Instructor Certificates
General
(a) A person shall only carry out:
(1) flight instruction in aircraft when he/she holds:
(i) a pilot licence issued or accepted in accordance with this Regulation.
(ii) an instructor certificate appropriate to the instruction given, issued in accordance with Subpart J.
(2) synthetic flight instruction or MCC instruction when he/she holds an instructor certificate appropriate to the instruction given, issued in accordance with Subpart J.
Special conditions
(1) The competent authority may issue a specific certificate granting privileges for flight instruction when compliance with the requirements established in this Subpart is not possible in the case of the introduction of:
(i) new aircraft in the Member States or in an operator’s fleet or
(ii) new training courses in this Annex (Part-FCL).
Such a certificate shall be limited to the training flights necessary for the introduction of the new type of aircraft or the new training course and its validity shall not, in any case, exceed 1 year.
(2) Holders of a certificate issued in accordance with (1) who wish to apply for the issue of an instructor certificate shall comply with the prerequisites and revalidation requirements established for that category of instructor. Notwithstanding FCL.905.TRI(b), a TRI certificate issued in accordance with this (sub)paragraph will include the privilege to instruct for the issue of a TRI or SFI certificate for the relevant type.
Instruction provided outside the territory of the Member States
(1) By way of derogation from point general above, in the case of flight instruction provided during a training course approved in accordance with this Annex outside the territory for which Member States are responsible under the Chicago Convention, the competent authority shall issue an instructor certificate to applicants who:
(i) holds a pilot licence that meets all of the following criteria:
(A) it complies with Annex 1 to the Chicago Convention.
(B) in any case, it is at least a CPL in the relevant aircraft category with a relevant rating or certificate.
(ii) complies with the requirements established in this Subpart for the issue of the relevant instructor certificate.
(iii) demonstrates to the competent authority an adequate level of knowledge of European aviation safety rules to be able to exercise instructional privileges in accordance with this Annex.
(2) The certificate shall be limited to providing flight instruction during a training course approved in accordance with this Annex which meets all of the following conditions:
(i) it is provided outside the territory for which Member States are responsible under the Chicago Convention.
(ii) it is provided to student pilots who have sufficient knowledge of the language in which flight instruction is provided.
FCL.900
GM1 FCL.900 Instructor certificates
General
(a) Nine instructor categories are recognised:
(1) FI certificate:
aeroplane (FI(A)), helicopter (FI(H)), airship (FI(As)), sailplane (FI(S)) and balloon (FI(B))
(2) TRI certificate:
aeroplane (TRI(A)), helicopter (TRI(H)), powered-lift aircraft (TRI(PL))
(3) CRI certificate:
aeroplane (CRI(A))
(4) IRI certificate:
aeroplane (IRI(A)), helicopter (IRI(H)) and airship (IRI(As))
(5) SFI certificate:
aeroplane (SFI(A)), helicopter (SFI(H)) and poweredlift aircraft (SFI(PL))
(6) MCCI certificate:
aeroplanes (MCCI(A)), helicopters (MCCI(H)), powered-lift aircraft(MCCI(PL)) and airships (MCCI(As))
(7) STI certificate:
aeroplane (STI(A)) and helicopter (STI(H))
(8) MI certificate:
(MI)
(9) FTI certificate:
(FTI)
(b) For categories (1) to (4) and for (8) and (9) the applicant needs to hold a pilot licence. For categories (5) to (7) no licence is needed, only an instructor certificate.
(c) A person may hold more than one instructor certificate.
SPECIAL CONDITIONS
(a) When new aircraft are introduced, requirements such as to hold a licence and rating equivalent to the one for which instruction is being given, or to have adequate flight experience, may not be possible to comply with. In this case, to allow for the first instruction courses to be given to applicants for licences or ratings for these aircraft, competent authorities need the possibility to issue a specific certificate that does not have to comply with the requirements established in this Subpart.
(b) The competent authority should only give these certificates to holders of other instruction qualifications. As far as possible, preference should be given to persons with at least 100 hours of experience in similar types or classes of aircraft.
(c) When the new aircraft type introduced in an operator’s fleet already existed in a Member State, the competent authority should only give the specific certificate to an applicant that is qualified as PIC on that aircraft.
(d) The certificate should ideally be limited in validity to the time needed to qualify the first instructors for the new aircraft in accordance with this Subpart, but in any case it should not exceed the 1 year established in the rule.
General prerequisites and requirements for instructors
a) Applicants for the issue of an instructor certificate shall be at least 18 years of age.
b) Additional requirements for instructors providing flight instruction in aircraft.
Applicants for the issue of or holders of an instructor certificate with privileges to conduct flight instruction in an aircraft shall:
(1) for licence training, hold at least the licence or, in the case of point FCL.900(c), the equivalent licence, for which flight instruction is to be given.
(2) for a rating training, hold the relevant rating or, in the case of point FCL.900(c), the equivalent rating, for which flight instruction is to be given.
(3) except in the case of flight test instructors (FTIs), have:
(i) completed at least 15 hours of flight time as pilots of the class or type of aircraft on which flight instruction is to be given, of which a maximum of 7 hours may be in an FSTD representing the class or type of aircraft, if applicable or
(ii) passed an assessment of competence for the relevant category of instructor on that class or type of aircraft and
(4) be entitled to act as PIC in the aircraft during such flight instruction.
(c) Credit towards further instructor certificates and for the purpose of revalidation:
(1) Full credit towards the teaching and learning skills may be granted to:
(i) holders of an instructor certificate who apply for further instructor certificates and
(ii) applicants for an instructor certificate who already hold an instructor certificate issued in accordance with Annex III (Part-BFCL) to Commission Regulation (EU) 2018/395 or with Annex III (Part-SFCL) to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1976.
