1.4.1 The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) #

The FAA is empowered by regulations to promote aviation safety and establish safety standards for civil aviation. The FAA achieves these objectives under the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), which is the codification of the general and permanent rules published by the executive departments and agencies of the U.S. Government. The regulations are divided into 50 different codes, called Titles, that represent broad areas subject to Federal regulation. FAA regulations are listed under Title 14, Aeronautics and Space, which encompasses all aspects of civil aviation, from how to earn a pilot’s certificate to the maintenance of an aircraft.

Title 14 CFR Chapter 1, Federal Aviation Administration, is broken down into subchapters A through N, as illustrated in Figure 1-12.

[Figure 1-12. Overview of 14 CFR, available online free from the FAA and for purchase through commercial sources.]

For the pilot, certain parts of 14 CFR are more relevant than others. During flight training, it is helpful for the pilot to become familiar with the parts and subparts that relate to flight training and pilot certification. For instance, 14 CFR part 61 pertains to the certification of pilots, flight instructors, and ground instructors; it also defines the eligibility, aeronautical knowledge, flight proficiency, and training and testing requirements for each type of pilot certificate issued. 14 CFR part 91 provides guidance on general flight rules, visual flight rules (VFR), and instrument flight rules (IFR), while 14 CFR part 43 covers aircraft maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding, and alterations.

1.4.2 Primary Locations of the FAA #

The FAA headquarters are in Washington, D.C., and there are nine regional offices strategically located across the United States. The agency’s two largest field facilities are the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and the William J. Hughes Technical Center (WJHTC) in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Home to FAA training and logistics services, the MMAC provides a number of aviation-safety-related and business-support services. The WJHTC is the country’s premier facility for aviation research, development, test, and evaluation. The center’s programs include testing and evaluation in ATC, communication, navigation, airports, aircraft safety, and security. Furthermore, the WJHTC is active in the long-range development of innovative aviation systems and concepts, the development of new ATC equipment and software, and the modification of existing systems and procedures.

1.4.3 Field Offices — Flight Standards Service #

Within the FAA, the Flight Standards Service promotes safe air transportation by setting the standards for the certification and oversight of airmen, air operators, air agencies, and designees. It also promotes the safety of flight of civil aircraft and air commerce by:

• Accomplishing certification, inspection, surveillance, investigation, and enforcement.
• Setting regulations and standards.
• Managing the system for registration of civil aircraft and all airmen records.

The focus of interaction between the Flight Standards Service and the aviation community / general public is the Flight Standards District Office (FSDO).

1.4.4 Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) #

The FAA has approximately 130 FSDOs. [Figure 1-13] These offices provide information and services for the aviation community. FSDO phone numbers are listed in the telephone directory under Government Offices, DOT, FAA. Another convenient way to find a local office is to use the FSDO locator available on the FAA website.

In addition to accident investigation and the enforcement of aviation regulations, the FSDO is also responsible for the certification and surveillance of air carriers, air operators, flight schools / training centers, and airmen, including pilots and flight instructors. Each FSDO is staffed by Aviation Safety Inspectors (ASIs), who play a key role in making the nation’s aviation system safe. All questions concerning pilot certification (and/or requests for other aviation information or services) should be directed to the local FSDO.

1.4.5 Aviation Safety Inspector (ASI) #

Aviation Safety Inspectors (ASIs) administer and enforce safety regulations and standards for the production, operation, maintenance, and/or modification of aircraft used in civil aviation. They also specialize in conducting inspections of various aspects of the aviation system, such as aircraft and parts manufacturing, aircraft operation, aircraft airworthiness, and cabin safety. ASIs must complete a training program at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City, which includes airman evaluation and pilot-testing techniques and procedures. ASIs also receive extensive on-the-job training and recurrent training on a regular basis. The FAA has approximately 3,700 inspectors located in its FSDO offices.

1.4.6 FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) #

The FAA is dedicated to improving the safety of U.S. civilian aviation by conveying safety principles and practices through training, outreach, and education. The FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) exemplifies this commitment. The FAASTeam has replaced the Aviation Safety Program (ASP), whose education of airmen on all types of safety subjects successfully reduced accidents. Its success led to its demise, because the easy-to-fix accident causes had been addressed. To take aviation safety one step further, the Flight Standards Service created the FAASTeam, which is devoted to reducing aircraft accidents by using a coordinated effort to focus resources on elusive accident causes.

Each of the FAA’s nine regions has a Regional FAASTeam Office dedicated to this safety program and managed by the Regional FAASTeam Manager (RFM). The FAASTeam is “teaming” up with individuals and the aviation industry to create a unified effort against accidents and to “tip” the safety culture in the right direction. To learn more about this effort, take a course at their online learning center, or join the FAASTeam, visit their website at www.faasafety.gov.

1.4.7 Obtaining Assistance from the FAA #

Information can be obtained from the FAA by phone, Internet/e-mail, or mail. To talk to the FAA toll-free 24 hours a day, call 1-866-TELL-FAA (1-866-835-5322). To visit the FAA’s website, go to www.faa.gov. Letters can be sent to: Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Ave, SW, Washington, DC 20591.

1.4.8 FAA Reference Material #

The FAA provides a variety of important reference material for the student as well as the advanced civil aviation pilot. In addition to the regulations provided online by the FAA, several other publications are available to the user. Almost all reference material is available online at www.faa.gov in downloadable format. Commercial aviation publishers also provide published and online reference material to further aid the pilot.

