MY 2 CENTS
wars, and a fundamental misunderstanding of how our industry operates. It’s a complete waste of time, and to make matters worse, it pushes the industry further behind at a moment when we need to be innovating and growing.
The aviation industry — helicopter training providers in particular — must be empowered to develop its own training programs, standards, and proficiency metrics. The FAA’s role should be to evaluate whether those standards result in safe, competent pilots and mechanics, not to dictate how many hours or which syllabus structure must be followed.
This isn’t about removing oversight; it’s about redefining oversight to focus on outcomes, not process.
Imagine a better world where the FAA simply asks: Can the applicant demonstrate the knowledge and skill certificate?
required to hold this
If the answer is yes, the certificate should be issued. That’s how it works in nearly every other performance-based industry.
Right now, we’re held hostage by arbitrary hour minimums, excessive bureaucracy, and regulations crafted by individuals disconnected from the realities of flight instruction. We’re forced to pay exorbitant prices, wait through years of underpaid work, and navigate an FAA process that is hostile to innovation.
C M Y CM
The cost of helicopter flight training is unsustainable.
The job market,
improving, offers no guarantees of financial viability for new pilots. Simulation,
CY
should be a cornerstone of affordable and effective training, is trapped behind outdated FAA policy. In addition, efforts to collaborate with regulators are often a charade, with the real decisions being made behind closed doors.
CMY K
Our industry should oversee training our workforce. The FAA should set the safety bar and hold operators accountable to meeting it, not micromanage how we get there. Until this changes, we will continue to lose capable individuals, delay progress, and watch costs rise.
That’s just my 2 cents, but it’s costing all of us a lot more.
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MY
Randy Rowles has been an FAA pilot examiner for 20 years for all helicopter certificates and ratings. He holds an FAA Gold Seal Flight Instructor Certificate, NAFI Master Flight Instructor designation, and was the 2013 recipient of the HAI Flight Instructor of the Year Award. Rowles is currently the owner of the Helicopter Institute. He can be reached at
randyrowlesdpe@gmail.com
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