Table of Contents
IntroductionAbout this FIRC
Course Overview
Enrollment Procedures
System Requirements
Schedule
Completion Standards
Introduction
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Flight Instructor Refresher Program was initiated in 1965 to provide standardization in updating flight instructors. Instruction was provided by FAA Aeronautical Center instructors until 1977. Since then, the industry has assumed responsibility for continuation of this program. Industry-conducted courses provide one acceptable means whereby the holders of valid and current flight instructor certificates may renew their flight instructor certificates.
A flight instructor certificate expires at the end of the 24th calendar month after the month in which it was last issued or renewed. This FAA-approved Flight Instructor Refresher Clinic (FIRC) is designed to renew all valid and current flight instructor certificates for an additional 24-month period.
Instructors who successfully complete the ASA FIRC will find it helpful in updating their knowledge of applicable regulations and operating procedures. As a FIRC participant you will also gain exposure to new or unique teaching concepts and techniques directly associated with the duties and responsibilities of a flight instructor and improve your effectiveness as an instructor.
This FIRC also provides a means of continuing education to help you stay current throughout your 2-year eligibility period. You may watch the DVDs as frequently as you like. The website content will be updated as necessary to reflect the most current rules and procedures so you can be certain you are getting the most current information. You may log on to www.prepware.com/firc anytime during your entire renewal period; your password will remain valid until your flight instructor certificate expires.
Contact ASA if you have any questions.
Jackie Spanitz, Curriculum Director
E-mail Jackie@asa2fly.com
Or
Mike Lorden, General Manager
E-mail Mike@asa2fly.com
Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc.
7005 132nd Place SE
Newcastle, WA 98059-3153
Voice 800.426.8338 or 425.235.1500
Fax 425.235.0128
Website www.asa2fly.com
About This FIRC
The ASA FIRC complies with Advisory Circular (AC) 61-83E, Nationally Scheduled Federal Aviation Administration Approved Industry-Conducted Flight Instructor Refresher Clinics. This FIRC is an at-distance course. You may study at your own pace, in your own place, using the materials within this binder and a computer with an internet connection. The DVD-format presentations are supported with internet-based evaluation.
To take full advantage of the evaluation and certification portion of the course, you must be a certificated flight instructor seeking certificate renewal under 14 CFR 61.197(a)(2)(iii). You must hold a valid and current flight instructor certificate at the time of graduation to be eligible to renew your certificate by successfully completing this course.
You may still take the course if you do not meet the renewal criteria. Instead of receiving a graduation certificate or the renewal processing, you will receive a certificate of completion.
-back to top-Course Overview
Begin by completing the enrollment form on this website. You must follow the course in the order presented. There are 16 lessons in the course:
- Review the lesson objective in the spiral-bound coursebook.
- Watch the lesson on the DVD.
- Fill in the blanks in the coursebook; you will be prompted for this information (date of completion, time spent on each lesson) before each quiz.
- Complete the supplemental readings on this website. Note: all websites referenced within the DVD lessons are included as supplemental reading; there is no need to write down website addresses as you watch the video presentations. These are presented as clickable links on your FIRC record at this site.
- Complete the 5-question multiple-choice quiz for the lesson. A 16-question stage exam is issued at the completion of Lessons 4, 7, 12, and 16.
- At the completion of Lesson 16, complete the 8710-1 application and submit the required documentation to ASA for certificate renewal.
Enrollment Procedures
To renew your flight instructor certificate, you must be in compliance with 14 CFR 61.197 Renewal of flight instructor certificates, specifically:
- A person who holds a valid and current flight instructor certificate may renew that certificate by …A graduation certificate showing that, within the preceding 3 calendar months, the person has successfully completed an approved flight instructor refresher course consisting of ground training or flight training, or a combination of both.
- The expiration month of a renewed flight instructor certificate shall be 24 calendar months from- (1) The month the renewal requirements are accomplished; or (2) The month of expiration of the current flight instructor certificate providedĽ (i) The renewal requirements are accomplished within the 3 calendar months preceding the expiration month of the current flight instructor certificate, and (ii)…the approved flight instructor refresher course must be completed within the 3 calendar months preceding the expiration month of the current flight instructor certificate.
We must receive all your paperwork prior to or on the last day of your expiration month, and you must successfully complete the FIRC course prior to or on the last day of your expiration month or we cannot renew your flight instructor certificate. ASA will process your renewal within 2-3 business days upon successful completion of the course; ASA is not responsible for delays resulting by any mail carrier.
