April 1 Marks The Changeover Date For The Issuance Of Student Pilot Certificates

We at ANN know all about April 1, and we have a good time with it. The April 1 addition of our Aero-News has become renowned for its unabashed tomfoolery and “specialized” reporting on this special day. However, the changeover to a new system for issuing student pilot certificates is no joke, and the training side of aviation needs to be ready for it.

First, let’s review the basics. The student pilot certificate is the first step to becoming a pilot at any training level, and it is required prior to soloing an aircraft. It has always been easy to obtain from the FAA or a Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE), or at the time a third class medical certificate is issued. As of now, all you do is fill out the application and, within a few minutes, your student pilot certificate is ready.

Beginning on April 1 of this year, the entire application and processing procedure is changing. The changes have been brought about by a federal security requirement for background checks on anyone applying for the student pilot certificate. Under the new procedures, numerous sources such as a flight instructor, DPEs, and several others can accept the application, but only the FAA can issue the actual certificate…after it has been vetted by the TSA. The new student pilot certificate will be plastic and have no expiration date.

Here’s the concern; how long will it take for the vetting process and the FAA issuing process from the time of application to the receipt of a student pilot certificate? We have seen one statement that says the TSA will complete the vetting within three weeks. However, that has nothing to do with how long it will then take the FAA to process the certificate and mail it to the applicant.

We have to admit, nothing has gone wrong yet, so maybe we are just concerned about a problem that won’t be there. Our sources tell us the FAA will be issuing an Advisory Circular addressing the specifics of their part of the process. We’ll be watching for that.

One instructor we talked to said that he was assuring any students that are planning on soloing within the next couple of months obtain their student pilot certificate prior to April 1. Maybe that’s being overcautious, but the certificate is good for five years and it might avert a delay in making the first solo flight as the new processing system is activated.

The same instructor said that when discussing the issue with an FAA Operations Inspector, the Inspector said, “Don’t blame us, this is not our deal.”

FMI: www.faa.gov