Does the school need to be FAA approved?
- Thread starter dblou
- Start date
Guy
Well-Known Member
By "FAA approved" you are probably talking about a 141 school.
With a 141 school, there is an oversight responsibility on the FAA. So, you are somewhat guaranteed of some reasonable degree of quality. Please don't take that to mean that 141 schools are better than Part 61 schools, it is they get looked at more carefully by the FAA.
The reason many people cite for going to a 141 school is that they can have reduced hour requirements. That is true.
A 141 school can also have other reductions in the requirements for a certificate. For example, if there is an airport 96 NM away that would be a good trip at night, but doesn't meet the 100 NM requirement, the FAA can grant them an exception to use the 96 NM trip to satisfy the requirement.
A 141 school can even have a self examining authority so there is no practical test at the end. Typically that is only given to the more established schools, but it is possible for any 141 school to receive the authority after they have been a 141 school for a while.
But perhaps the biggest reason people choose a 141 school is because of funding. The Veteran's Administration will only give GI Bill money to someone attending a 141 school. Some states also have vocational training programs and they will only fund training done at a 141 school. It isn't uncommon for someone to start in a 141 program in order to secure training funding, but then finish under the Part 61 requirement so they can be done sooner.
If you look around you will find a whole lot of threads discussing the relative merits of a 61 and a 141 school. Often the comments in those threads come from a limited exposure to the various schools. The reality is both 61 and 141 schools can run the gamut from very good to not so good. My personal recommendation is to look at all the factors I mentioned, consider the location of the school, then investigate their reputation among people who have gone through their program, and then make an informed decision of where you want to train.
With a 141 school, there is an oversight responsibility on the FAA. So, you are somewhat guaranteed of some reasonable degree of quality. Please don't take that to mean that 141 schools are better than Part 61 schools, it is they get looked at more carefully by the FAA.
The reason many people cite for going to a 141 school is that they can have reduced hour requirements. That is true.
A 141 school can also have other reductions in the requirements for a certificate. For example, if there is an airport 96 NM away that would be a good trip at night, but doesn't meet the 100 NM requirement, the FAA can grant them an exception to use the 96 NM trip to satisfy the requirement.
A 141 school can even have a self examining authority so there is no practical test at the end. Typically that is only given to the more established schools, but it is possible for any 141 school to receive the authority after they have been a 141 school for a while.
But perhaps the biggest reason people choose a 141 school is because of funding. The Veteran's Administration will only give GI Bill money to someone attending a 141 school. Some states also have vocational training programs and they will only fund training done at a 141 school. It isn't uncommon for someone to start in a 141 program in order to secure training funding, but then finish under the Part 61 requirement so they can be done sooner.
If you look around you will find a whole lot of threads discussing the relative merits of a 61 and a 141 school. Often the comments in those threads come from a limited exposure to the various schools. The reality is both 61 and 141 schools can run the gamut from very good to not so good. My personal recommendation is to look at all the factors I mentioned, consider the location of the school, then investigate their reputation among people who have gone through their program, and then make an informed decision of where you want to train.
JOEFRIDAY2
Well-Known Member
A part 61 school is not registered or regulated by the FAA. In fact the FAA does not even know who the part 61 schools are since they absolutely do not require or allow part 61 schools to even register with the FAA.
Therefore no part 61 schools are FAA approved.
A part 141 school is approved by the FAA as far as the course(s) is/are concerned.
ATP is a part 61 school in most of their locations. I do believe one of ATP's (JAX) locations is licensed under part 141 for some (but not all) couses of study. Some others will chime in to let you know their exact status.
Joe
Bud01
Welcome to the Jungle.
JAX is 141 but not for VA anymore the government change something and we decided to stop the VA benefits because of it. Sorry for the vagueness i honestly am telling you what i know.
So ---- what if I go to a part 61 school? Will I have problems passing the FAA exam? Will I have a lesser chance of getting the job when competing with someone who went to a part 141 school?
drunkenbeagle
Gang Member
It really doesn't make much difference in the end.
amjon
Pilot and A Half (for now
No, you learn the same set of skills (though they can be in any order part 61 and in a set order 141). I prefer 61 as it's less structured and you can do anything in any order you want. I did all of my solo flights last, if I had done part 141 I would have had to do them in order of the lessons the FAA approved.
Autothrust Blue
“If you jump on my shift, that’s just rude, man.”
The "total time" column in your logbook, and whether or not you have a college degree will much more determining factors as far as your competitiveness for employment.
It has probably changed, as most airlines now ask if you have failed any stage checks or flight lessons, but under part 141 you cant really "fail" a checkride, it doesnt show up on your faa records like a 61 ride does.(i think)
Now, you also take three or so "stage checks" a course, so you have that many more opportunites to fail. Was not a big deal before airlines started caring about failed check rides, and now also stage checks.
Now, you also take three or so "stage checks" a course, so you have that many more opportunites to fail. Was not a big deal before airlines started caring about failed check rides, and now also stage checks.
poser765
Well-Known Member
This has been going around here for a while and it is incorrect...to a point. What you are talking about is examination authority and not all 141 schools have it. I don't have any numbers to back this up, but with the amount of work and requirements needed to obtain examination authority I would assume the schools that have it are the exception and not the norm. As far as their record keeping goes with the feds I have no idea.
However, with a 141 school that doesn't have examination authority a DPE given practical test is still required after the end of course stage check. The results of that will still appear in your airman record in OKC.