You may start the FIRC at any time prior to the expiration of your flight instructor certificate; however, in order to retain the same expiration month on your renewed certificate, you must complete the course and the ACR processing no earlier than 3 calendar months before your expiration month. If you complete the course or the ACR processing before this 3 calendar month window, your expiration month will be changed to the month that you completed the course. The graduation certificate you receive at the successful completion of this course expires 3 calendar months after the date it was issued.
To begin the course, you must complete the mandatory FIRC enrollment form found on this website. Here, you will provide the following:
- First, last and middle name.
- Flight instructor certificate number with expiration date.
- Permanent mailing and home address.
- Home and work phone number.
- Email address.
- An affidavit attesting to your intent to study and be the sole completor of all required test materials and completing the course as intended.
- The registration code (found on a sticker on this binder).
This will establish a FIRC account with a log-in user name and password. If there is a change to your physical address or phone number during your enrollment period, log in and click Your Account to change this information. If there is a change in your CFI expiration date or your e-mail address, you must send these changes in writing to ASA.
E-mail CFI@asa2fly.com
Fax 425-235-0128
System Requirements
Television or computer DVD player (compatible with both PC and Macintosh DVD systems), Acrobat Reader for supplemental readings (available as free downloads from the ASA website), an internet connection (minimum 56K dial-up modem).
Participants should use a suitable working environment for study and completion. This environment should provide for adequate space, climate control, lighting, work area, and noise control.
-back to top-Schedule
The ASA FIRC ensures you satisfy the time requirements to review each topic and become familiar with the course material. The course will instill the required knowledge and information in flight instructors taking this course so you will be able to provide effective ground and flight training to other pilots, including the safety aspects of training and the practical aspects of teaching.
The required (core and elective) course requires a minimum of 16 hours for completion (13 hours for core subjects, 3 hours for elective subjects). The lessons are designed and tested to ensure that each will take an average of at least 50 minutes to complete. You may complete the course at your own pace. All lessons must be completed. You must view the DVD presentations in real time, in the order presented. You will satisfy lesson objectives for this course by passing each test with a score of at least 70 percent.
In addition to the subjects outlined in AC 61-83E, this course covers material that contains significant topics in aviation safety and teaching methodology. Lesson discussions include areas of proven deficiency in the knowledge of some flight instructor applicants. Flight instructors will gain the necessary knowledge, as well as understand how to use this information to teach.
| Lesson | Watch and Learn DVD lesson (running time) | Do †(estimated time to complete) |
| Introduction | Introduction (00:06:51) | Read 'About this FIRC' in the coursebook and complete the online enrollment application at www.prepware.com/firc (00:20:00) |
| Stage 1, Teaching | ||
| *1: Fundamentals of Instruction | Lesson 1 (01:09:10) | Quiz (00:10:00), Supplemental Reading (00:45:00) |
| **2: Teaching Flight Maneuvers and Procedures | Lesson 2 (01:09:10) | Quiz (00:10:00), Supplemental Reading (00:30:00) |
| *3: Transition Training | Lesson 3 (00:27:26) | Quiz (00:10:00), Supplemental Reading (00:30:00) |
| *4: Teaching Flight Safety | Lesson 4 (00:48:06) | Quiz (00:10:00), Supplemental Reading (00:10:00) |
| Stage Exam (00:20:00) | ||
| Stage 2, Aeronautical Knowledge | ||
| **5: What Pilots Need to Know About Weather | Lesson 5 (01:11:45) | Quiz (00:10:00), Supplemental Reading (00:30:00) |
| *6: Human Factors | Lesson 6 (00:27:54) | Quiz (00:10:00), Supplemental Reading (00:30:00) |
| **7: Collision Avoidance and Precautions | Lesson 7 (00:51:08) | Quiz (00:10:00), Supplemental Reading (00:10:00) |
| *8: Teaching Aerodynamics | Lesson 8 (00:55:59) | Quiz (00:10:00), Supplemental Reading (00:10:00) |
| Stage Exam (00:20:00) | ||
| Stage 3, Regulatory | ||
| *9: Regulations | Lesson 9 (00:30:45) | Quiz (00:10:00), Supplemental Reading (00:10:00) |
| *10: Recurrency Training | Lesson 10 (00:18:36) | Quiz (00:10:00), Supplemental Reading (00:30:00) |
| *11: Flight Information Publications | Lesson 11 (00:21:21) | Quiz (00:10:00), Supplemental Reading (00:30:00) |
| *12: Instructor Professional Responsibilities | Lesson 12 (00:44:23) | Quiz (00:10:00), Supplemental Reading (00:10:00) |
| Stage Exam (00:20:00) | ||
| Stage 4, Elective | ||
| 13: Single-Pilot IFR | Lesson 13 (00:58:02) | Quiz (00:10:00), Supplemental Reading (00:20:00) |
| 14: Conducting Flight Checks | Lesson 14 (00:29:24) | Quiz (00:10:00), Supplemental Reading (00:20:00) |
| 15: Primary Student Guidance From Flight Instructors | Lesson 15 (00:34:28) | Quiz (00:10:00), Supplemental Reading (00:10:00) |
| 16: Teaching and Understanding GPS | Lesson 16 (00:30:52) | Quiz (00:10:00), Supplemental Reading (00:20:00) |
| Stage Exam (00:20:00) | ||
| Conclusion | NA | Read 'Completion Standards' in the coursebook and mail required documentation to ASA (00:30:00) |
| Total | 11:35:20 | 10:35:00 |
*Core Subjects
**Special Emphasis Subjects
†All supplemental reading, quizzes and stage exams are available by logging in at www.prepware.com/firc
Completion Standards
At the completion of this FIRC, you will be able to provide high quality, professional level ground and flight instruction at all authorized certificate levels. You will be current on all relevant regulatory, technical and professional educational changes since your last certification and/or renewal-not only FAA changes, but also those established by the aviation instruction profession. You will have a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the professional standards of an FAA Authorized Flight Instructor, including but not limited to teaching techniques, aeronautical subjects, documentation and endorsement requirements.
