SMAC267 Should I Obtain A Complex Endorsement in 2021?

by CarlValeri on March 1, 2021

Welcome to episode 267. Today we will discuss a question I get from various listeners of all our podcasts “Should I obtain a complex endorsement in 2021?” We will discuss why you should obtain a complex endorsement, how to train for the endorsement, and tips for instructors teaching in complex aircraft.

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Cruise Flight:

I am Carl Valeri and today we will answer the question “should I obtain a complex endorsement in 2021”. Joining me today to answer this question is Tom Frick, and Bill English.

Why you should obtain a complex endorsement.
Is the complex endorsement still relevant?
Our experiences with operating complex aircraft.
- Don’t make the 6 o'clock news.
- Forgetting to put the gear down.
- Even professional crews forget.
- The cost of not putting the gear down.
What you might think is complex and is not.
- DA40?
- 182?
- 182RG?

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/61.31

What is a complex aircraft?
- Airplane flying handbook -An aircraft with retractable landing gear, flaps, and a controllable-pitch propeller, or is turbine powered.
- 61.1 Complex airplane means an airplane that has retractable landing gear, flaps, and a controllable pitch propeller, including airplanes equipped with an engine control system consisting of a digital computer and associated accessories for controlling the engine and propeller, such as a full authority digital engine control; or, in the case of a seaplane, flaps and a controllable pitch propeller, including seaplanes equipped with an engine control system consisting of a digital computer and associated accessories for controlling the engine and propeller, such as a full authority digital engine control.
Examples.
How you should train.
- Use of FTD’s and simulators.
Controllable pitch prop.
Is there a minimum number of hours for training?
Tips for flying complex aircraft.
- Carl’s GIFT of flight after takeoff check.
- GUMPS
Advice to flight instructors.
- The endorsement.
- Systems.
- Emergency procedures