Will Save Serious Tax Dollars
The FAA is teaming with Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University (ERAU) in a trial program to give new FAA
inspectors broader training and save the agency almost $1
million a year.
In trial classes starting in November, FAA general aviation
operations inspectors will take courses at ERAU’s Daytona
Beach, FL campus using a combination of advanced technology flight
training devices and light airplanes with identical electronics,
instrument panels and handling qualities.
“Embry-Riddle’s mix of
high-fidelity simulation and popular general aviation aircraft has
the potential to give our inspectors flight training of
unprecedented scope and quality,” said Nick Sabatini, FAA
associate administrator for regulation and certification.
“This test program will help confirm those benefits before we
decide to commit large amounts of funding.”
The “Instrument and Performance Refresher – Light
Twin” course, which requires 10 hours of flight time per
student, will be taught at ERAU beginning this month. The
inspectors will first practice flying procedures and responses to
emergencies in Cessna 172 and Piper Seminole flight training
devices on the ground. They then will reinforce that training in
the sky aboard the same type airplanes with matching equipment.
The FAA-ERAU partnership could save the agency a substantial
amount of money. For example, the leased cost for twin-engine
aircraft needed for the course was $989 per hour in fiscal year
2002. The estimate for training with Embry-Riddle is about $201 per
hour. The FAA estimates that equipment cost savings could be as
much as $7,880 per student, or more than $646,000 yearly.
New inspectors will begin taking the “General Aviation
Operations Indoctrination” course at ERAU in January 2004.
Traditionally, this “basic training” course has been
taught at the FAA Academy using flight training devices and leased
aircraft. During fiscal year 2002, the equipment cost for this
training was $10,206 per student. The estimated annual cost per
student at ERAU is projected to be substantially less at $3,178. If
the FAA decides to move the indoctrination course to Embry-Riddle
permanently, the projected cost savings could be as much as
$330,000 yearly.
The FAA expects other potential
benefits from a long-term arrangement with ERAU. The agency would
not have to invest in more high-fidelity flight training devices
– which can cost up to $750,000 each – and would not
have to update those devices to reflect changes in software and
systems. The FAA also could avoid increasing rental aircraft costs
as well as resolving safety issues caused by a high workload on FAA
instructor pilots at the Academy.