Goal Is To Reduce The Number Of Fatal GA LOC-I Accident Rate

The Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE) today announced its new CFI PROficiency initiative, a two-day ground and flight course for CFIs to improve their aircraft control skills. The program was designed to reduce the number of GA Loss Of Control – Inflight (LOC-I) accidents, which still account for the majority of fatal GA accidents.

The first SAFE CFI PROficiency session will be held October 2 and 3 at the Frederick MD airport, home of AOPA, and will be scheduled in other cities throughout 2019 and 2020. It will be taught by top SAFE-member aviation educators. More details will be provided later this month.

The curriculum contains a thorough review of aerodynamics and a flight syllabus of Expanded Envelope Maneuvers, which SAFE Executive Director David St George emphasized is NOT an aerobatics course or upset training. He said SAFE will be using only standard or utility category training aircraft in the course and will not exceed the limits of those aircraft. This makes the program applicable to the local airfield and training fleet, reaching all pilots.

"The average pilot spends all their time in only five percent of the flight envelope,” he said. “Basically, SAFE’s CFI PROficiency program is offering CFIs a way to expand their skills into the less-often visited corners of that envelope. We’ll be taking good CFIs and making them great CFIs. Our hope is each one will return home and spread this learning to 20 more pilots.”  

SAFE’s new outreach was inspired by an earlier CFI development program called the Orlando FSDO CFI Special Emphasis Program that reduced the accident rate in that busy flight training district by more than 60 percent.

The mission of SAFE is to promote excellence in aviation education, since CFIs are the “central influencers” . As a not-for-profit 501(c)3, SAFE is entirely devoted to CFI excellence, thereby increasing safety for the entire industry. St George said that aviation educators are the central “influencer” best situated to improve every pilot’s skill.

SAFE CFI PROficiency is the latest SAFE-sponsored instructor improvement program. Earlier major outreach efforts included the Pilot Training Reform Symposium in Atlanta, GA in 2011. That groundbreaking summit led to the new FAA Airman Certification Standards, which embed risk management, judgment and scenario-based training into the FAA testing and training system and led to the modern FAA ACS.

In 2012, SAFE introduced the Pilot Proficiency Program in cooperation with simulator company Redbird. That program, now run by EAA and staffed by SAFE and NAFI volunteer instructors, is a smash hit for CFIs at each AirVenture show.

(Infographic provided with SAFE news release)

FMI: safepilots.org/CFI-PRO