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Instructor surveillance by CAA

This apparently happens in the US.

Does it take place in Europe?

I know FIs have a periodic revalidation with an FIE but that is without a student in the cockpit.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Yes the CAA will have CAA Flight Examiners give a check ride to an examiner with a student on an actual test. Happens quite regularly mainly on CPL and IR.

FI is revalidated by experience and seminar/check ride (Assessment of Competence) every three years, if the last twelve month experience requirement is met (50 hours and IR 10 hours IR), and the previous revalidation was also a check ride, the revalidation can be done via an approved seminar.

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

A friend on his FI test in France had an examiner in the right hand seat, and another examiner in the back watching the first examiner. It was apparently very tense in the front of the cockpit

Whilst not pleasant on a personal level, I would say the oversight and accountability is necessary and good.

EGHO-LFQF-KCLW, United Kingdom

But who is watching the examiner who is watching the examiner who is watching the instructor?

Last Edited by Dimme at 08 Feb 14:06
ESME, ESMS

Xenon’s paradox of Achilles and the tortoise

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

When I did my PPL check ride in France (a while ago…), the FE needed to renew his FE qualification and for that we had an examiner from the DGAC. The guy from the DGAC was supposed to only watch and check the examiner and not interfere. However, that was not how he saw it and he basically ran all of my test ! He even requested to seat in the front because he did not like seating in the back, which meant that I had to re-do my weight and balance on the spot. The issue was that the back seat of that plane had only an audio output plug so the official examiner seating there plugged his headet in the front plus and the DGAC guy’s headset was plugged in the back with only audio out and no mike. He talked most of flight asking me questions of course, which was challenging since I had to hear him yell over the engine noise and my headset !!!!
After the flight he was satisfied and signed my papers and the FE renewal, quite a surreal experience, even the FE was suprised by how it went.

ENVA, Norway

Dime wrote

But who is watching the examiner who is watching the examiner who is watching the instructor?

Maybe this is how commercial aviation started – they needed bigger planes with more seats for all the examiners

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

EGHO-LFQF-KCLW, United Kingdom

On the level of pressure for the student: how about having his work boss, wife, ex-girl friend, mum and dad…

Dimme wrote:

But who is watching the examiner who is watching the examiner who is watching the instructor?

Not to forgot, you will need a recursive algorithm to get your pass in the skill-test and that will be so much memory consuming to blow up the CAA paper library

RobertL18C wrote:

Yes the CAA will have CAA Flight Examiners give a check ride to an examiner with a student on an actual test. Happens quite regularly mainly on CPL and IR.

You don’t need student consent for this?

Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom
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