Night Rating - You Should Think About It!

[FreelanceInstructor]

406.03(2) A person who does not hold a flight training unit operator certificate may operate a flight training service if

(a) the person holds a private operator registration document or an air operator certificate, the aircraft used for training — in the case of the holder of an air operator certificate — is specified in the air operator certificate, and the training is other than toward obtaining a pilot permit — recreational, a private pilot licence, a commercial pilot licence or a flight instructor rating; or

(b) the trainee is

(i) the owner, or a member of the family of the owner, of the aircraft used for training,

(ii) a director of a corporation that owns the aircraft used for training, and the training is other than toward obtaining a pilot permit — recreational or a private pilot licence, or

(iii) using an aircraft that has been obtained from a person who is at arm’s length from the flight instructor, and the training is other than toward obtaining a pilot permit — recreational or a private pilot licence.

The CARs very clearly show in (i) that the only case in which the student MUST be an owner of the aircraft (aka listed on the C of R) is if the training is done towards a RPP or PPL. Outside of that, other forms of training(ie Night) still can be completed by an instructor under (ii) and/or (iii). You either need to be the director of a company if the aircraft is registered under said company(ii), or the aircraft is obtained "at arm's length from the instructor"(iii). This simply means that the instructor can not have any vested interest in how the student obtains the aircraft. Example, the instructor owns an aircraft and says you can use the aircraft while he provides the student with the instruction. Things get sticky when it comes time to who is actually insured on the aircraft. Under most scenario's, how the student obtains the aircraft doesn't matter for sh*t when using a freelance instructor. However, the student usually needs to be listed on the insurance, and almost all underwriting in the policies I've seen covers the certified flight instructor providing the instruction to a person who is listed under the policy.

Seriously kids, you should have been taught to understand how to read through the CARs in PPL Ground School. No one else's ass is on the line except for yours, take the time and read through the rules of the air.