APPROVAL CRITERIA

a. Flight Schools. A flight school must have a pilot school or a provisional pilot school certificate issued by the FAA under part 141 specifying each course the school is approved to offer. A flight school may be approved by the FAA to offer flight engineer courses under part 63. A flight school approved by the FAA under part 61 may not be approved for VA purposes.

b. Flight Training Centers. A flight training center or an air carrier that wants to use flight simulators or flight training devices for more hours than allowed by part 141 must request a special approval from the FAA. Before August 1, 1996, a training center or a carrier had to have a grant of exemption issued under part 61. On and after August 1, 1996, a training center or a carrier must have a training center certificate and a training specification document issued under part 142. (See paragraph 5 below for additional information on flight training centers.)

c. FSDOs. The FAA has FSDOs (Flight Standard District Offices) in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York City, and Seattle. The Flight Standards Division, Operations Branch, can answer questions about flight training under parts 63, 141, and 142.