90-day solo endorsements

I am not keeping up very well. The new AC 61-65F is a bit different from the copy I have been using, in that it does not state that endorsements for class B,C,D airspace and tower controlled airports must be renewed every 90 days.

So the question: has the FAA quietly dropped the 90-day renewal for those airspace endorsements, or were they ever really required?

And the comment - if they are not required I am overjoyed. I have writer's cramp from writing over and over about how my student is qualified to operate "on, into, out of, around, through, and over" class D airspace, then repeat the same thing for tower controlled airports. It is tempting to add "under".

I no longer use local DPEs for Cub checkrides, so I need to make sure endorsements are perfect from the get-go.

This sounds interesting. What are you doing sans-DPE ?

Bob, since this is an AC and not the FAR's in my view, 61.94 has not changed and the requirement is still there - they just left if off the AC.

(4) Ground and flight training for the specific Class B, C, or D airspace for which the solo flight is authorized, if applicable, within the 90-day period preceding the date of the flight in that airspace. The flight training must be received in the specific airspace area for which solo flight is authorized.
(5) Ground and flight training for the specific airport located in Class B, C, or D airspace for which the solo flight is authorized, if applicable, within the 90-day period preceding the date of the flight at that airport. The flight and ground training must be received at the specific airport for which solo flight is authorized.
(b) The authorized instructor who provides the training specified in paragraph (a) of this section must provide a logbook endorsement that certifies the student has received that training and is proficient to conduct solo flight in that specific airspace or at that specific airport and in those aeronautical knowledge areas and areas of operation specified in this section.



sj

Your view is the good one - the FARs control, and I will continue to have writer's cramp. One wonders why they deleted the 90-day caution in the AC? After all, it is a huge AC, providing minute, painstaking guidance.

I use a DPE who loves Cubs. When my students arrive, he is fairly confident that they know how to fly a Cub cross-country. The feds are eliminating most DPEs with serious experience, in favor of those who take DECIDE and the three Ps as necessary to good piloting.

Thanks Steve - I will pencil in the omitted caution. It takes a genuine checklist to ensure that the correct endorsements are in the log. At last count it was twelve separate endorsements to do a Sport Checkride out of a tower controlled airport.

Bob, I am just restarting doing (primary) flight training after a bit of a hiatus so I am brushing up on all of this at the moment. I was glad to see the AC you posted, I had not seen it.

sj

SJ,

For some reason it is one revision out of date but AC 61-65 is listed in WingX Documents, I know because I used it to endorse a BFR last summer.