Anyone Else's FSDO Terminating DPE's?

Just this week one of my coworkers was talking about how the FAA is trying to limit the number of DPEs and how much/often they can work. Now this is all obviously rumor and I do not know of his source but he was saying the FSDO is looking to do more checkrides. This doesn't make any sense as most FSDOs simply don't have the staffing level to keep up with this, especially in the higher volume flight training states like Florida, Texas, and Arizona. It's also rumored that the FAA wants to get rid of schools having examining authority. Personally I just don't see anything like this happening anytime soon.
 
Honestly, the number of check rides being done has fallen off significantly, and every so often the FSDO is supposed to audit the DPE's, which requires work. Work that a bunch of FSDO's likely don't want to do.
 
ahw01 said:
Interesting about SDL, which school are you at, DVT?

I had a medical flight test booked with 2 guys (one to get initially current) but the 1st one forgot he ran out of currency. Glad I got it knocked out, could have been months.
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I'm with a small flight school in the Tucson area.

From what I heard in the aftermath, most of the carnage was caused by one person at SDL, who had a personal vendetta against the DPE's that were removed. I think the FAA eventually stepped in to stop the situation, since AOPA started looking into the conduct of the FSDO, and at least one of the former DPE's was threatening to sue the FAA for making false statements that were used to justify their removal.
 
I believe there was a recent local witch hunt a while back, from talking to a DPE about it. Still plenty in my area though, and they are busy.
 
TUCKnTRUCK said:
Honestly, the number of check rides being done has fallen off significantly, and every so often the FSDO is supposed to audit the DPE's, which requires work. Work that a bunch of FSDO's likely don't want to do.
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For the first time in the seven years that I've been my flight school, I saw a DPE supervised by an ASI just last week. I've personally taken nearly a dozen check rides in two FSDO's and never saw that until recently. It was always a possibility but I guessed low man power at the FSDO prevented it.

Of course there are the bad apples in every field that phuck it up for everyone. Edward Lane, St George Aviation, etc...

http://www.faa.gov/mechanics/retesting/
 
LOL. Don't get me started about Mr. Lane! I am one of the victims of his investigation. due to no fault of my own I had to retake a check ride. from what I hear, his investigation set off a massive whitch hunt throughout the DPE ranks.
 
ABQ hasn't gotten rid of any, though there's really only 1 among a few that stays busy. Vegas is another FSDO that has purged a few...Sheble jr and some others are gone.
 
Over the last few years, the AFW FSDO has lost 3-4 DPEs for various reasons, and hasn't replaced them. Now, they are going to merge Dallas and Fort Worth into 1 DFW FSDO. I would imagine they are going to cut down on even more when this happens.

CFI A&P said:
For the first time in the seven years that I've been my flight school, I saw a DPE supervised by an ASI just last week.
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That is an annual requirement for a DPE.
 
at1024 said:
It's also rumored that the FAA wants to get rid of schools having examining authority
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That's not a rumor, that's the truth. The FAA hasn't liked examining authority since the day it came out. The whole reason there's even a 141 program is because a lot of guys back in the 'Nam era didn't want to go to college. Problem is... government cheese through all the programs were setup to be spent on government-type schooling only... aka college... So, some brainiacs decided to make a flight program that lowered the hourly requirement for a certificate/rating, increased the amount of knowledge required on paper to complete the course, add a couple stage checks, put in a couple check airman and an ACI, present it to the FAA, and walaa.... they get approval, and ever since then the FAA wants to have full and complete control over every person that passes a checkride. That's just the tip of the iceberg...
 
The Birmingham FSDO here in Alabama has actually picked up a few new DPEs in the past few months. There was one point when we were down to I believe something like 4 DPEs in the entire state last year. Scheduling a checkride was an absolutely nightmare due to their packed schedules. I know of 2 new DPEs that went to school in the most recent April class, both of them have been past instructors of mine. Small world.
 
KHanson said:
That's not a rumor, that's the truth. The FAA hasn't liked examining authority since the day it came out...

....present it to the FAA, and walaa.... they get approval, and ever since then the FAA wants to have full and complete control over every person that passes a checkride. That's just the tip of the iceberg...
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Your whole description confuses me. The FAA hasn't liked it since day one, yet the FAA was the one that approved the system in the first place? What am I missing?
 
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