PMOPA Safety & Education Foundation Training Program and CFI Recognition Program Overview

1. M-Class Elevate Training Program

2. M-Class Standardized Instructor Pilot (MSIP) Program

 

M-Class Elevate Training Program

Becoming a safe and proficient pilot of a high-performance, cabin-class aircraft like the M-Class demands not only a comprehensive understanding of advanced technical systems but also the development of skills for flying with higher power, speed, and altitude. Our aircraft offer superior performance capabilities, enabling faster and longer travel. We fly at high-speeds and high-altitudes and need to be prepared to deal with the challenges these flights present. Diverse weather systems and varied topography require advanced flight planning and execution. We must be skilled at recognizing and managing unique risks through precise aeronautical decision-making, and we must be able to utilize all available tools and resources to plan and execute uneventful flights while being prepared to address any emergency or unusual situation that arises.

Furthermore, the advanced cockpits and avionics many of us have installed in our M-Class, while generally considered enhancements, demand increased technical knowledge and finely tuned automation skills. Without these, the potential for human-error accidents increases significantly.

M-Class Elevate recognizes these operational challenges and training needs that are relevant to our airplanes and pilots and has organized training into eighteen training modules under four categories:

  • Risk Management and Decision Making
  • Aeronautical Knowledge and Systems
  • Avionics and Panel Instruments
  • Flight Procedures and Proficiency

M-Class Standardized Instructor Pilot (MSIP) Program

PMOPA SEF created the MSIP Program to enhance the quality of training available to all Piper M-Class pilots and recognize flight instructors with exceptional expertise in flying and training in M-Class aircraft. The objectives of the MSIP Program are to establish and administer:

1. Uniform standards that promote predictable and high-quality training for PMOPA members.
2. A transparent framework that encourages flight instructors to enter and/or remain in the M-Class instruction marketplace; and
3. A quality assurance framework that PMOPA can use to engage with the M-Class aircraft insurance market.

An MSIP Steering Committee oversees the program and consists of highly experienced and respected volunteer M-Class flight instructors who have a deep and recent history of engagement with PMOPA.

MSIP aligns instructor recognition into four echelons. Each addresses a CFI’s qualifications and experience in M-Class aircraft, involvement in PMOPA activities such as conventions, seminars, webinars, content creation for the magazine or the Learning Management System, and knowledge of the M-Class Elevate training curriculum. The differences in MSIP TCI, MSIP CFI, MSIP Gold CFI, and MSIP Platinum CFI levels are based on experience and PMOPA involvement. 

To apply for initial MSIP recognition, the applicant must: 

  • Be a PMOPA member in good standing
  • Meet M-Class experience requirements for the MSIP level sought to include
    • Total Time
    • Total Time instruction given
    • Total Time in the M-Class variant
    • Total M-Class time within a preceding period
  • Possess insurance approval as an M-Class training provider
  • Have attended a convention/regional event (frequency varies with MSIP level)
  • Serve as a content creator/presenter for PMOPA activities (the number of events during the period depends on the MSIP level)
  • Provide client references (number of references varies with the MSIP level)

The MSIP Steering Committee will meet twice per year to review submitted MSIP applications. Apply for MSIP recognition. 

View the list of MSIP recognized flight instructors. 

The MSIP Program will also recognize MSIP Training Centers. Once a Training Center has been approved, the Training Center may identify and supervise MSIP Training Center Instructor(s) (MSIP TCI).