Transferring from Part 61 school to another Part 61 school *after* TSA clearance / Student Pilot Certificate
Asked by: darkstar 1693 views Private Pilot, Student Pilot
I have TSA/FTSP clearance and a student pilot certificate, with basically just one lesson at a school -- the discovery flight (although I have some more experience in light aircraft which is not recorded in the log book because those were all exploratory flights).
Due to bureaucratic issues and some confusion at the school, it seems it is difficult to simply continue here even to get started with the first official lesson (as a Part 61 student). There have been several cancellations and I am getting pushed to migrate to the school's Part 141 program, which I am ill suited for because I am only interested in pursuing a PPL and possibly an IR down the road if time/money permit and because I have another career.
If I now switch to another flight school, do I have to go through the TSA/FTSP clearance and fingerprinting all over again? Also, do I have to request another student pilot certificate from the FAA through IACRA with the help of my new flight instructor, or can my existing certificate still be used? What are the pros and cons here?
Edit: It seems the TSA clearance is linked to the particular flight school -- I do recall mentioning the name of my flight school on the FTSP application. Does that not mean that the clearance has to be sought afresh after one switches schools?
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