135 single pilot training

Marc Sokolowski

Filing Flight Plan
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Jul 4, 2022
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4EverLearning
There seems to be none. I see absolutely no syllabus for the most basic VFR operators. Say if I want to become a Uber driver of the sky with my Cessna 172.
Most of the regs don't apply but a lot of subtlety... and no flight school tackles the issue of training someone to become a fully independent provider if they have their own plane. All I get is blank stares and even shunning (competition to the airlines? How could a small 4 seater do that???)
 
...no flight school tackles the issue of training someone to become a fully independent provider if they have their own plane. All I get is blank stares and even shunning (competition to the airlines? How could a small 4 seater do that???)
Call your FSDO and set up an appointment to learn what you need to do. After they tell you, you'll get LOTS of training and it'll mostly be homework. BTDT.
 
There seems to be none. I see absolutely no syllabus for the most basic VFR operators. Say if I want to become a Uber driver of the sky with my Cessna 172.
Most of the regs don't apply but a lot of subtlety... and no flight school tackles the issue of training someone to become a fully independent provider if they have their own plane. All I get is blank stares and even shunning (competition to the airlines? How could a small 4 seater do that???)

I can see why you get blank stares. Flight schools are businesses that teach people how to operate an aircraft and you are an aircraft operator asking them to teach you how to run a business.
 
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Train yourself by complying with company operation specifications along with the general operations manual that you have already written and had approved by the FAA.

Check ride done by FAA.

Make a small fortune flying.


Call your FSDO and set up an appointment to learn what you need to do.

This is probably the best advice you will get.
 
Part 135 is a lot more than just a pilot training program. Your business needs to get an operating certificate from the FAA. The aircraft has to meet increased maintenance criteria.
 
I wouldn’t even ask a local flight school as they have no clue and shouldn’t be expected to have a clue. Contact the FSDO. In the past they held orientations on this and they have guidance on the process and steps. These days I’m not sure if FSDO manpower limitations are a factor, but it may be.
 
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I see absolutely no syllabus for the most basic VFR operators. All I get is blank stares
Maybe it's the questions you're asking? You seem to be absolutely clueless regarding 135 operations. There is no generic 135 training syllabus. The information you need regarding training is in Subpart H of 135. Nothing subtle about it. You're a long, long way from worrying about pilot training.
 
To be a Pt135 operator, you pretty much need a chief pilot who doesn't ever fly.............but just does continuous FAA paperwork. BTDT
 
Update everyone... had my 135.293 and 135.299 today... and I passed. With an FAA inspector since I am a single pilot llc. So a process of sudden death if I mess up. I did it all in a small 172. My 172.
It is an achievement I am barely sinking in. Had to write my LOC and hazmat manuals. To make it clear the training from King School or any provider addresses things that do not exist for me i.e IFR flying and a whole lot of stuff from company manuals which also do not exist.
135.301 also says in (b) that a company check airman can train you they make you pass and make you repeat maneuvers. Here nothing of the like because a Single Pilot LLC is like the name implies a one man operation. The FAA does the exam. And they have no leeway to do what a commercial airline check airman can do.
Oral was 5+ hrs and flying about 3.
This is a checkride that in some respects and given the constraints is far more difficult than CFI. More like an ATP one. The whole of 135 has to be assimilated. And I mean the whole of it. And questions need to be answered spot on and understood.
There is a difference in kind between where you cannot be allowed to hold out, where all those restrictions on pilot flying their own plane exist, and where you become a uber driver of the sky who can take on anyone and advertise. The difference is huge. I was told there is no difference between a lowly air taxi pilot flying a 4 seater and the ATP jet pilots. In fact it's even worst because it is all on me. No manuals, no director of maintenance, no check pilots, so training...
I did it because like IFR I consider this to be the rating that will save my life. Higher standards, more scrutiny and a very very small club of people who did it on their own with no help whatsoever.
 
5 hr oral??? My initial 293 was like 1.5 max. I would’ve fallen asleep after 3 hrs.
 
5 hr oral??? My initial 293 was like 1.5 max. I would’ve fallen asleep after 3 hrs.

