tonycondon said:
A friend of mine is working on getting the Advanced Ground Instructor license and while going through the Gleim book, found that it says that "The FAA does not require an instructors endorsement for any Flight Instructor Written"
I don't buy it, mostly because of 61.35. I can find no exceptions under the CFI or Ground Instructor sections of part 61. Any answers?
Ye dare to question the mighty Gleim? 
Where you went wrong was looking at
Pilot certification requirements (61.35) rather than
Flight Instructor certification requirements (61.183, 185, 187.)
As is often the case with 14 CFR 61, the answer lies in omission. Shift focus to 61.183(e), and (f):
To be eligible for a flight instructor certificate or rating a person must:
....
(e) Pass a knowledge test on the areas listed in §
61.185(a)(1) of this part
(61.185(a)(1) is Fundamentals of Instructing.)
(f) Pass a knowledge test on the aeronautical knowledge areas listed in §
61.185(a)(2) and (a)(3) of this part that are appropriate to the flight instructor rating sought
(61.185(a)(2) and (3) are pilot certicates and instrument rating, respectively.)
Notice how it doesn't require that an authorized instructor "... certified that the person is prepared for the required knowledge test that applies to the aircraft category and class rating sought." Sound familiar? It's from 61.123(c)(2), Eligibility Requirements for a Commercial Pilot certificate.
So, as you can see, there is no requirement per 61.183 (e) and (f) to get an instructor signoff for the CFI writtens.
Tony
Commercial - ASEL, AMEL, IA, Glider
CFI - All of the above (And had endorsements for the writtens)
... although you didn't need those endorsements, perhaps the positive mojo they contained helped carry the day for you!
