MSU Denver, partners offer aviation students easier path to first officer certification

Recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) changes make it more difficult to attain certification to serve as a first officer in a commercial airplane. But Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver) and Colorado Northwestern Community College (CNCC) are making it a little easier for people to get their first officer certification -- an important step toward getting full certification to fly commercially.

The schools are allowing students pursuing an associate's or bachelor's of science degree in aviation to gain flight training at a reduced cost. Under the new FAA requirements first officers on U.S. passenger and cargo airlines must now have an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate, which means they must have 1,500 hours of flight experience.

Still, "Most airlines wouldn't hire at that low of an experience level," says Kevin R. Kuhlmann, who teaches Aerospace Science at MSU Denver. He explains that most pilots gain flying hours by teaching flight school and then at between 500 to 1,000 hours of experience they could get hired on as a first officer. "It was almost like an apprenticeship."

Pilots previously only needed a commercial certificate, which only requires 250 hours of flight experience. "Under the old system you were really only talking about 12 months on average until obtaining an ATP," Kuhlmann explains. The new system will add roughly a year or two to the training process.

The arrangement at the two schools will also allow students to obtain a restricted ATP with only 1,250 hours of flight under which they can fly as a co-pilot until they obtain the ATP certification. The restricted ATP could reduce the time to getting an ATP by about 6 months, according to Kuhlmann.

Contact Confluence Denver Innovation & Jobs News Editor Chris Meehan with tips and leads for future stories at chris@confluence-denver.com.