You should view the lesson on the DVD and complete the supplemental reading before taking the quiz for that lesson. Each lesson concludes with a 5 (five) multiple-choice question quiz, for a total of 16 quizzes. Each of the 4 (four) stage exams consist of 16 (sixteen) multiple-choice questions. You must score at least 70% or better on all tests contained in the course. The tests will be graded immediately following completion of the last question on the test (you may review your answers before submitting the quiz for grading). You can review your graded quizzes at any time. If you do not pass the quiz with 70% or better you will be issued a second quiz consisting of new questions. If you do not pass the quiz the second time, you will be prompted to call ASA's FIRC Administration (800-426-8338, Monday-Friday, 8-5 Pacific time), and a flight or ground instructor will provide you with remedial training and additional testing to ensure course completion. You will not be permitted to take additional quizzes until you successfully complete remedial training (but you may review the DVD lesson for any other lesson). When you have satisfactorily completed remedial training, the other lesson quizzes will be reactivated so you may continue the course in the appropriate order.
Should you score less than 70% on any of the stage tests, you may request a make-up test from ASA. Prior to being issued the make-up test, you must review the subjects which resulted in the failing score. You will have 30 days from date of failure to review the failed subject and complete the make-up test. This 30-day timeframe does not extend your flight instructor certificate expiration date. Once you have successfully completed a make-up test, you will be eligible to receive credit for the subjects failed and continue with the course. Should you fail the make-up test, you will not be eligible for further remedial training or make-up tests and will be deemed to have failed the FIRC.
Upon approval of a passing grade on all the stage tests, you will receive a course graduation certificate, testifying you have completed the course and are eligible for the Flight Instructor renewal via a properly completed and submitted 8710-1 Form.
After successful course completion, the non-flight instructor attendee will receive a certificate of completion testifying that he/she has completed the course.
Within 3 days of completing the course, you must mail the following documentation to ASA (Attn: ASA FIRC, 7005 132nd Place SE, Newcastle WA 98059-3153):
- A copy of the graduation certificate you receive upon completion of the last Stage Exam.
- A copy of both sides of your pilot certificate (Commercial or ATP).
- Your original (hardcopy) flight instructor certificate (valid and current).
- Photocopy of your official picture ID (driver's license, passport, or military ID card) that includes your photo, name, physical address, and signature. If you use a military ID card, both sides of the ID card must be photocopied, since the picture is on the back side. You cannot use a company photo ID issued by an employer.
- An affidavit/statement of Identification. If you do not wish to appear in person before the Administrator (FAA), you must establish your identity before a Notary Public, a Consular Official of the U.S. State Department, or your U.S. Armed Forces Commanding Officer. The affidavit must be attached to FAA Form 8710-1, Airman Certificate and/or Rating Application. You must include a photocopy of the same ID which was used to complete the affidavit.
- To ensure testing integrity, you must sign and have notarized an affidavit (sent to you with the Graduation Certificate upon completion of the course) testifying you followed the course instructions, and took the tests on your own.
- Printout of your FIRC record with exam score summary.
- The completed Form 8710-1 (found at www.prepware.com/firc)
We must receive your materials in sufficient time to be processed for renewal before the CFI and graduation certificates have expired. This means you must complete the course and mail your documentation prior to your certificate expiration date. ASA is not responsible for late or lost surface mailings.
The Graduation Certificate will substitute as a temporary Flight Instructor Renewal certificate while the 8710-1 form is being processed. You will receive your new flight instructor certificate direct from the FAA.
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