As part of the Reauthorization Act of 2018 the FAA was required to assign to the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC) a review of the current Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) policies. The ARAC in turn assigned this task to the Designated Pilot Examiner Reforms Working Group (DPERWG). This Group delivered its recommendations to the FAA in June 2021, with an FAA response to the Group due by June 2022. The purpose of this research project is to provide more insight regarding the current DPE system from all stakeholders prior to that deadline. Survey data from both current DPE’s and flight schools nationwide will be shared. These surveys address stakeholder perceptions on components of the DPE system including: 1) wait times for check rides, 2) activity level of DPE’s, 3) the effect rescinding constraints on geographical regions and the ability to do up to three check rides per day has had, 4) the prevalence of applicants and/or examiners traveling to check ride sites other than their home airport, and 5) feedback on a number of specific recommendations made by the DPERWG. These items include changes to the DPE application process, the development of an applicant feedback system, changes to the number of events per day which can effectively be conducted, a national DPE oversight model versus the current FSDO oversight model, the treatment of oral and flight tests as separate events, and the effectiveness of the DPE locator on the FAA website

Beckman, Wendy

Gref, Michael

Rosser, Timothy

English

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS) 2022 - Bridging the Gap FAA Designated Pilot Examiner System Insights Wendy Beckman Middle Tennessee State University, wbeckman@mtsu.edu Timothy Rosser Middle Tennessee State University, timothy.rosser@mtsu.edu Michael Gref Middle Tennessee State University, michael.gref@mtsu.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.erau.edu/ntas  Part of the Science and Technology Studies Commons Beckman, Wendy; Rosser, Timothy; and Gref, Michael, "FAA Designated Pilot Examiner System Insights" (2023). National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS). 21. https://commons.erau.edu/ntas/2022/presentation/21 This Abstract - Paper/Presentation Only is brought to you for free and open access by the Conferences at Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS) by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact commons@erau.edu. FAA Designated Pilot Examiner System Insights• Wendy Beckman, Michael Gref, Tim Rosser• Middle Tennessee State UniversityMIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACEPilot Certification EcosystemCertificates Issued in 2021https://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/civil_airmen_statistics FAA Civil Airman Statistics - Table 16 AIRMEN CERTIFICATES ISSUED BY CATEGORY AND CONDUCTOR Calendar Year 2021                Original Issuances Additional Ratings   Category of Certificates Total Certificates Issued Total Examiner Inspector No Test Total Examiner Inspector No Test Original Issues by CFI Pilot--Total 140,473 43,416 36,962 416 6,038 46,698 40,210 497 5,991 50,359 Student 50,874 515 301 214 0 0 0 0 0 50,359 Recreational 5 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 N/Ap Sport Pilot 247 228 227 0 1 19 19 0 0 N/Ap Airplane           Private 37,284 22,551 20,465 28 2,058 14,733 12,759 18 1,956 N/Ap Commercial 26,165 12,771 9,669 15 3,087 13,394 10,592 39 2,763 N/Ap ATP 22,984 5,020 4,838 142 40 17,964 16,374 435 1,155 N/Ap Rotorcraft         2,764 2,176 1,308 17 851 588 466 5 117 N/Ap Glider 150 150 149 0 1 0 0 0 0 N/Ap Flight Instructor Certificates 16,164 7,759 6,167 32 1,560 8,405 7,870 17 518 N/Ap  Summary of Certificate Issued Data• Approximately 105,000 pilot/flight instructor certificates issued last year (not including student pilot certificates)• Approximately 94,000 were for Airplane SEL/MEL Private, Commercial, Instrument, CFI, CFII, MEI• Examiners did approximately 91,000 of those certifications (87%)• FAA Inspectors did approximately 700 of those certifications (.67%)• “No test” for approximately 14,000 of those certifications (13%)MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACEMIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACEPilot Training/Certification System Overview• 2,200 flight schools listed on AOPA’s Flight School Finder website• 877 Part 141 flight schools listed on FAA’s website• 58 Part 141 schools with examining authority of some sort• 850 DPE’s with authorization for at least one of: Airplane SEL, MEL for Private, Instrument, Commercial, CFI, CFII, MEI• Another 350 DPE’s with other authorizations (glider, rotorcraft, SES, MES, various type ratings)• Rough calculation: 91,000 certificates/850 DPE’s = 107 certificates per DPE per yearwww.aopa.org/training-and-safety/learn-to-fly/flight-schoolsAOPA Flight School ListWhy a study of the DPE system? Issues experienced by MTSU flight school Anecdotal evidence at UAA/AABI conferences Congressional interest in topic 2018 Congressional mandate for FAA to review DPE policies 2019 - Aviation Rule-making Committee (ARAC) tasked, DPE Reforms Working Group (DPERWG) formed, FAA removed geographical restrictions and changed check ride limit to 3 per day June 2021 – DPERWG submitted recommendations to FAA No research of stakeholder opinion done prior to recommendations being formulated by Working Group Survey - means of allowing input by both DPE’s and flight schools to the FAA regarding the Working Group recommendationsMIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACEStudy Research Questions 1) What is the perception of the current state of the DPE system by all stakeholders? 