Your initial .293 was with a larger operator that has defined training. A single pilot 135 doesn't have that.

The OP is a new single pilot 135, so it's not out of range for the ASI to spend considerable more time on the oral with a new to 135 operator. The new operator handles everything, including the flying.

Once the OP has established himself with the POI and FSDO his .293's/.299's will fall into the usual routine, and be non eventful.
 
An Imagine Air in the making!
 
So you went from asking how to get it started/done on a monday then worked out and scheduled with the FAA on wednesday? I couldn't even get the fsdo on the phone/email for weeks...
 
So you went from asking how to get it started/done on a monday then worked out and scheduled with the FAA on wednesday? I couldn't even get the fsdo on the phone/email for weeks...

I'm also more than a little confused. The initial post and question was Monday night at 9:06 PM, and the "follow-up" post was actually yesterday, on Tuesday at 5:32 PM. So the 135 check took place Tuesday morning, so like just 12 hours after the initial question.
 
Trying to find a last minute training source to cram for the test?
 
I'm also more than a little confused. The initial post and question was Monday night at 9:06 PM, and the "follow-up" post was actually yesterday, on Tuesday at 5:32 PM. So the 135 check took place Tuesday morning, so like just 12 hours after the initial question.

I was asking because I realized myself how extensive this was and postponed my initial 293/299... Was frantically looking for *ANYTHING* to help me but ended up creating a sort of app (I am a software developer too) to help me which helped me study and create a study session as a side effect.
 
Smells trollish.

I asked for any material that can help me for a single pilot 135 and seems there is none. Simply put. The FAA wants you probably to do it your own way and prove you are worthy. So that mission is done. Now that I suffered through doing it myself and succeeding I won't share the results of my hard work so the cycle will continue :)
 
So you went from asking how to get it started/done on a monday then worked out and scheduled with the FAA on wednesday? I couldn't even get the fsdo on the phone/email for weeks...
I am in phase 3 already. And I have a POI assigned to me. So not like I started from scratch with that post. Been 2 years in the making.
 
Your initial .293 was with a larger operator that has defined training. A single pilot 135 doesn't have that.

The OP is a new single pilot 135, so it's not out of range for the ASI to spend considerable more time on the oral with a new to 135 operator. The new operator handles everything, including the flying.

Once the OP has established himself with the POI and FSDO his .293's/.299's will fall into the usual routine, and be non eventful.

That's what happened. Oral was from 9ih til about 2+ and then flying til 5.
 
So to clarify everyone I had this process going on for 2 years already. Succeeded in the 293 and no at the DOT economic authority/airworthiness/final compliance including drug testing/hazmat.
 
I enter the land of confusion. So, you post as if there is something you're presently discovering or have a question about, only to reveal a few days later that you're done with a two year process? And, you mention you developed an App (or, as they say, "there's an App for that").

 
Better start writing a thorough employee policy manual and submit that thing to HR for approval. ;)
 
Better start writing a thorough employee policy manual and submit that thing to HR for approval. ;)

It is a single pilot ops.... she kind inspired me:

https://www.aneclecticmind.com/2010/04/29/getting-a-part-135-certificate/

"There’s a lot of paperwork. The biggest challenge to most people is the creation of a Statement of Compliance. That’s where you list all the applicable FARs and state exactly how you will comply. My Statement of Compliance, written in 2005, was 54 pages long. It wasn’t difficult for me to create because, after all, I am a writer. But I’d say that 90% of the people who try to get their Part 135 certificate stumble on this component, which occurs about halfway through that flow chart.

You’ll also need to get on a drug testing program, create a training manual for carrying (or not carrying) HazMat, and obtain a secure location for basing your aircraft. You’ll need to create forms for pilots to log time flown, aircraft flight time, and squawks. You’ll need to have perfect maintenance records. If you’re going for a Basic Part 135, you’ll need all kinds of other manuals and documents, as well as staff in predetermined positions, such as Director of Operations, Director of Maintenance, etc.

The FAA did not make the process easy. If it were easy, everyone would have a Part 135. Instead, they made it a challenge."
 
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