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April 1, 2018

PILOT SPEAK

Ask AOPA

Paper or plastic? Swapping out certificates

By Ferdi Mack

Q: I am exercising my student solo privileges with a paper student pilot certificate, which also has my medical certificate on the reverse side. How do I obtain the new-style plastic certificate?

A: Since your paper student pilot certificate is still valid, you can request a replacement certificate from the FAA. You can do this either online or through the mail. The details are available on the FAA website (www.faa.gov, search “airman certificate replacement”).

Note that the duration of your existing paper student pilot certificate is the same as the attached medical certificate. Once you obtain a plastic student pilot certificate, it no longer has an expiration date attached.

Once a paper student pilot certificate expires, however—or if you never held one to begin with—the process is different. In this case you must visit the FAA airmen certification and rating website known as IACRA (https://iacra.faa.gov) and set up a new account as an applicant. Then, create a new application for a student pilot certificate. Finally, your instructor must retrieve your application and approve it for processing. You will need to provide your FAA Tracking Number (FTN) so that the instructor can retrieve your application. Not only do you need a student pilot certificate before you can solo, it is also a good idea to get familiar with IACRA early in your training.

If you have questions on this or any other flight training topic, you can contact AOPA’s Pilot Information Center at 800-872-2672 or email [email protected].

Ferdi Mack is senior manager of the AOPA Pilot Information Center.

The AOPA Pilot Information Center is the foremost technical resource available to the general aviation community.

This skilled group of pilots, medical specialists, and flight instructors has more than 70,000 hours of collective flight experience. During the course of a year, AOPA specialists respond to more than 200,000 member questions and thousands of emails and letters.

Aviation and medical certification specialists are available to answer questions on myriad aviation topics, including:

The airman medical certification process
Allowed and disallowed medical conditions
Locations of medical examiners
Pilot and aviation-related topics
Airports and airspace issues
Legislative updates
Regulations interpretations
Flight training, instructor questions
Aircraft ownership
Buying and selling advice
Evaluations of specific aircraft
Flying clubs, co-ownership
Maintenance
International flights
Flight planning guidance for Canada, Bahamas, and Mexico
Survival equipment recommendations and requirements
U.S. border crossing procedures

The AOPA Pilot Information Center puts some of GA’s most experienced pilots as close as your phone or email. Call 800-USA-AOPA (872-2672) Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Eastern time, or email [email protected].

MEET MIKE FILUCCI

Mike Filucci is vice president of the AOPA Pilot Information Center and Flight Operations. The Pilot Information Center provides medical certification assistance, pilot services, and digital product support. On the Flight Ops side, the aircraft management team handles scheduling and dispatch, pilot training, and maintenance of the AOPA fleet of aircraft. Before joining AOPA, Filucci flew with American Airlines for 28 years. He also had a military career with the U.S. Air Force/Maryland Air National Guard. Filucci has been active in general aviation, including the warbird community, for many years.