(2) Hours flown as an examiner during skill tests or proficiency checks shall be credited in full towards revalidation requirements for all instructor certificates held.
(d) Credit for extension to further types shall take into account the relevant elements as defined in the operational suitability data established in accordance with Annex I (Part-21) to Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 (OSD).
(e) Additional requirements for instructing in a training course in accordance with FCL.745.A:
(1) In addition to (b), before acting as instructors for a training course according to FCL.745.A, holders of an instructor certificate shall:
(i) have at least 500 hours of flight time as pilots of aeroplanes, including 200 hours of flight instruction.
(ii) after complying with the experience requirements in point (e)(1)(i), have completed a UPRT instructor training course at an ATO, during which the competence of applicants shall have been assessed continuously and
(iii) upon completion of the course, have been issued with a certificate of course completion by the ATO, whose Head of Training (HT) shall have entered the privileges specified in point (e)(1) in the logbook of the applicants.
(2) The privileges referred to in point (e)(1) shall only be exercised if instructors have, during the last year, received refresher training at an ATO during which the competence required to instruct on a course in accordance with point FCL.745.A is assessed to the satisfaction of the HT.
(3) Instructors holding the privileges specified in point (e)(1) may act as instructors for a course as specified in point (e)(1)(ii), provided that they:
(i) have 25 hours of flight instruction experience during training according to FCL.745.A.
(ii) have completed an assessment of competence for this privilege and
(iii) comply with the recency requirements in point (e)(2).
(4) These privileges shall be entered in the logbook of the instructors and signed by the examiner.
FCL.915
Instructor competencies and assessment
All instructors shall be trained to achieve the following competences:
— Prepare resources,
— Create a climate conducive to learning,
— Present knowledge,
— Integrate Threat and Error Management (TEM) and crew resource management,
— Manage time to achieve training objectives,
— Facilitate learning,
— Assess trainee performance,
— Monitor and review progress,
— Evaluate training sessions,
— Report outcome.
FCL.920
Additional requirements for instructors for the MPL
(a) Instructors conducting training for the MPL shall:
(1) have successfully completed an MPL instructor training course at an ATO and
(2) additionally, for the basic, intermediate and advanced phases of the MPL integrated training course:
(i) be experienced in multi-pilot operations and
(ii) have completed initial crew resource management training with a commercial air transport operator approved in accordance with the applicable air operations requirements.
(b) MPL instructors training course
(1) The MPL instructor training course shall comprise at least 14 hours of training.
Upon completion of the training course, the applicant shall undertake an assessment of instructor competencies and of knowledge of the competency-based approach to training.
(2) The assessment shall consist of a practical demonstration of flight instruction in the appropriate phase of the MPL training course. This assessment shall be conducted by an examiner qualified in accordance with Subpart K.
(3) Upon successful completion of the MPL training course, the ATO shall issue an MPL instructor qualification certificate to the applicant.
(c) In order to maintain the privileges, the instructor shall have, within the preceding 12 months, conducted within an MPL training course:
(1) 1 simulator session of at least 3 hours or
(2) 1 air exercise of at least 1 hour comprising at least 2 take-offs and landings.
(d) If the instructor has not fulfilled the requirements of (c), before exercising the privileges to conduct flight instruction for the MPL he/she shall:
(1) receive refresher training at an ATO to reach the level of competence necessary to pass the assessment of instructor competencies and
(2) pass the assessment of instructor competencies as set out in (b)(2).
FCL.725
Training Course
(a) An applicant for an instructor certificate shall have completed a course of theoretical knowledge and flight instruction at an ATO. An applicant for an instructor certificate for sailplanes or balloons may have completed a course of theoretical knowledge and flight instruction at a DTO.
(b) In addition to the specific elements set out in this Annex (Part-FCL) for each category of instructor, the training course shall contain the elements required in point FCL.920.
FCL.930
Assessment of competence
(a) Except for the multi-crew cooperation instructor (MCCI), the synthetic training instructor (STI), the mountain rating instructor (MI) and the flight test instructor (FTI), an applicant for an instructor certificate shall pass an assessment of competence in the appropriate aircraft category to demonstrate to an examiner qualified in accordance with Subpart K the ability to instruct a student pilot to the level required for the issue of the relevant licence, rating or certificate.
(b) This assessment shall include:
(1) the demonstration of the competencies described in FCL.920, during pre-flight, post-flight and theoretical knowledge instruction.
(2) oral theoretical examinations on the ground, pre-flight and post-flight briefings and in-flight demonstrations in the appropriate aircraft class, type or FSTD.
(3) exercises adequate to evaluate the instructor’s competencies.
(c) The assessment shall be performed on the same class or type of aircraft or FSTD used for the flight instruction.
(d) When an assessment of competence is required for revalidation of an instructor certificate, an applicant who fails to achieve a pass in the assessment before the expiry date of an instructor certificate shall not exercise the privileges of that certificate until the assessment has successfully been completed.
Validity
With the exception of the MI, and without prejudice to FCL.900(b)(1) and FCL.915 (e)(2), instructor certificates shall be valid for a period of 3 years.
FCL.940
Obligations for instructors
Upon completion of the training flight for the revalidation of an SEP or TMG class rating in accordance with FCL.740.A(b)(1)* and only in the event of fulfilment of all the other revalidation criteria required by FCL.740.A(b)(1)* the instructor shall endorse the applicant’s licence with the new expiry date of the rating or certificate, if specifically authorised for that purpose by the competent authority responsible for the applicant’s licence.
*Attached FCL.740.A(b)(1)
FCL.945