AI.III.A — Pilot Qualifications
AI.III.A for the Flight Instructor Airplane ACS: official objective, references, and 7 exact knowledge, risk-management, and skill descriptions.
FAA-S-ACS-25, November 2023. This study page does not replace the current FAA publication or an examiner's plan of action.
Official task context
| Certificate or rating | Flight Instructor |
|---|---|
| Aircraft category | Airplane |
| Area of operation | Area of Operation III. Preflight Preparation |
| Task | Task A. Pilot Qualifications |
| Task code prefix | AI.III.A |
| Official references | 14 CFR parts 61, 68, 91; AC 60-28, AC 68-1; FAA-H-8083-2, FAA-H-8083-3, FAA-H-8083-23, FAA-H-8083-25; POH/AFM |
| FAA document | FAA-S-ACS-25 — Flight Instructor for Airplane Category Airman Certification Standards |
| FAA source library | Open the official ACS library |
Official task objective
To determine the applicant understands pilot training and qualification requirements for different levels of pilot certificate including student pilot, sport pilot, recreational pilot, private pilot, commercial pilot, and flight instructor; can apply that knowledge, manage associated risks, demonstrate appropriate skills, and provide effective instruction.
What the ACS code means
- AI identifies the ACS standard family used for this Flight Instructor Airplane document.
- III identifies Preflight Preparation, the Area of Operation.
- A identifies Pilot Qualifications, the Task within that Area.
- K, R, and S identify knowledge, risk-management, and skill elements. The number selects the item; a trailing lowercase letter identifies a listed sub-element.
Knowledge elements
| ACS code | Official description | How a mock oral can probe it |
|---|---|---|
| AI.III.A.K1 | Certification, currency, and recordkeeping requirements, including training and logbook entries. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| AI.III.A.K2 | Privileges and limitations of pilot certificates and ratings at student pilot, sport, recreational, private, commercial, and flight instructor levels. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| AI.III.A.K3 | Medical certificates: class, expiration, privileges, temporary disqualifications, and operations under BasicMed. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| AI.III.A.K4 | Documents pilots must possess to exercise privileges of the specified certificate(s) and rating(s). | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
Risk management elements
| ACS code | Official description | How a mock oral can probe it |
|---|---|---|
| AI.III.A.R1 | Proficiency versus currency. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| AI.III.A.R2 | Flying unfamiliar aircraft or operating with unfamiliar flight display systems and avionics. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
Skills elements
| ACS code | Official description | How a mock oral can probe it |
|---|---|---|
| AI.III.A.S1 | Deliver instruction on at least two of the elements specified in K1 through K4. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
Difficulty data
Difficulty calibration is ongoing for this Task. A difficulty estimate is published only with a sufficiently large, privacy-preserving first directly recorded assessment sample. Any observed difficulty comes from Checkride AI mock-oral practice assessments and is a practice-data proxy, not an FAA practical-test pass or fail rate.
Difficulty calibration remains ongoing until an item clears the private reporting threshold. Percentages, when available, describe the share who needed review on their first directly recorded assessment. Underlying sample sizes are never published, and historical final states are not backfilled into this measure.
How to use this in a mock oral
A mock examiner can ask you to explain the published elements, apply them to the configured aircraft and airport scenario, identify risks, and defend a decision. The prompts are practice scenarios; they are not claimed to be actual FAA examiner scripts or a prediction of the questions you will receive.
Related ACS tasks
- All Flight Instructor Airplane ACS tasks
85 task-level resources from FAA-S-ACS-25.
- AI.II.P — One Engine Inoperative (OEI) Performance (AMEL, AMES)
Area of Operation II. Technical Subject Areas
- AI.III.B — Airworthiness Requirements
Area of Operation III. Preflight Preparation
- AI.III.C — Weather Information
Area of Operation III. Preflight Preparation