Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

2 Answers

Expiration date on tailwheel / complex endorsement valid?

Asked by: 9332 views , , ,
FAA Regulations

I recently noticed that the tailwheel and complex endorsements in my logbook have an expiration date on them. (They are set to expire about 2 years and a couple months after issuing date.)

Both endorsements were issued by an FAA instructor. I have an FAA pilot's license, and I was not a student pilot at the time of issuance.

I was under the impression that tailwheel and complex endorsements do never expire, and I have never heard to time-restriced tailwheel and complex endorsements.

Is this probably a mistake of the instructor, or is an instructor able to limit the validity of endorsements?

In other words, do I have to get new endorsements without expiration, or can I safely (and legally) ignore the expiration date on the endorsements?

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

2 Answers



  1. Dave M on Oct 01, 2014

    I’ve never heard of an expiration date for a complex endorsement. AC 61-65E doesn’t indicate any expiry date in the suggested format for the complex endorsement (61.31 (e)) or the the tail wheel endorsement (61.31 (i)).

    May be a dumb question, but are you sure the expiration date wasn’t for the instructor’s certificate?

    Dave

    +4 Votes Thumb up 4 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. Mark Kolber on Oct 02, 2014

    Zonker – I’m guessing Dave is right, mostly because of the “couple of months.” What do the endorsement actually say, word for word including the signature? Is is something like

    I certify that (First name, MI, Last name), (pilot certificate), (certificate number), has received
    the required training of section 61.31(e) in a (make and model of complex airplane). I have
    determined that he/she is proficient in the operation and systems of a complex airplane on [date]
    [CFI signature] [CFI number] Exp. [Date]

    If so, the date at the end of the CFI signature is the date of the CFI certificate expiration.

    +4 Votes Thumb up 4 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.