switching from PART 61 to PART 141?

TheRedOne

TheRedOne

Well-Known Member
Hi there,

been asked by a pilot, currently holding a PPL license and did his PPL on PART 61, he's planning on adding his IFR rating and asked me if it's possible to switch to PART 141 to get his instrument rating. I assume, though he didn't mention it, he's trying to find a loophole to safe money and not to fly the 50 hrs x-country which are required according to PART 61. I told him, as far as I know, it's only possible to switch from PART 141 to PART 61, but not the other way around, especially if you already completed part of your training.

But perhaps I'm wrong, advice greatly appreciated!
 
Short answer? depends on his hours and the difference between the requirements. The FARs in question are 61.65 and 141 appendix C for reference. Part 61 has higher hour mins but no required ground school hours, only required covered subjects. Part 141 however has required ground school hours. An airplane initial required 30 hours ground instruction and 35 hours in an airplane. so If he thinks it will think more than billable 65ish billable hours then the 141 program could be best. however If the student is a good studier and has 10 or more hours x-country (which he should if he finished his PPL under part 61) he should be able to finished his rating maybe not faster but probably cheaper. there is no good reason most of those 40 hours of "actual or simulated instrument time" cant also be x-country time. there's a reason most flight schools quote the 40 hours when students ask how long it takes.

Wish I could be more concert on the pricing besides GENERALLY part 61 is cheaper and 141 is quicker but I can't with out knowing your local flight school specifics.
 
I have always found 141 cheaper and quicker unless the student starts with the 50 hours of cross country or very close to 50.
 
Many thanks for the prompt respond, especially Cyper42! For my part it certainly answered my question if it's (in general) possible to switch from PART 61 to 141, because I wasn't sure about that. I understand that it depends on the individual case and that there is no general answer to this question.

Regarding the Pilot/student I'm talking about, he finished his PPL with about the minimum hours required by the FAR's, but that's roughly seven years ago and he hasn't been flying since. He is actually pretty sharp, meanwhile he got his Master's Degree in mechanical engineering. He recently asked me for advice, which way would be best to continue training and he asked me if it would be possible to continue with PART 141. Of course money and time is (probably) always an issue for most students. I told him that I would (in his case) favor PART 61, since he hasn't been in the air for the last seven years and getting the 50 hrs x-country time would be a great experience and built confidence as well. Part 141 requires less flight time of course, but on the other hand he must consider the cost (and time) for ground school, which in his case, I have no doubt that he can do without it. So I'm not sure if going PART 141 would be that much cheaper in the end.

Once again, thanks for your advice!
 
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There is no reason whatsoever to not enroll in a 141if speed is his desire. The FAA doesn't give a lick HOW you meet the minimum requirements, only THAT you meet the minimums.

Have your student take a BFR to get him back in the swing of things and then enroll him in the 141 program. I've done that with multiple students with great success.
 
I did private pilot under part 61. Then I did instrument and commercial under part 141. I did the instrument and commercial in minimum time. The only thing I didn't do was get my commercial at 190 hours because I did my private under part 61 and I quite a bit beyond 35 hours when I finished my private.
 
I guess what I should add is that if you already start your course under part 61 and want to finish under part 141, then you would have to start the 141 course from the beginning, unless you were granted partial credit.
 
Some part 141 flight school's will have a home study course they use for the ground training so he shouldn't have to pay the instructor rate for the entire 30 hours if he can find a school that does that, just the $395 or whatever it is for the course the school uses, should be in their TCO for their part 141 certification. Like stated above if he has started training for his instrument rating part 61 then the part 141 school could give him a proficiency and knowledge test and award him up to 25% of the required time towards the course. I did my private part 61, instrument part 141 and started my commercial part 141 and transferred to 61 at the very tail end of it since 141 was going to require me to complete about another 10 hours and I had minimums for part 61 and the assistant chief instructor said I was ready for the checkride if I wanted to do it.
 
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