The FAA released its final rule, effective Dec. 2, 2024, which brings long-awaited clarity to flight training regulations in response to issues raised by the 2021 Warbird Adventures case.
This decision affects pilots, flight instructors, and aircraft owners, especially those operating limited, experimental, and primary category aircraft.
The Warbird Adventures case drew attention to the ambiguity surrounding flight training in special airworthiness certificate aircraft. In 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld an FAA emergency cease-and-desist order, ruling that providing paid flight instruction in a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk without an exemption violated FAR 91.315.
The court’s interpretation of flight instruction as “carrying a person for compensation” sparked widespread concern across the aviation community.
“This was a wake-up call for the aviation community,” said Justine A. Harrison, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association’s General Counsel, in a 2021 analysis. “It created uncertainty about what the FAA considers flight instruction versus carrying passengers for hire.”
The new rule allows flight training, testing, and check rides in limited, experimental, and primary category aircraft without requiring a Letter of Deviation Authority (LODA), provided certain conditions are met:
Instructors cannot provide both the training and the aircraft.
Aircraft cannot be broadly advertised or offered for flight training.
Any compensation for the use of the aircraft must be limited to expenses for owning, operating, and maintaining it.
Only individuals essential to training are permitted on board.
These exemptions are expected to reduce administrative burdens while expanding access to training. Pilots conducting training in their own aircraft, for example, will no longer need to obtain a LODA.
The rule also aligns FAA regulations with Congressional directives to allow logging of flight time in public aircraft operations (PAO), such as firefighting or law enforcement missions, toward certification and recency requirements.
Flight instructors gain new flexibility under the rule. They are now explicitly authorized to conduct elective and specialized training, such as upset recovery or mountain flying, without needing a specific endorsement requirement. However, the rule enforces stricter boundaries to prevent operations that blur the line between training and air tours.
The rule also addresses lingering questions about recent flight experience, offering clearer guidelines for pilots and instructors.
Key clarifications include:
Instructor-Student Relationship Exclusion from Passenger Status: Flight instructors and students are not considered passengers to one another. This allows a student to act as pilot in command (PIC) during training flights even if they do not meet the recent flight experience requirements for carrying passengers under FAR 61.57(a) or FAR 61.57(b).
Specific Training Scenarios for Recency: Pilots who need to regain recency of experience, such as night landings or instrument approaches, may do so during flights with an instructor on board without requiring additional passengers, ensuring compliance while focusing on skill recovery.
Applicability Across Aircraft Types: These changes apply broadly across aircraft types covered under the new rule, including limited, experimental, and primary category aircraft, ensuring consistent treatment of recent flight experience requirements in these unique operational contexts.
The FAA’s final rule marks significant progress in resolving the regulatory uncertainty stemming from the Warbird Adventures case. By balancing access to specialized training with safety requirements, the rule promises a smoother experience for pilots, instructors, and aircraft owners alike.
