Re: Questions Concerning § 61.110 of the Federal Aviation Regulations
Dear Mr. Ballew:
Tim Titus forwarded your email message to him regarding § 61.110 to me and asked me to respond.
As you know, § 61.110(b) provides, in relevant part, that a person who receives flight training in and resides in the State of Alaska but does not meet the night flight training requirements of this section: (1) may be issued a pilot certificate with a limitation “Night flying prohibited” and (2) must comply with the appropriate night flight training requirements of this subpart within the 12-calendar month period after the issuance of the pilot certificate. At the end of that period, the certificate will become invalid for use until the person complies with the appropriate night training requirements of this subpart.
The first question you posed was whether a person who added an ASES rating to his certificate (that was issued prior to August 7, 1997 with a night flying restriction) needed to comply with the night flying requirements within a year. You indicated that Allen Pinkston, AFS-640 said that he would have to satisfy the night flying training requirements. You asked if this was correct. Mr. Pinkston's statement is correct.
In the preamble to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that covered this particular regulation, the FAA stated:
“However, a person who has been issued a pilot certificate without meeting the night flying requirements of this proposal, prior to effective date of this rule, would be allowed to continue to hold that pilot certificate with the night flying limitation. If the person seeks an additional rating or higher pilot certificate level, the person would be required to comply with the night flying requirements that are appropriate to the pilot certificate level.”
Therefore, the person who adds a seaplane rating to his “old” certificate that has a night flying restriction must comply with the night flying training requirements. If he is takes his training in and resides in Alaska, he will have a period of one year from the date of issue of the “new” certificate in which to obtain the training. If he does not, his certificate is no longer valid. Any “grandfather privileges” are gone. If he did not take his training in and does not reside in Alaska, he must complete the night training prior to issuance of the new rating.
As to your other questions concerning lost certificates or change of address, the fact that the replacement certificate has a new issue date would not trigger a requirement to comply with the night flying training requirements as the pilot has not added an additional rating or obtained a higher certificate level. He is simply replacing his lost certificate or changing his address. During a ramp check were an inspector to question the validity of that certificate, the pilot should explain that his certificate was issued to replace a lost certificate or to change his address on a certificate that was actually issued prior to August 4, 1997. He also might consider keeping a copy of his correspondence requesting the duplicate or change of address.
You next asked about an individual who obtains a Private Pilot certificate ( I assume with ASEL rating) with the night flying prohibition and who, within a year, applies for and obtains an added rating (ASES). Then he gets an instrument rating, followed by an AMEL rating. At each stage, he is issued a new certificate with a new issue date. I understand your question to be “At what point does he have to comply with the night flying training requirements.
He must comply with the night flying training requirements for ASE within one year of the date he obtained the private pilot certificate. Once the ASE night flying training requirement is completed, e.g. for ASEL, there is no additional night training requirement for an ASES rating. Neither is there a night flying training requirement for the instrument rating. The night flying training requirements for the other additional rating, i.e., AME, must be obtained within one year of the date the AME additional rating is obtained. If he fails to comply with the night flying training requirement when each is due, his certificate will be invalid for use when the first due date is missed. Where the training was not timely obtained for earlier ratings, the fact that the certificate is invalid for use may not be apparent to anyone examining the certificate and looking only at the issue date. Absent examination of the pilot's logbook or some other investigation, discovery by anyone of the fact of invalidity is probably unlikely. Indeed, until a year has passed without any upgrade or added rating, the casual observer may have no indication that the certificate he is examining is invalid for use.
You also asked, “What about an individual who no longer resides in Alaska as required by FAR § 61.110? The regulation permits issuance of a restricted certificate to a person who takes his training in and resides in Alaska. The regulation permits a period of 12 months following issuance during which the person must get the night flying training. An individual who took his training in and was a legal resident of Alaska at the time he was issued the certificate with the “night flying prohibited” restriction based on § 61.110 who later changes his residency to another state within the 12 month period following issuance would still have until the end of the 12 month period to obtain the night flying training.