New ACS for Nearly Every Pilot Category Now in Effect

FAA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. [Credit: Shutterstock]

Instructors, learner pilots, and DPEs alike will need to brush up on the new Airman Certification Standards (ACS) and a couple of Practical Test Standards (PTS) that went into effect nearly across the board May 31.

The two unaffected categories are those of Aviation Mechanic (ACS-1) and Remote Pilot (ACS-10B).

Updated categories include:

Airline Transport Pilot and Type Rating for Airplane: ACS-11A
Aircraft Dispatcher PTS: 8081-10E
Commercial Pilot, Airplane: ACS-7B
Commercial Pilot, Rotorcraft Helicopter: ACS-16
Flight Instructor, Airplane: ACS-25
Flight Instructor, Instrument Airplane and Helicopter PTS: 8081-9E
Flight Instructor, Rotorcraft Helicopter: ACS-29
Instrument Rating, Airplane: ACS-8C
Instrument Rating, Helicopter: ACS-14
Private Pilot, Airplane: ACS-6C
Private Pilot, Rotorcraft Category Helicopter: ACS-15

The individual documents are linked above to the FAA site for ease of reference. There are updates for the ATP type rating for powered lift, and the powered lift instrument, private, commercial, and instructor ratings. There is also an updated ACS Companion Guide for Pilots.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on Plane & Pilot.

Amy WilderEditor

Amy Wilder is managing editor for Plane & Pilot magazine. She fell in love with airplanes at age 8 when her brother-in-law took her up in a Cessna 172. Pretty soon, Amy's bedroom walls were covered with images of vintage airplanes and she was convinced she'd be a bush pilot in Alaska one day. She became a journalist instead, which is also somewhat impractical—but with fewer bears. Now she's working on her private pilot certificate and ready to be a lifelong student of the art of flying.