FAA Releases Policy on Training in Certain Categories of Aircraft

[Rodney]

Last week FAA prosecutors quoted FAA Advisory Circular 61-142, “defining ‘compensation’ as the receipt of anything of value that is contingent on the pilot operating the aircraft… [it] does not require a profit, profit motive, or actual payment of funds. … accumulation of flight time and goodwill in the form of expected future economic benefits can be considered compensation. Furthermore, the pilot does not have to be the party receiving the compensation; compensation occurs even if a third party receives a benefit as a result of the flight.”

What a mess

[Cherrybark]

It's that definition of "compensation" that really creates the problem. One of the FAA micromanaging terms is that anything of value will be considered compensation. Even the accumulation of flight hours triggers the rule.

An earlier FAA Advisory Circular 90-116, mine is dated 9/23/14, entitled "Addition Pilot Program for Phase I Flight Test is an example of a very useful thinking by the FAA. Under this policy, a "qualified" "Additional Pilot" can fly with the "Builder Pilot" from the very first take off. A rusty Builder Pilot could find an instructor, or other very experienced pilot, to fly with them until they were comfortable with the plane , then continue Phase I solo. The plane has to be built from a kit and the Addition Pilot has to complete a worksheet to calculate their experience qualifications. Generally speaking, someone with a lot of general aviation experience who has flown a variety of planes will qualify to assist.

With this latest FAA boondoggle, it's possible to have an instructor act as an Additional Pilot and there's nothing to prevent them from tossing out useful tidbits, drilling maneuvers, and so forth. But the time cannot be logged as dual and it appears you're going to have to find someone instructing in a factory built Kitfox to clear something like an insurance notation along the lines of "5 hours experience in make and model". I "self insured" for the first five hours and they went by fairly quickly.

[Kitfox Pilot]

That's good information, thanks for sharing.