Definition
A section of the Federal Aviation Regulations that sets out the recordkeeping duties of a flight instructor. It requires the instructor to sign the logbook of each person to whom training or a ground/flight review has been given, and to keep a record of each person endorsed for a solo flight, knowledge test, or practical test, including the kind of training, the date, and the results.
Plain English
This is the FAA rule that tells a flight instructor what they must write down and keep on file. Whenever an instructor trains someone, signs them off to fly solo, or sends them to take an FAA test, the instructor has to log it in the student's logbook and keep their own record of it.
Context Anchor
Seen in flight instructor endorsement guidance, instructor recordkeeping discussions, and CFI compliance checks.
Derivation
14 CFR means Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which is the volume of US federal rules covering aeronautics and space. Part 61 is the part of those rules that deals with the certification of pilots, flight instructors, and ground instructors. Section 61.189 is the specific numbered paragraph within Part 61 that addresses flight instructor records. Reading the citation as 'Title 14, Part 61, Section 189' makes the structure clear: a volume, a part within it, and a specific section within that part.
Why Pilots Care
Proper compliance ensures endorsements are legally valid and protects the instructor during FAA record inspections or certificate actions.
Intuition Check
Do not read this as just a handbook page number. It is a legal rule citation: Title 14, Part 61, Section 61.189.
Example Sentence 1
Under 14 CFR part 61 section 61.189, the instructor logged the student's pre-solo training and kept a copy of the endorsement in her own records.
Example Sentence 2
During the renewal audit, the examiner verified that all entries met the requirements of 14 CFR part 61 section 61.189.