Flight School - Part 61 or Part 141?

Are you researching Flight Schools? Have you ever wondered what ‘Part 61’ or ‘Part 141’ refers to? Safety in Motion Flight Center is recognized as the Pacific Northwest's leader in providing safe, professional, and comprehensive aviation services to the general aviation community and provides training in accordance with both regulations. Here is a breakdown that will shed some light on these terms.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) provides regulations that dictate what aeronautical knowledge, flight training, and flight experience a pilot applicant must have to acquire a given pilot certificate or additional aircraft rating. These requirements are spelled out in either Part 61 or Part 141 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. Think of “Parts” as being “Chapters” of the FAA’s Regulation book. Here is the difference between the two:

Part 61 — This Part addresses the certification of pilots, flight instructors, and ground instructors and as just mentioned, provides the requirements to achieve various pilot and instructor certificates and ratings (additional permissions for flying). There is very little FAA oversight of flight schools or independent flight instructors that provide training under Part 61 and as such, the quality of the training can not be assured. You will want to be sure that a training syllabus is being used to ensure that your training meets all the FAA requirements for topics, experience, and performance standards. You will need to be keenly involved in your flight training to make sure that your money and time are being spent wisely.

Part 141 — This Part addresses the certification of flight schools. A “Part 141 Flight School” simply means that a flight school has applied to the FAA to become a certificated flight school. Once approved, the school must ensure the quality of instruction. An approved training syllabus must be used and followed along with proper recordkeeping documentation. The training aircraft will receive “conformity checks” from the FAA maintenance inspectors to ensure they are airworthy and well maintained. Additionally, the FAA will approve a Chief Flight Instructor to oversee the training programs, flight instructors, support staff, and aircraft maintenance. The school needs to have FAA approval prior to changing the training curriculum or adding airplanes. 

Safety in Motion Flight Center can provide training in accordance with both regulations. We evaluate each student individually to determine which regulation’s training program would be to their financial benefit. This is especially important for students who transfer to us from other schools, where enrollment into a Part 141 program to complete training for a specific certificate or rating may prove to be more expensive. Again, our focus is on your success in attaining your training goals and doing so in the most cost-effective way possible!

Need to do a quick calculation on what it would cost for your training with Safety in Motion Flight Center? Check out our Cost Calculator HERE.

False statements/information regarding training under Part 141:

Training under Part 141 takes longer and is more expensive.

False! Training under Part 141 can be achieved in fewer flight hours (and since you are paying per hour, that means less cost). As an example: The Private Pilot minimum hours under Part 141 is 35 hours, and Part 61 is 40 hours. An instrument rating under Part 141 is 35 hours and under Part 61 approximately 90 hours! 

Training under Part 141 is for people looking to go to the airlines.

False! Part 141 provides a safeguard to students ensuring quality standards are in place and that the training meets all of the FAA requirements (the same list as provided under Part 61) and that students are prepared for the practical exam. It is true that airlines and other aviation industry flight departments like to see graduates from a structured and standardized course of training, but it is typically not a requirement. Just think of Part 141 as an insurance policy to ensure you are receiving everything the FAA requires you to have and to the quality standards necessary to pass the practical exam (a.k.a. “checkride”).

Part 141 requires that a training syllabus be followed.

True! YOU WANT TO USE A SYLLABUS! Regardless of if you are looking at a Part 61 school or Part 141 school, if they are not using a training syllabus — go find another school. The syllabus will ensure that you know where you are in your training, that all the knowledge and flight proficiency tasks have been taught, and that standards of performance to prepare you for the final practical exam have been met. Additionally, a syllabus organizes your lessons into a ‘building block’ configuration so that you learn new skills after acquiring foundational knowledge/skills (e.g., You need to know how to steer and operate the car before being taught to parallel park). You will most assuredly become frustrated spending excess time and money training with a program that is neither structured nor standardized.

Usually, the main reason some flight schools and/or flight instructors try to talk a student out of training under Part 141 (again unless there is a good financial reason based on prior training), is because they do not want to have the FAA checking their aircraft, or do not want to be held accountable to the syllabus or recordkeeping requirements. At Safety in Motion Flight Center, we use a syllabus and keep records of your training regardless of whether you train under Part 61 or Part 141 — It is simply the right and responsible thing to do!

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