Part 61 Flight School Software

Part 61 doesn't require an FAA-approved syllabus. It sets the aeronautical knowledge, flight proficiency, and experience a student needs, such as at least 40 hours of flight time for a private pilot certificate in airplanes under 14 CFR 61.109, and leaves the order and pace to the instructor. That flexibility is the point, so Sky Schedule doesn't force a structure on you.

• Bring a syllabus. Upload the PDF of the published syllabus you teach from, and Sky Schedule parses it into a program with flight and ground lessons, steps to grade, and expected hours, with AI filling the gaps. Review it, change what you want, and publish.
• Or keep it short. Build a program by hand with only the lessons you care about. AI can help write lesson descriptions and notes.
• Credit what they've already done. A student moving from another instructor can come in with transfer credits, so their progress picks up where they left off.

Instructors log each lesson from the reservation it happened on. Grade each step with 1 to 5 stars or Satisfactory and Unsatisfactory, choose Pass or Fail, add a summary, and sign. If you want the student to acknowledge each entry, turn on student countersignatures. Students see their progress bars and entries, and entries can be emailed to them after the lesson.

Endorsements are where a Part 61 instructor's paperwork piles up. Sky Schedule's endorsement catalog is based on the common endorsements in FAA Advisory Circular 61-65, including:

• Student pilot: presolo aeronautical knowledge and flight training, solo flight for each additional 90-day period, solo takeoffs and landings at another airport within 25 nm, initial and repeated solo cross-country, and solo flight in Class B airspace.
• Knowledge and practical tests: private, commercial, and instrument, plus retesting after a failure and the practical test prerequisites of 14 CFR 61.39.
• Additional training under 14 CFR 61.31: complex, high-performance, tailwheel, and pressurized high-altitude airplanes.
• Other: flight reviews, instrument proficiency checks, WINGS phases, and flight instructor endorsements.

Under 14 CFR 61.87, a student pilot's solo endorsement has to be renewed by an instructor every 90 days. When you record the 90-day solo endorsement in Sky Schedule, it gets an expiration date 90 days after the date given, so it shows as expired the day it runs out instead of when someone flips through a logbook.

Then put the schedule to work. Add an endorsement requirement to your Solo Flight activity type, optionally with a "valid for" number of days. When a solo is booked, Sky Schedule checks for a current endorsement and flags it in the booking form if there isn't one, and the dispatch report shows the same gap before the student walks to the airplane. Whether to go ahead stays your call. The same requirement checks can look for a current medical or any other document you require.

Sky Schedule's records don't replace the student's logbook. You still endorse the logbook as the regulations require; Sky Schedule keeps a searchable copy of what was given and when it expires.

Many Part 61 operations don't have a front desk, so the schedule has to carry more of the work.

• Booking. Let students book themselves, or turn on Find a Time so they request a time and you approve it. Block off your own time with Instructor unavailable and book recurring lessons for the same slot each week. Your bookings can sync to your Google Calendar.
• On the ramp. Fill out a check-out form, then complete the flight with Hobbs and Tach. Aircraft times update automatically.
• Getting paid. When a flight is completed, Sky Schedule drafts the invoice with aircraft time and instruction. Bill aircraft on Hobbs, on Tach, or on scheduled time, then charge the card or bank account the student has on file, take it from their prepaid balance, or send the invoice for them to pay online by card. Prepaid packages track what's been used. More on that in flight school billing software.
• New students. The Discovery Flight widget on your website takes a booking and payment, and the lead lands in the CRM.

Medicals, IDs, and other documents carry expiration dates, and the compliance dashboard (in beta) shows what's expiring across your students. Landings are logged with each completed flight.