Ground Instructor

Ground Instructor is a certificate issued in the United States by the Federal Aviation Administration; the rules for certification, and for certificate-holders, are detailed in Subpart I of Part 61 of the Federal Aviation Regulations, which are part of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The Ground Instructor certificate allows the holder to offer various kinds of ground instruction required of those seeking pilot certificates and ratings. Ground Instructor certificates are issued with ratings, and these determine the exact areas in which the holder may give instruction.

Requirements

An applicant for a Ground Instructor certificate is not required to be a pilot, but must meet certain requirements, including being at least 18 years of age and being able to read, write, speak, and understand the English language. In addition, the applicant must pass a written knowledge test on the fundamentals of instructing. Exceptions to this requirement are made for persons who hold flight instructor certificates (and so have already taken this test), for persons who hold a teacher's certificate authorizing instruction at the seventh-grade or above, and for persons who teach at accredited colleges or universities.