2) What is the perception of stakeholders of the major recommendations made by the DPERWG?MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACEMethodology Two surveys – one for DPE’s and one for flight school management personnel Surveys were provided to five individuals to check face validity DPE’s - e-mails downloaded from FAA Designee Locator website (https://designee.faa.gov/#/designeeLocator) 851 DPE’s sent a direct email with link to survey Flight schools – e-mails from AOPA Flight School Directory website and UAA member list  2000 flight schools sent a direct email with link to survey Industry groups – UAA/AABI/FSANA/AOPA/NAFI/SAFE – advertised as wellMIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACEMIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACESurvey Question Areas Demographic information DPE’s – years of service, PT/FT, check rides per month, oversight FSDO Flight schools – courses offered, number of instructors, number of aircraft, FSDO region Current state of system Wait times for check ride scheduling Perceptions of staffing level of DPE’s Travel to check rides Feedback on selected DPERWG recommendationsMIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACEResponse Rates DPE’s 306 valid DPE responses (36% response rate) DPE’s from 68 of 77 FSDO’s nationwide responded Over 30 DPE’s felt so strongly about the topic they called or emailed with additional thoughts Flight Schools 773 valid flight school responses (39% response rate) Responses from schools in all 77 FSDO’s nationwide Average fleet size of the responding flight schools was 10.2 aircraft (minimum of 1 aircraft and maximum of 100 aircraft) The average number of flight instructors employed by the responding flight schools was 11.4 (minimum of 1 and a maximum of 250 instructors)DPE Demographics81% of responding DPE’s have been examiners for three or more years and 45% have been examiners for more than 10 yearsIs your DPE Service:While 18% of DPE’s report full-time DPE service, the majority (67%) report part-time DPE service due to other part-time or full-time work commitments. Only 15% were part-time DPE’s with no other work commitmentsOn average, approximately how many check rides do you conduct each month as a DPE?0510152025303540Frequency reportedAverage number of check rides reported per monthFrequency Table - Reported Average Number of Check Rides Per MonthDPE’s indicated an average (mean) of 11.6 check rides per month (standard deviation of 8.27). The median was 10 check rides per month, with the minimum reported being .25 and the maximum reported being 70. Of the responding DPE’s, 54% reported doing 10 or less check rides per month, while 46% reported doing 11 or more check rides per month. Is the current number of check rides you conduct each month:92% of responding DPE’s are conducting approximately the number of check rides they wish to each month (responses including a little less than they’d like, the appropriate number, and a little more than they’d like)MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACEWhat title best describes your position at your flight school?Percent CountDirector of Operations 15.52% 120Chief Instructor 27.04% 209Assistant Chief Instructor 6.60% 51Line Instructor 32.21% 249Training Support Personnel 1.68% 13*Other (please specify) 16.95% 131Total 100% 773* Note – “other” was most frequently indicated to be owner/founder/President/CEOFlight School DemographicsWhat training courses are offered by your flight school?Course Part 61# of schoolsPart 141# of schoolsPart 141 Examining Authority?# of schoolsPrivate ASEL 75% 620 21% 176 3% 26Private AMEL 81% 348 17% 71 2% 10Instrument Airplane 74% 577 22% 173 3% 25Commercial ASEL 76% 578 22% 168 2% 15Commercial AMEL 74% 348 23% 107 3% 13Certified Flight Instructor ASEL83% 564 15% 105 1% 10Instrument Instructor Airplane85% 547 14% 91 1% 9Certified Flight Instructor AMEL81% 342 17% 73 1% 6Airline Transport Pilot ASEL94% 188 6% 11 1% 1Airline Transport Pilot AMEL90% 155 9% 16 1% 1Current State of DPE System as Reported by ParticipantsMIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACEWhat is your overall perception of the availability of DPE’s to conduct check rides for your flight school’s students?84% of responding flight schools indicated that DPE availability is either somewhat (35%) or a significant (49%) issue for their students; 15% indicated DPE availability is appropriate; only 1% indicated any excess DPE availabilityWhat is your perception of the number of DPE’s within your FSDO's geographic area of responsibility?The majority (73%) of responding DPE’s indicated the “right number” of DPE’s in their FSDO’s geographic area of responsibility, with 21% indicating there were too few DPE’s in their area and 6% indicating there were too many DPE’s in their areaA large majority (83%) of responding flight schools indicated they believed there are currently too few DPE’s in their geographic region to service the needs of the areaDPE Responses Flight School ResponsesTravel – DPE PerspectiveDo you travel to other FSDO's geographic areas of responsibility to conduct check rides?What percentage of the check ride applicants that you service come to you from outside your managing FSDO's geographic area of responsibility?73% of DPE’s indicate they travel to geographic areas beyond their oversight FSDO83% of DPE’s indicated that less than 40% of their check ride applicants come to them from outside their managing FSDO’s geographic area of responsibility.Travel – Flight School PerspectiveWhat percentage of check ride applicants from your flight school travel to a DPE outside your FSDO’s geographic region for their check ride?Does your flight school bring in DPE’s from other geographic regions to conduct check rides?36% of flight schools reported bringing in DPE’s from other geographic regions to conduct check rides for their applicants76% of flight schools reported less than 40% of their students travel to a DPE outside their geographic region for a check ridePerceptions of Selected DPERWG RecommendationsMIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACEWhat is your perception of the development of a confidential survey feedback system to be administered by the FAA, by which applicants are encouraged to complete a survey regarding their check ride experience?DPE Responses Flight School Responses82% of flight schools indicated being in favor (32%) or strongly in favor (50%) of an applicant feedback system56% of responding DPE’s indicate being in favor (34%) or strongly in favor (22%) of an applicant feedback system, while 35% indicated “no preference”What is your perception of the potential benefit of moving to a centralized national oversight model of the DPE system versus continuing with the existing local FSDO