1.4.9 Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) #

The Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) is the official guide to basic flight information and ATC procedures for the aviation community flying in the NAS of the United States. [Figure 1-14] An international version, containing parallel information as well as specific information on international airports, is also available. The AIM also contains information of interest to pilots, such as health and medical facts, flight safety, a pilot/controller glossary of terms used in the system, and information on safety, accidents, and the reporting of hazards.

This manual is offered for sale on a subscription basis or is available online at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Order forms are provided at the beginning of the manual or online and should be sent to the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO). The AIM is complemented by other operational publications, available via separate subscriptions or online.

1.4.10 Handbooks #

Handbooks are developed to provide specific information about a particular topic that enhances training or understanding. The FAA publishes a variety of handbooks that generally fall into three categories: Aircraft, Aviation, and Examiners and Inspectors. [Figure 1-15] These handbooks can be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents or downloaded (www.faa.gov/regulations_policies). Aviation handbooks are also published by various commercial aviation companies. The following are a few examples of FAA handbooks available to the public:

Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) — designed to provide the aviation community with basic flight information and ATC procedures for use in the NAS. It also contains the fundamentals required to fly in the U.S. NAS, including items of interest to pilots concerning health/medical facts, factors affecting flight safety, etc.

Aviation Instructor’s Handbook — provides the foundation for beginning instructors to understand and apply the fundamentals of instructing. It also gives instructors up-to-date information on learning and teaching, and how to relate this to conveying aeronautical knowledge and skills to students. Experienced instructors also find the new and updated information useful for improving their effectiveness.

Airplane Flying Handbook — designed as a technical manual to introduce basic pilot skills and knowledge essential for piloting airplanes. It provides information on transition to other airplanes and on the operation of various airplane systems.

Instrument Flying Handbook — designed for use by instrument flight instructors and pilots preparing for instrument rating tests. Instructors find it a valuable training aid, as it includes basic reference material for knowledge testing and instrument flight training.

Instrument Procedures Handbook — designed as a technical reference for professional pilots who operate under IFR in the NAS, and expands on information contained in the Instrument Flying Handbook.

Aircraft flight manuals, commonly called Pilot’s Operating Handbooks (POH), are documents developed by the airplane manufacturer, approved by the FAA, and specific to a particular make and model of aircraft by serial number. This subject is covered in greater detail in Chapter 8, Flight Manuals and Other Documents. [Figure 1-16]

1.4.11 Advisory Circulars (ACs) #

Advisory Circulars (ACs) provide a single, uniform, agency-wide system that the FAA uses to deliver advisory material to its customers, industry, the aviation community, and the public. An AC may be needed to:

• Provide an acceptable, clearly understood method for complying with a regulation.
• Standardize implementation of the regulation, or harmonize it for the international aviation community.
• Resolve a general misunderstanding of a regulation.
• Respond to a request from a government entity, such as the General Accounting Office, NTSB, or the Office of the Inspector General.
• Help the industry and FAA effectively implement a regulation.
• Explain requirements and limits of an FAA grant program.
• Expand on standards needed to promote aviation safety, including the safe operation of airports.

There are three parts to an AC number, as in 25-42C. The first part identifies the subject-matter area of the AC and corresponds to the appropriate 14 CFR part. For example, an AC on Certification: Pilots and Flight and Ground Instructors is numbered AC 61-65E. Since ACs are numbered sequentially within each subject area, the second part of the number (beginning with the dash) identifies this sequence. The third part is a letter assigned by the originating office and shows the revision sequence if an AC is revised; the first version of an AC has no revision letter. In Figure 1-17, this is the fifth revision, as designated by the “E.”

1.4.12 Flight Publications #

The FAA, in concert with other government agencies, orchestrates the publication of — and changes to — publications that are key to safe flight. Figure 1-18 illustrates some of the publications a pilot uses.

1.4.13 Pilot and Aeronautical Information — Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) #

Time-critical aeronautical information that is either of a temporary nature, or not known sufficiently in advance to permit publication on aeronautical charts or in other operational publications, receives immediate dissemination via the National Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) System. NOTAMs contain current notices to airmen that are considered essential to the safety of flight, as well as supplemental data affecting other operational publications. NOTAM information is classified into two categories: NOTAM (D), or distant, and Flight Data Center (FDC) NOTAMs.

NOTAM (D) information is disseminated for all navigational facilities that are part of the NAS, all public-use airports, seaplane bases, and heliports listed in the Airport/Facility Directory (A/FD). NOTAM (D) information now includes such data as taxiway closures, personnel and equipment near or crossing runways, and airport lighting aids that do not affect instrument approach criteria, such as the visual approach slope indicator (VASI).

FDC NOTAMs contain such things as amendments to published Instrument Approach Procedures (IAPs) and other current aeronautical charts. They are also used to advertise temporary flight restrictions caused by such things as natural disasters or large-scale public events that may generate a congestion of air traffic over a site.

NOTAMs are available in printed form by subscription from the Superintendent of Documents, from a Flight Service Station (FSS), or online at the Pilot Web Site (http://pilotweb.nas.faa.gov), which provides access to current NOTAM information. [Figure 1-19]

1.4.14 Safety Program Airmen Notification System (SPANS) #

The FAA recently launched the Safety Program Airmen Notification System (SPANS), an online event-notification system that provides timely and easy-to-assess seminar and event information for airmen. The SPANS system is taking the place of the current paper-based mail system; this transition will provide better service to airmen while reducing costs for the FAA. Anyone can search the SPANS system and register for events. To read more, visit www.faasafety.gov/SPANS.