Passing the Flight Instructor Rating and Grade 3 Endorsement test allows you to instruct someone for specific pilot authorisations. This addition to your licence is required if you wish to work as a Flight Instructor within a Flight Training School. It also can be a beneficial rating within the Airline Check and Training Career pathway.

COURSE OBJECTIVE

Upon successful completion of the course, a student will gain the necessary aeronautical skill, knowledge and experience to meet the requirements of a Flight Instructor Rating and Grade 3 Endorsement (IR) with an Aeroplane Category.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Minimum age
Students must at least 18 years old to undertake a flight test.

Class 1 Medical
Students wishing to enroll in the Flight Instructor Rating and Grade 3 Endorsement course must hold a valid Class 1 Medical. A Designated Aviation Medical Examiner (DAME) must conduct the medical examination. Airways Aviation can help you through this process.

Pre-requisites
It is a condition of enrolment that students already hold a CASA Commercial Pilots Licence (A) and have at least 200 hours’ flight time as pilot and 100 hours’ flight time as pilot in command.

This aeronautical experience requirements must be met before a pilot starts flight training for a flight instructor rating. However, you do not have to meet these requirements if you can satisfy the following criteria:

For aeroplanes, you can commence the instructor rating course before being issued with your license if you have:

• Completed your CPL with an aeroplane category rating in an integrated training course and
• Passed the flight test for the grant of the license with an aeroplane category rating.

OVERVIEW

The Flight Instructor course is an approved program that combines ground theory with practical flight training in a structured course designed to be completed within a 12 – week period. Theory training is delivered parallel to the practical training. All practical units of this course are delivered “face to face” at Airways Aviation Education training bases approved for that purpose. A range of teaching and learning strategies include but are not limited to:

Practical Flight Training:

• Demonstrate
• Direct
• Monitor
• ReadBack

Mutual Flight Theory:

• practical skill tasks and tests
• lectures / briefings
• guided group discussions
• home based assignments
• activities in simulated work environments
• supervised practice The training and assessment is set out in 4 Modules, with a key milestone in modules 1 and 4.

COURSE DETAILS & ASSESSMENT

Our Airways Aviation assessment policy ensures only appropriately qualified and competent staff deliver and assess courses. Effective assessment is achieved through a collective team approach with direct involvement from the student, their primary instructor for each module, the Chief Ground Instructor, the Head of Operations, Fleet Managers (where applicable), Chief Flying Instructor and Flight Examiners. Instructors and Examiners ensure all assessments follow the principles of reliability, fairness, validity and flexibility.

1- Basic Phase:

Students complete 6 weeks of theory and flying, including self-study sessions. Students will gain the required knowledge and flight skills to undertake the Pilot Instructor Rating Common Examination (PIRC) set and marked by the industry.

The time limit for the test is 2.5 hours with a required pass rate of 75%. Additionally, they will build right hand flight instructional techniques.

• 25 hours of briefings – 10 hours of debriefings
• 13 hours/day dual aircraft -3 hours’ day mutual aircraft

2- Advanced Phase:

Students complete 3 weeks of theory and flying, including self-study sessions.

Students will continue to develop their ground and flight instructional techniques.

• 27.5 hours of briefings – 12.5 hours of debriefings
• 14 hours/day dual aircraft – 5 hours/day mutual aircraft

3- Abnormal Phase

Students complete 3 weeks of theory and flying, including self-study sessions.

Students will continue to develop their ground and flight instructional techniques.

• 8 hours of briefings – 4 hours of debriefings
• 4 hours/day dual aircraft – 2 hours/day mutual aircraft

4- Further Phase:

Students complete 2 weeks of theory and flying including self-study sessions. Students will gain the required knowledge and flight skills to achieve a Flight Instructor Rating and Grade 3 Endorsement Completion Certificate.

A flight test will be conducted at the end of this module.

• 9.5 hours of briefings
• 8.5 hours of debriefings
• 11 hours/day dual aircraft