Performer SAC Card Relief: An Update

In June of 2020, the ICAS ACE Committee announced that the FAA had accepted an ICAS proposal seeking relief for air show performers working to renew their Statement of Aerobatic Competency (SAC) cards. At the 2020 Virtual ICAS Convention, Transport Canada announced that it had also approved the same relief for Canadian performers. Both the FAA and Transport Canada acknowledged that -- because all evaluations that involved a change of altitude, act, or aircraft would require the use of waivered airspace or an SFOC -- the relief would apply only to renewals without change. The requirements from each regulator are below.

FAA

Effective on June 9, 2020, any pilot seeking to make use of this one-time relief must log thirty (30) practice flights and present documentation (photocopies or smart phone photos of the relevant logbook pages) of those practice flights (logbook entries should include a summary of when and where the practices were conducted and what sequences and/or maneuvers were practiced during each session) and a request for exemption from the normal renewal process to the ACE Committee. In keeping with existing policy, a pilot may log as many as three (3) practice sessions in a single sortie if he/she has sufficient fuel, etc. Presuming the applicant has a current 2020 SAC card, these 30 practice sessions may be logged at any time between now and the applicant’s first air show of the 2021 air show (although time for processing the exemption request should be factored into the submission).

Transport Canada (click here for the full text):

Effective June 09, 2020, any pilot seeking to make use of this one-time relief has to log thirty (30) practice flights and present documentation (photocopies or smart phone photos of the relevant logbook pages) of those practice flights (logbook entries should include a summary of when and where the practices were conducted and what sequences and/or maneuvers were practiced during each session) and a request for exemption from the normal renewal process to the ACE Committee. In keeping with existing policy, a pilot may log as many as three (3) practice sessions in a single sortie if he/she has sufficient fuel, etc. Presuming the applicant has a current 2020 SAC card, these 30 practice sessions may be logged at any time between now and the applicant’s first air show of the 2021 air show season (although time for processing the exemption request should be factored into the submission).