Having recently flown Cirrus Aircraft’s remarkable single-engine SF50 Vision jet, I couldn’t help wondering about the training required by the FAA for new Vision Jet pilots and at the same time the lack of training required for pilots flying far more complex and demanding airplanes.
The FAA’s attitude about mandatory training for larger and more complex airplanes is surprisingly lackadaisical. The day I earned my multiengine rating in a tired old Piper Apache, the FAA considered me qualified to blast off IFR in a turboprop MU-2, Twin Commander, King Air or any number of then-popular piston twins that were a much bigger handful to fly compared to the Apache.
Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.
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