FAA Announcement RUMORS

[MrLupin]

Both of my flight instructors told me today that there are rumors of an FAA announcement concerning the "Private Pilot Privileges without a Medical Certificate" issue as soon as Monday? I've inquired concerning their sources (through email) but haven't heard back yet? Has anybody else heard such rumors? If so, would you mind sharing your source? Thanks!

[drseti]

This week's AOPA Live includes a discussion between AOPA administrator Michael Huerta and AOPA president Mark Baker, in which Huerta says the FAA is working on an NPRM, which will be issued "soon". When issued, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is merely step 1. What happens next is a public comment period, followed by a period for responses to comments filed, followed by a revised NPRM, followed by a comment period on the revised proposal, followed by a response period on those public comments, followed by a final ruling. The whole process typically takes two years. So, if something is about to happen, it is likely the NPRM. Don't hold your breath on actual rule changes - that will take quite a while.

[MrLupin]

Thanks drseti. I obtained the following from the FAA's July 2014 Internet Report:

Dates for NPRM:
Milestone Originally
Scheduled
Date New
Projected
Date Actual
Date
To OST 07/03/2014 07/14/2014
To OMB 08/04/2014 08/14/2014
OMB Clearance 11/04/2014 11/12/2014
Publication Date 11/10/2014 11/20/2014
End of Comment Period 01/09/2015 01/20/2015

The table doesn't come through very well but do you happen to know what these particular dates are?

[drseti]

It looks as though the public comment period will end six months from now, which seems about right. After that, if it takes six months each for the reply comments, revised NPRM, comments on that, and reply comments on those, then we're up to two years before implementation.

[MrLupin]

Looks like if I want to fly soon I'll need to keep working on my SPL. Fortunately the time transfers to PPL and my instructors have agreed to train me at the PPL standards.

[MovingOn]

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[Jack Tyler]

Conventional wisdom is that Huerta/FAA will roll out the NPRM either during or shortly after Air Venture, the latter more likely if the proposed rule's limitations are somewhat severe and less responsive to the EAA/AOPA proposal. The context in which the NPRM will be viewed is going to be interesting, I think. Some will want to compare it 'up' to the current House/Senate bills, which are very permissive in the kinds of aircraft and numbers of passengers permitted. And the proposed rule itself might insert requirements that, so far, haven't been included in the broad discussion in the pilot community - e.g. alternative requirement(s) to the medical exam that would address the health of the pilot beyond the one proposed by EAA/AOPA. And from a "commercial" perspective, to what extent will the rule making timetable Paul describes have a 'freezing' effect on SPL training starts, LSA prices & sales (both new & used), the Part 23 a/c marketplace and so forth? So despite the lengthy timetable, there may well be a lot of turbulence introduced in the near term by the NPRM's issuance.

[CTLSi]

......

[drseti]

if you checkride for Sport Pilot and later want to get a PP, you will need to pay the fee over again and retake the checkride. <snip> You will also take the written twice and pay that fee twice.

Both true. However, if you fly with a school that has designed its SP curriculum with PP upgrade in mind, you can actually save money (even after paying for two checkrides and two written tests) by getting the SP rating first. This is because, if the SP curriculum is properly designed, most of the PP curriculum has already been covered, and your additional instruction for the PP is relatively minor. My best student needed only an additional 5 hours of dual to complete the PP after earning the SP. My worst needed 11.

[MovingOn]

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[mhaleem]

What ever happened to the other NPRM addressing hours counting from a CFI-Sport counting towards higher ratings? Is it dead in the water?

[drseti]

Mo, that proposal never even reached the NPRM stage. We (the joint EAA/AOPA/NAFI committee) filed a proposal with the FAA perhaps three years ago, and as far as I know, absolutely nothing has happened since.