Flight Instructor Rating

The Flight Instructor Rating is an endorsement on a commercial licence that allows the holder to give flight instruction and sign off training records. Initially it covers teaching towards the Private Spaceflight Licence in the Sparrow Trainer and Kestrel; after 500 hours of instruction, holders may apply to supervise type rating courses.

Applicants need a Commercial Pilot Licence (Orbital) and 1,000 hours as pilot in command. Training requires 60 flight hours flown from the right-hand seat, 50 simulator hours focused on fault injection and safe session management, a supervised teaching practicum with real students, and an instructional check ride in which the examiner plays the role of a struggling student.

Lumen's Flight Instructor Certificate course at Tasman Field is the accredited route. The rating is renewed every 36 months through a standardisation seminar.

Every Lumen instructor holds this rating, and most of our faculty earned it here.

Holders who want to teach type ratings must complete a further supervised instructing period on the specific ship. Lumen offers refunded tuition to graduates who join its faculty for two years.