[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 115 (Thursday, June 14, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27821-27822]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-12796]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Requests for Comments; 
Clearance of Renewed Approval of Information Collection: Certification: 
Pilots, Flight Instructors, and Ground Instructors

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA 
invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) approval to renew an information 
collection. The revision of this collection involves the logging of 
training time in aviation training devices under the provisions of 
current regulations, and the logging of flight time as a second in 
command (SIC) under the provisions of current regulations.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by August 13, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to the FAA at the following address: Barbara 
Hall, Federal Aviation Administration, ASP-110, 10101 Hillwood Parkway, 
Fort Worth, TX 76177.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for FAA's performance; (b) the 
accuracy of the estimated burden; (c) ways for FAA to enhance the 
quality, utility and clarity of the information collection; and (d) 
ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of 
the collected information. The agency will summarize and/or include 
your comments in the request for OMB's clearance of this information 
collection.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Hall by email at: 
[email protected]; phone: 940-594-5913.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    OMB Control Number: 2120-0021.
    Title: Certification: Pilots and Flight Instructors.
    Form Numbers: 8710-1, 8710-13.
    Type of Review: This is a revision of an existing information 
collection.
    Background: The FAA is publishing the final rule Regulatory Relief, 
Aviation Training devices; Pilot Certification, Training, and Pilot 
Schools; and Other Provisions (RIN 2120-AK28; Docket No. FAA-2016-
6142). In that rule, the FAA is reducing the burden for instrument 
currency requirements under Sec.  61.57 for those pilots that use 
aviation training devices. Prior to that final rule, Sec.  61.57(c)(3) 
required persons using an aviation training device to establish 
instrument experience to complete the required tasks within the 
preceding 2 calendar months. Persons using an aircraft, full flight 
simulator, flight-training device, or a combination, however, were 
required to establish instrument experience within the preceding 6 
calendar months. 14 CFR 61.57(c)(1)-(2). The final rule amends Sec.  
61.57(c) to allow pilots to accomplish instrument experience in 
aviation training devices by performing the same tasks required for 
flight simulation training devices and aircraft, and at the same 6-
month interval allowed for flight simulation training devices and 
aircraft.
    The FAA estimates that, of the 102,811 active pilots with an 
instrument rating, that approximately 50% are maintaining currency. It 
is likely that only 15% of those pilots (approximately 15,422 pilots) 
are using an aviation training device exclusively to maintain their 
instrument currency. For those pilots, this change will reduce the 
recordkeeping requirements of logging time from 6 times a year to two 
times a year, when logging instrument currency exclusively in an 
aviation training device. The FAA estimates this burden reduction to be 
6168.8 hours annually.
    Additionally, the final rule amends Sec.  135.99 by adding 
paragraph (c) to allow a certificate holder to receive approval of a 
second in command (SIC) professional development program (SIC PDP) via 
operations specifications (Ops Specs) to allow the certificate holder's 
pilots to log SIC time in operations conducted under part 135 in an 
airplane or operation that does not otherwise require a SIC. 
Specifically, with this

[[Page 27822]]

final rule, Sec.  61.159(c) allows pilots to log SIC time in part 135 
operations in a single engine turbine-powered airplane or a multi-
engine airplane that otherwise does not require an SIC. This will 
require the pilot to obtain a logbook endorsement from the pilot in 
command for each individual flight to log this time as SIC. The FAA 
estimates that of the 76,957 Commercial Pilots with airplane and 
instrument privileges that approximately 10% (7,696) may actively 
pursue a SIC position with a Part 135 operator that is approved for 
logging SIC time as described for this provision. But, because of the 
limited number of operators (approximately 457 operators as of 
September 28, 2017) that would qualify or actually pursue this 
authorization, the FAA estimates that only 15% (1,154 pilots) might 
actually become qualified annually to log SIC time under this 
provision. This additional record keeping requirement will be reflected 
in Section 61.159, Aeronautical experience. The FAA estimates this SIC 
training program burden increase is 1,154 hours annually.
    Respondents: The total number of respondents in the airman 
certification program is estimated to be approximately 25 percent of 
the population of active certificated pilots and instructors. Given a 
population of 825,000, the result is approximately 206,250 respondents 
providing data on an annual basis. The total number of applicants for a 
remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating is estimated to be 
39,229 annually.
    Frequency: As needed.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: For the hour burdens 
resulting from the application requirements of the collection of 
information other than remote pilots with small UAS ratings, the FAA 
estimates that forms are submitted for these certificates and ratings 
at an average preparation time of 15 minutes (0.25 hrs) each. The 
average time estimate of 0.25 hours assumes that many individual 
applicants will submit an 8710-1 form more than once for various 
reasons, and that most of the information provided on the form likely 
will not have changed. For Part 107 we estimate that an average of 
39,229 forms are submitted annually that require an average preparation 
time of 0.25 hours to complete.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: The total number of annual responses 
for the airman certification program is estimated to be 1,196,653. The 
FAA estimates the total reporting burden hours to be 43,157 hours. The 
FAA estimates the total recordkeeping burden hours to be 282,329 hours. 
The FAA estimates the burden for the collection of information to be 
325,486 hours annually. This is a burden reduction of 5,015 annual 
burden hours from the currently approved information collection.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 30, 2018.
Barbara L. Hall,
FAA Information Collection Clearance Officer, Performance, Policy, and 
Records Management Branch, ASP-110.
[FR Doc. 2018-12796 Filed 6-13-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P