Plain-English deep dives on virtual DPE services, FAA rule changes, and the administrative actions Daytona DPE handles every week.
The 24-month test report, the FOI (or your exemption), IACRA and your FTN, then a 20-minute issuance appointment. No checkride — and yes, the FSDO does it free if you can get in.
What pilots find at their airline, why the free FSDO route takes weeks, and what a DPE costs. Plus doing the R-ATP and a type-rating SOE in one appointment.
Total time isn't the whole test. The four §61.159 columns to check, the age line, the documents, and the 20-minute call that removes the restriction.
Two knowledge tests and a 20-minute appointment — no checkride, no flight time, no medical. The FOI exemptions, what the AGI test covers, and what it all costs.
What each ground instructor rating actually authorizes, side by side, and why AGI + IGI together is the standard combination for anyone who'll teach seriously.
Since Dec 1, 2024 the certificate itself no longer expires. Which scenario you're in, the 3-month FIRC grace window, and when a §61.199 reinstatement checkride is truly required.
The FAA doesn't set examiner fees. What checkrides typically cost in 2026, why fees vary, the free FSDO option, and why administrative actions should never cost checkride money.
CFI SOE vs type-rating SOE, the 25-hour rule clause by clause, attestation wording, who can supervise, the IACRA steps, and what actually happens on removal day.
Comprehensive guide to the FAA's final rule that removed CFI expiration and replaced it with REED. Covers §61.19, §61.197, §61.199, the 5 recent-experience methods, the 3-month FIRC grace, and the practical-test fallback.
The video appointment is about 20 minutes. The end-to-end timeline is 3 to 5 business days. Here's exactly what happens, when, and why.
How the examiner's Certificate Letter of Authority (CLOA) and the Designee Management System (DMS) permit virtual administrative examiner actions. The framework, the limits, the oversight.