oversight of DPE’s?DPE Responses Flight School ResponsesWhile 41% of flight schools somewhat believed (18%) or strongly believed (23%) a national oversight model for DPE’s would be beneficial, the most selected response (43%) was “not sure if this would be beneficial or detrimental”While 44%) of DPE’s believed (24%) or strongly believed (20%) a national oversight model for DPE’s would be detrimental, the most selected response (36%) was “not sure if this would be beneficial or detrimental”What is your perception of the effectiveness of the current DPE locator function provided on the FAA website?DPE Responses Flight School Responses57% of flight schools believed the DPE locator website is very or somewhat effective, while 19% believed it was ineffective or very ineffective55% of responding DPE’s believed the DPE locator website is very or somewhat effective, while 27% believed it was ineffective or very ineffectiveIn your perception, would it be beneficial to treat oral and flight tests as two distinct events, so that weather or mechanical issues that would prevent the conduct of a flight test would not preclude conducting an oral test as scheduled?DPE ResponsesFlight School ResponsesThe large majority (86%) of flight schools believed it would be beneficial to be able to conduct an oral test even if it was unlikely a flight test could proceed after successful completion of that oral testA large majority (86%) of DPE’s believed it would be beneficial to be able to conduct an oral test even if it was unlikely a flight test could proceed after successful completion of that oral testConclusionsMIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACEConclusions – Current State of System Significant difference of opinions on DPE availability between DPE's and flight schools Lots of travel going on (both DPE’s and applicants) - higher costs for applicants No one is happy with current state of affairs: Flight schools expressed that significant time is spent trying to locate DPE’s with availability within a two-week time frame, with numerous calls made to try to determine the optimal DPE solution DPE’s expressed that the scheduling of check rides by applicants who anticipate finishing a course at a particular point in time but that are subsequently unable to meet that deadline result in cancellations on short notice which they are then in large part unable to fill. They too report a large administrative burden in terms of scheduling, cancelling, and rescheduling of applicants.DPE Locator Website Improvements NeededThere were 84 specific DPE suggestions made to improve the locator function, and these included the following most frequent themes: Make more user friendly - especially with regards to authorization types and more search parameters (24 comments) Geographically allow a search within a radius of a given zip code versus by city; provide a map (19 comments) Keep it current and updated (16 comments) Advertise it and make it more easily accessible (13 comments)There were 188 specific flight school suggestions made to improve the locator function, and these included the following most frequent themes: Keep the site updated (many DPE’s listed are inactive and some newer DPE’s are not reflected) (48 comments) Provide maps/zip code search/search by radius (30 comments) Add DPE availability and scheduling functions (28 comments) Advertise it (many flight schools indicated not knowing it existed) (22 comments) Identify which DPE's are authorized for which check rides in plain language (13 comments)DPERWG Recommendations With Consensus 1) Implementing an applicant feedback system. Since 91% of DPE’s indicated being in favor, strongly in favor, or having no preference regarding such a system, and 95% of flight schools indicated the same, it appears such a system should be implemented. 2) Allowing oral tests to be conducted even if weather or mechanical issues will likely prevent conduct of the flight test. Both 86% of DPE’s and flight schools indicated their support. 3) Allowing DPE’s to conduct check rides under the provisions of BasicMed as appropriate by aircraft and operating requirements. Both DPE’s (79%) and flight schools (81%) indicated support or strong support. 4) Not allowing a flight to be conducted if an oral test was failed on the scheduled test day, with 81% of DPE’s and 59% of flight schools not supporting this concept.What Does It Mean...? While fairly opinionated on other items, the one DPERWG recommendation on which both DPE’s and flight schools indicated a lack of ability to form a perception was: "The potential benefit of moving to a centralized national oversight model for the DPE system" 36% or DPE’s and 43% of flight schools indicated they were not sure if this would be beneficial or detrimentalAfter the Study...FAA Response to DPERWG Recommendations Study was done in February 2022; FAA response came out in June 2022 – responses to 12 total recommendations Specific to our survey...1. The FAA agrees with the recommendation that the designee locator should be improved and concedes that the current locator is not user friendly and has limited functions2. The FAA agrees that a survey system, possibly integrated with DMS, would be beneficial to it as a supplement to interviewing recently tested airmen. Implementation of such a system will require both internal and external coordination and funding approval for additional resources3. The FAA agrees in principle that examiners should only be required to obtain the level of medical eligibility necessary to act as Pilot-In-Command (PIC) for the operation being conducted during a practical test4. While the FAA disagrees with the recommendation as written, it acknowledges the benefit it aims to achieve in terms of improving scheduling efficiency. The belief is that this can be accomplished within the existing regulatory framework and by only slightly modifying current FAA policy. The FAA considers a practical test to be a unified event conventionally comprised of a ground and flight portion. It does not appear that the integrity of the test is compromised if those two portions are accomplished over multiple days.National Oversight Concept...Thank YouMIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACE

