief instructor or an assistant chief instructor must be available at the pilot school or, if away from the pilot school, be available by telephone, radio, or other electronic means during the time that training is given for an approved training course.
(c) The chief instructor may delegate authority for conducting stage checks, end-of-course tests, and flight instructor proficiency checks to the assistant chief instructor or a check instructor.
[Docket 25910, 62 FR 16347, Apr. 4, 1997; Amdt. 141-9, 62 FR 40908, July 30, 1997; Amdt. 141-12, 74 FR 42564, Aug. 21, 2009]
Oral Exam Questions a DPE Might Ask
Q1Who is responsible for certifying your training records and graduation certificate at a Part 141 school?
Per FAR 141.85, the chief instructor is responsible, though those duties may be delegated to an assistant chief instructor or recommending instructor.
Q2How often must a flight instructor at a Part 141 school complete a proficiency check?
FAR 141.85 requires an initial proficiency check before assignment to instructing duties, then a recurrent proficiency check every 12 calendar months after the month the initial check was completed.
Q3Does the chief instructor have to be physically present at the school during training?
No. Under FAR 141.85, the chief instructor or an assistant chief instructor must be available at the school, or reachable by telephone, radio, or other electronic means while training is being conducted.
Studying for a checkride?
Related Sections in Part 141