Restricted ATP

The following bachelor’s degree programs are eligible for restricted-ATP consideration.

• Bachelor of Science - Aviation Flight Science
• Bachelor of Science - Aviation Technical Operations
• Bachelor of Science - Aviation Maintenance Technology
• Bachelor of Science - Aviation Management and Operations
• Bachelor of Science - Aviation Science and Administration

Yes

In general, qualifying for a restricted-ATP through Western Michigan University will allow an applicant for an ATP certificate to reduce the necessary total time requirement from 1,500 hours to either 1,250 hours or 1,000 hours.

Whether an individual qualifies for a reduction to 1,250 or 1,000 hours total time depends on how many credit hours of FAA approved coursework the individual completes.  If an applicant completed 60 or more semester credit hours of FAA approved coursework, they will be approved for a reduction to 1,000 hours total time.  If an applicant completed 30 to 59 semester credit hours of FAA approved coursework, they will be approved for a reduction to 1,250 hours total time. If an applicant completed less than 30 semester credit hours of FAA approved coursework, they are not eligible for a reduction in aeronautical experience. 

The regulation that addresses reduction in aeronautical experience  requirements are listed in 14 CFR § 61.160 Aeronautical experience—airplane category restricted privileges.  Current FAA regulations can be found at https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/faa_regulations.

No, there are other aeronautical experience requirements to qualify for an ATP certificate.  These requirements are listed in 14 CFR § 61.159 Aeronautical experience: Airplane category rating.  However, 14 CFR § 61.160(e) allows for an applicant for a restricted ATP to apply with as low as 200 hours of cross-country time rather than the 500 hours required by 14 CFR § 61.159(a)(1).  Current FAA regulations can be found at https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/faa_regulations.

Yes, completing the private pilot certificate at WMU is not a requirement for qualifying for the restricted ATP.  Applicants must, however, complete the entire instrument rating course and the entire initial commercial certification course at WMU to qualify for the restricted ATP.  Individuals cannot credit pilot training completed outside of WMU toward the instrument or commercial courses and qualify for the restricted ATP.  The entirety of those courses must be completed at WMU.

Generally yes, but this must be reviewed on a case by case basis. 

As long as the university and the courses you completed at that university were authorized by the FAA, the credit will be applicable to the 30 or 60 semester credit hours required (assuming that the courses are transferable to WMU.)  For this to be evaluated at WMU, we will need to receive a copy of your official school transcript along with a copy of the FAA Letter of Authorization (LOA) issued to your prior institution.  If instrument or commercial pilot training was completed at the prior institution, that training must be completed under an FAA Approved Part 141 program and the courses must be listed under the prior institution’s FAA LOA.  (Note, graduates of WMU Aviation Flight Science must take instrument and commercial pilot training at WMU, however, a transfer student into a non-Aviation Flight Science program might be able to transfer in pilot training taken at another institution.)

WMU's FAA Letter of Authorization (LOA) can be downloaded from the link below.  Contained within this LOA is a list of of coursework approved by the FAA to qualify for the restricted ATP. 

When reviewing the list of courses contained within the LOA, make sure the course number, name and credit hours match exactly to that contained on the LOA.  Deviations from what is included on the official FAA LOA cannot be counted.

The current FAA LOA allowing WMU to certify its graduates for an ATP certificate with reduced aeronautical experience may be downloaded here. 

The institution that the pilot graduates from is the institution that will issue the statement or certificate that qualifies an individual for a restricted ATP.  If you were a WMU student that transferred to another institution, it is likely that your current institution will need a copy of your official transcripts and a copy of WMU’s FAA LOA.  A current copy of WMU's FAA LOA can be downloaded here.

At time of application for the restricted ATP certificate, applicants will need to present to the FAA inspector/designee an official WMU transcript along with an official WMU certificate, issued by the College of Aviation, showing that the applicant qualifies under reduced aeronautical experience.  Some training providers also ask for documentation showing how our training devices were approved.  See separate question below regarding simulation approval.

Certificates are typically mailed to qualified graduates a few months after graduation.  Following commencement, a final degree audit is completed and diplomas are awarded (about 45 days post commencement).  Once diplomas are awarded, the college receives a list of aviation graduates.  This list is then audited for appropriate WMU pilot training and completion of FAA approved coursework.  Certificates for eligibility for restricted ATP are then prepared for all graduates that qualify for either the reduction to 1,250 or 1,000 total time.  These certificates are mailed to the individual via USPS to the address on record at the university.

Individuals that did not receive a certificate may request special processing of a certificate by filling out an application.  The application for a certificate may be downloaded here.

If you received the certificate but need a duplicate issued, reach out to Kim Courter for a reissuance.  She may be reached at kimberly.courter@wmich.edu.

If your name, pilot certificate number, or graduation date is wrong on the certificate you receive, reach out to Kim Courter for any corrections.  She may be reached at kimberly.courter@wmich.edu.

Yes, you may be able to use some or all your time acquired in a training device (simulator) toward required aeronautical experience.  To determine how much time and for what categories of time, (total, instrument, etc.), reference FAA Federal Aviation Regulations 14 CFR § 61.159 and 14 CFR § 61.160 along with the applicable FAA Letters of Authorization that have been issued for the WMU training devices.  Current FAA regulations can be found at https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/faa_regulations.  Current and historical FAA LOAs for WMU training devices are available in a later Q&A.

 WMU has used a variety of training devices over the years.  Listed below are the training devices that WMU has used since January 2000.  Within this table is a listing of device types along with the FAA approval level. 

 Please note that the Frasca (Cirrus) 241 have had different FAA approval levels throughout the years.  Reference the table below to determine if your logged time qualifies as FTD Level 1, FTD Level 5 or AATD.  During the winter of 2022, the Frasca (Cirrus) training devices transitioned from being approved at Level 5 FTD to AATDs.  You will need to reference your ETA logbook to determine the approval status of the device you trained in during this time. Once in ETA/Talon, you can review your pilot logbook.  For Cirrus training device entries, the resource type will state either “Cirrus X Level 5” or “Cirrus X AATD”, showing the approval level.

 If you need assistance accessing your ETA/Talon account, you may reach out to Tom Grossman at thomas.grossman@wmich.edu.

The last column in the table provides links to the FAA approval documentation.  FAA LOAs (Letter of Authorization) are issued to training devices approved as AATD or FTD Level 1.  SOQs (Statement of Qualification) are issued to training devices approved as FTD Level 5.

Since 2000, WMU has used the following training devices:

You may download copies of the training device Letters of Authorization (LOA) or Statement of Qualification (SOQ) from the table located in the prior Q&A.

If you still have a question after reviewing the information on this web page, reach out to Tom Grossman at thomas.grossman@wmich.edu.