Aircraft Endorsements: Complex, High-Performance, High-Altitude, and Tailwheel
Diego Suarez
Aircraft endorsements are searched together because transition training often overlaps. A pilot moving into a faster or more demanding airplane may need a complex endorsement, a high-performance endorsement, a high-altitude endorsement, a tailwheel endorsement, or more than one of them.
In Simply Endorsed CFI, this aircraft endorsement group is A.72 through A.75 in AC 61-65K. The endorsement is not a generic checkout; it should match the aircraft, the regulatory trigger, the training given, and the pilot's intended PIC privileges.
Relevant endorsements
Complex airplane endorsement
Required before acting as PIC in a complex airplane under 14 CFR 61.31(e).
High-performance airplane endorsement
Required before acting as PIC in a high-performance airplane under 14 CFR 61.31(f).
High-altitude pressurized aircraft endorsement
Required before acting as PIC in a pressurized aircraft capable of high-altitude operations under 14 CFR 61.31(g).
Tailwheel airplane endorsement
Required before acting as PIC in a tailwheel airplane under 14 CFR 61.31(i), unless an applicable exception controls.
How to tell which endorsement applies
| Search term | Core question | Simply Endorsed path |
|---|---|---|
| Complex endorsement | Does the aircraft trigger complex-airplane training? | A.72 |
| High-performance endorsement | Does the airplane trigger high-performance training? | A.73 |
| High-altitude endorsement | Is the aircraft pressurized and capable of high-altitude operations? | A.74 |
| Tailwheel endorsement | Will the pilot act as PIC in a tailwheel airplane? | A.75 |
Common mistakes
- Treating an aircraft checkout as the same thing as a logbook endorsement.
- Signing one endorsement when the airplane or operation triggers more than one training requirement.
- Using a tailwheel endorsement without checking configuration and applicable exceptions.
- Ignoring the systems and risk areas that make the endorsement meaningful.
Reference aid only. Verify the aircraft configuration, pilot certificate privileges, applicable exceptions, current regulations, and current FAA guidance before signing.
Open the aircraft endorsement group
Search the aircraft endorsement group in Simply Endorsed CFI, then compare each model endorsement against the airplane and operation.