CFI Logbook Endorsement Errors On the Rise

The Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE) is an organization of aviation educators about the noble endeavor of fostering professionalism and excellence in aviation through continuing education and the establishment and maintenance of professional standards and accreditation.

In cooperation with its industry partners and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), SAFE seeks to contemporaneously provide the aviation community resources conducive to the advancement of the flight instructing profession and assist active Certified Flight Instructors (CFIs) in their core and essential task of edifying and fostering skilled, knowledgeable, and safe members of the aviation community.

On 24 February 2023, SAFE set forth that the aviation industry is suffering an epidemic of flight-test applicants failing to even qualify for their written tests and check-rides. Attendees of a 2022 OSH meeting of senior [FAA] Designated Pilot Examiners (DPEs) and FAA personnel estimated that—owing to incorrect endorsements and/or inadequate pilot experience—one-in-five check-ride applicants never even qualifies to start his FAA Flight Test due to incorrect logbook endorsements. Such (CFI) errors waste applicants’ time and money and squander scarce DPE appointments.

To help solve the problem of flight-test applicant under-preparedness, SAFE has developed a tool-kit comprising All-In-One templates for common check-rides. Subject tools are offered free-of-charge to all aviation educators. The formatted pdf documents list all requisite pilot experience in checklist format and provide the required pilot endorsements for common flight tests. The templates are available on the SAFE website and via the SAFE Toolkit App.

SAFE encourages aviation stakeholders to SHARE the All-In-One templates with CFIs.

The SAFE Toolkit App also provides a proprietary digital architecture called Checkride Ready! that facilitates even more in-depth and extensive check-ride preparation at all levels. The good people at SAFE look upon Checkride Ready! as a "pink slip prevention tool."

Any CFI who’s endured the disappointment and frustration of seeing one of his student’s sorrowfully brandishing a post-check-ride pink slip is able to infer the value of such a product.

Comprising upward of five-thousand educators and passionate pilots, SAFE strives always and everywhere to promote aviation excellence and provide products germane to such.

FMI: www.safepilots.org