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7 Answers

Ground Instructor without CFI, Can I do a FIRC to meet 61.217(c)

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Flight Instructor, General Aviation

I'm thinking about getting my AGI in prep for CFI and since I still need to build hours. Without any flight instructor certificate today, if I were to go get my AGI, would I be able to take a flight instructor refresher course and be able to use my AGI privileges?

From how I'm reading the reg, there's no restriction for a first time AGI to have to meet the requirements of a, b, or d and they can just do a course. Are there any gotcha's with a first time AGI doing an FIRC to meet this currency requirement?

Ref: 61.217(c): https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/61.217

The holder of a ground instructor certificate may not perform the duties of a ground instructor unless the person can show that one of the following occurred during the preceding 12 calendar months:

(a) Employment or activity as a ground instructor giving pilot, flight instructor, or ground instructor training;

(b) Employment or activity as a flight instructor giving pilot, flight instructor, or ground instructor ground or flight training;

(c) Completion of an approved flight instructor refresher course and receipt of a graduation certificate for that course; or

(d) An endorsement from an authorized instructor certifying that the person has demonstrated knowledge in the subject areas prescribed under § 61.213(a)(3) and (a)(4), as appropriate.

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7 Answers



  1. Kris Kortokrax on Mar 08, 2022

    You could, but it would be easier, cheaper and faster to have another instructor observe you teaching and give you an endorsement to satisfy 61.217(d).

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  2. Russ Roslewski on Mar 08, 2022

    Not trying to be snarky, just helpful. FIRC stands for Flight Instructor Refresher Course, and (c) says “completion of a flight instructor refresher course”. a, b, c, d are a list of “or” options. Was there confusion on some aspect of the wording?

    Yes, you could do a FIRC, which seems silly since you would have just taken the tests, but that’s how it reads. Of course, a FIRC requires 12? 16? hours of your time. I forget, all I know is it seems interminable online. I agree with Kris.

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  3. KDS on Mar 08, 2022

    Russ, count your blessings. It used to be 24 hours.

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  4. Mark Kolber on Mar 10, 2022

    KDS, I don’t remember a 24-hour requirement. Must’ve been before my time.

    I do remember 2-day live programs, but those were fun and I never thought about how long they were. Pretty sure the requirement ten was already the current 16 hours.

    Once I went to online mode, the systems let you rush through it as fast as you wanted. Then they clamped down to add timing for each segment to enforce the 16 hour requirement.

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  5. KDS on Mar 10, 2022

    Rest assured, it was 24 hours. Of course, as you suggested, the instructors with a memory of that most likely have gray hair.

    Also, as you said, they were fun, but towards the end of a 24 hour FIRC, the fun meter had dropped into the caution range.

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  6. John Scarry on Mar 10, 2022

    “Yes, you could do a FIRC, which seems silly since you would have just taken the tests, ”

    Once you have taken the tests you cannot exercise your ground instructor privileges unless you have gotten an endorsement from a CFI or taken the FIRC. The Sporty’s FIRC is free and most of it is interesting. It does take 12 or 16 hours ( I too forget which) but it took me longer because some sections have lots of videos and pdfs that you don’t have to read but were interesting. Others were finished in 10 minutes but I had to wait 30 or 45 minutes to take the quiz.

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  7. Russ Roslewski on Mar 11, 2022

    I think why I find it silly is because the tests are “book knowledge”. The FIRC is also “book knowledge”. You get a GI cert with no practical teaching experience or even having to prove a modicum of ability to an examiner.

    At least to get a CFI certificate you have to show an examiner you can put together and competently make your way through a ground lesson or two.

    But a GI doesn’t have to do that. They should (in my opinion) have to get a CFI’s endorsement, watching them teach, etc. That’s appropriate and is one of the options. But as it is now, they can do a little bit of online study, take some tests, take an online FIRC and then immediately hang out their “Expert Ground School Here” shingle. They haven’t proved any ability at anything, but can train pilots, sign endorsements for knowledge tests and do the ground review part of a Flight Review.

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