The FAA has finalized the first aircraft-specific standardized training curriculum for Part 135. Issued in October, the curriculum—for the Gulfstream V—was open for comment through November 9. In what is anticipated to be the first of a series for specific aircraft, the curriculum is a voluntary program designed to provide a standardized approach to training at Part 142 centers.
The curriculum stemmed from a recommendation of the Air Carrier Training Aviation Rulemaking Committee, which sought to ease paperwork burdens and staff shortage concerns while elevating safety through best practices.
A key feature is that the programs are portable, which addresses the issue of charter operators having to send pilots to initial training for the same model of aircraft for each operator they fly for, even if the pilots are current in that aircraft.
The FAA released an advisory circular providing guidance on the standardized training concept in 2020 and formed a Training Standardization Working Group (TSWG) to draft the various curricula. Its GV curriculum is anticipated to serve as a framework for future models, and NBAA said Citation Excel and Hawker 800 standardized curricula are under development.
Brian Koester, director of flight operations for NBAA and chair of the TSWG, lauded the release of the GV curriculum: “The standardized curriculum concept will change the future of Part 135 training by creating efficiencies in the industry’s training system and providing higher-quality training events.”