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Endorsements, Currency Training & Checkouts

At Santa Monica Flyers, we prioritize safety and readiness through regular checkouts, currency maintenance, and endorsements. Whether you’re looking to stay current or need an endorsement for a specific aircraft or flight condition, our experienced instructors are here to guide you.

Table of Contents

Flight Instructors inspect aircraft for endorsements and checkouts.

Recurrent Training:
Flight Reviews and Instrument Proficiency Checks

Flight Instructors and pilot inspect an airplane for endorsements and checkouts.

§61.56 Flight Review

"Biennial Flight Reviews" (BFRs)

Every 24 calendar months in the United States, pilots must receive a Flight Review (formerly known as a Biennial or BFR). Without this currency requirement, a pilot’s certificate will not be considered valid. A flight review with Santa Monica Flyers will test your knowledge, skills, and proficiency as a pilot, helping you remain safe, current and proficient.

 

Our experienced flight instructors will help you review flight maneuvers, emergency and abnormal procedures, important regulations, and other critical updates or necessary currency training elements. Beyond basics, a flight review will be tailored to your requested topics and any specific issues your CFI may feel need review. Especially with the complex airspace in Los Angeles, Santa Monica Flyers focuses on reviewing important airspace regulations and traffic deconfliction techniques.

  • Required by the FAA to maintain any pilot’s license every 24 calendar months
  • A minimum of 1 hour of ground instruction and 1 hour of flight instruction
  • Our flight instructors may require more than the minimum instruction time to complete a BFR. This is largely based on the abilities and proficiency of the pilot receiving the flight review.

§61.57 Instrument Proficiency Check (IPC)

Critical instrument safety training.

Maintaining currency and proficiency in instrument flying remains a crucial part of an instrument rating. Our Instrument Proficiency Checks (IPCs) ensure instrument-rated pilots not only comply with legal minimums, but exceed FAA requirements for proficiency.

With ground and flight training, Santa Monica Flyers instrument flight instructors (CFII) review instrument approaches, navigation procedures, emergency and abnormal scenarios, and other key skills to help you ensure you have the confidence and necessary skills to tackle appropriate weather conditions.

Whether it’s a flight review or instrument proficiency check, Santa Monica remains Los Angeles’ top provider of recurrent flight training for general aviation pilots with safe, thorough and comprehensive training.

Please note: TSA does not require non-U.S. citizens who hold an FAA pilot certificate to go through FTSP to complete recurrent training such as a Flight Review or Instrument Proficiency Check.

  • Required by the FAA to restore an instrument-rated pilot’s privilege to operate under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), typically due to lapsing currency. 
  • Consists of several criteria outlined in § 61.57(d)
  • An IPC may take several flights to accomplish before the endorsement and/or 8710 form on IACRA can be completed
Instrument Cockpit of a small aircraft at Santa Monica Flyers.

Endorsements

Complex Endorsement

Gear up! Take on retractable gear aircraft with a complex endorsement, required to act as PIC in an aircraft with landing gear that isn’t fixed.

  • Required by the FAA to operate a “complex aircraft.”
  • Complex aircraft is defined as aircraft with the following:
    • Retractable landing gear; and
    • Retractable flaps; and
    • Controllable pitch propeller
  • Depending on pilot’s skill and ability to learn, this checkout may require five or more lessons/flights.

High-Performance Endorsement

Put the coals to it with a high-performance endorsement, allowing legal operation of aircraft of more than 200hp.

  • Required by the FAA to operate a “high-performance aircraft”
  • High-performance aircraft is defined as having engines greater than 200 HP
  • Depending on pilot’s skill and ability to learn, this checkout may require five or more lessons/flights
Picture of a commercial pilot posing for a picture with a cirrus plane, picture taken at Santa Monica, CA.

Tailwheel Endorsement

Learn to fly the old way with “conventional gear” aircraft. Learn about the inherent instability of tailwheel and true “stick and rudder” skills to earn an endorsement required to act as PIC in a tailwheel aircraft.

  • Required by the FAA to fly a tailwheel airplane
  • Accomplished in our aerobatic, tailwheel Super Decathlon

Checkouts

Catalina (KAVX), and Big Bear (L35)​

  • Required by Santa Monica Flyers and its insurers to operate an aircraft to or from either Catalina Airport or Big Bear Airport.
  • Depending on pilot’s skill and ability to learn, this checkout may require one or more lessons/flights.
  • A Catalina Checkout is done independently of a Big Bear Checkout. In other words, two checkouts are required if you want to rent and fly to both airports. 
  • Catalina (KAVX)
    • Minimum 30 hours total PIC time
    • Minimum 1-hour ground
    • Minimum 1 checkout flight
    • Minimum 3 total take-offs and landings at KAVX
    • Minimum 1 go-around at KAVX
    • Catalina checkout form must be completed by CFI doing the checkout
  • Big Bear (L35)
    • Minimum 30 hours total PIC time
    • Minimum 1-hour ground
    • Minimum 1-checkout flight
    • Minimum 3 total take-offs and landings at L35
    • Minimum 1 go around at L35
    • Big Bear checkout form must be completed by CFI doing the checkout

Transition to
Cessna 172

  • Required by Santa Monica Flyers and its insurers to operate a Cessna 172SP and a Cessna 172SP NAV III (G1000 glass panel).
  • Pilots who have only flown in our Sport Cruisers will require this checkout.
  • Depending on the pilot’s skill and ability to learn, this checkout may require three or more lessons/flights
    • Minimum 1 ground lesson
    • Minimum 3-hours checkout
    • G1000: For those pilots having ≥ 20 hours in G1000 in C172, minimum 1 checkout flight

Transition to
Cirrus SR20

  • Required by Santa Monica Flyers and its insurers to operate the Cirrus SR20
  • Pilots who have only flown in our SportCruisers or Cessna 172s will require this checkout.
  • Depending on the pilot’s skill and learning ability, this checkout may require five or more lessons/flights.
  • The training is based on a transition course from www.cirrusapproach.com
    • SR20 Perspective Transition (VFR) or Advanced Transition (IFR)
      • Available through our SR20 G3 models, N882AB and/or N258JS.
    • SR20 Perspective+ Transition (VFR) or Advanced Transition (IFR)
      • Available through our SR20 G6 model, N333YY.

Spin Training

  • Required by the FAA to complete a CFI Certificate
  • Encouraged by our Flight Instructors for all pilots new and current — to be able to recover from an aerodynamic spin.
  • Accomplished in our aerobatic, tailwheel Super Decathlon by Aryan, AJ, or our Assistant Chief Flight Instructor, Daniel Collier

Ready for Takeoff?

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