FAA Designated Pilot Examiner System Insights

As part of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2018 the FAA was required by Congress to review Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) policies and procedures. This task was delegated to the Designated Pilot Examiner Reforms Working Group (DPERWG). This Group delivered its recommendations to the FAA in June 2021, and this research study was conducted in late January of 2022 to attempt to provide additional insights to the agency prior to its required response to the DPERWG in June of 2022.
This research project aimed to provide perceptions of the current DPE system from both DPEs and flight schools nationwide, as well as feedback on selected DPERWG recommendations. Surveys of these two populations were conducted seeking stakeholder perceptions on the current DPE system including: 1) wait times for scheduling check rides, 2) the level of activity of DPE’s, and 3) the prevalence of applicants and/or examiners traveling to check ride sites other than their home airport. Feedback on specific recommendations made by the DPERWG were also solicited including: 1) the implementation of a confidential survey applicant feedback system, 2) the possibility of moving to a national oversight model for the DPE system, 3) the perceptions of and improvements seen as necessary for the current FAA DPE locator website, 4) the possibility of treating oral and flight exams as separate events, and 5) changing medical certificate requirements for DPEs.
There were significant differences in perceptions of DPEs and flight training providers regarding the wait times incurred when scheduling check rides, but there was general consensus regarding the travel of both applicants and DPEs for the conduct of those rides. There was also consensus between the two surveyed groups regarding most of the DPERWG recommendations which were examined by the surveys

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FAA Designated Pilot Examiner System Insights

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