Definition
Formal authorizations issued by the FAA that allow a specific Advanced Aviation Training Device (AATD) to be used for credit toward pilot certification, ratings, and currency requirements as permitted under 14 CFR Part 61. Each approval is granted to a particular device design and specifies what training and experience may be logged in it.
Plain English
An official FAA sign-off that says a particular ground-based training device is good enough to count for certain pilot training hours and currency, instead of doing all that time in a real airplane.
Context Anchor
Seen when an instructor or flight school is deciding whether time in a training device can be used toward a pilot certificate, rating, or required training task.
Derivation
Advanced comes from the idea of being farther along or more developed. Approval comes from a word meaning to prove or accept as good. In this term, the words point to a device that is not just useful, but specifically accepted by the FAA for certain training uses.
Why Pilots Care
They reduce the amount of costly aircraft flight time needed while preserving training value and regulatory compliance.
Intuition Check
Advanced does not just mean newer, harder, or more high-tech here. It means the device meets FAA standards for an Advanced Aviation Training Device, and its approved uses are limited to what the FAA authorization allows.
Example Sentence 1
Before signing the student's logbook, the instructor checked the Advanced ATD approvals to confirm the simulator time could be credited toward the instrument rating.
Example Sentence 2
Advanced ATD approvals must be current before any training session can be credited against certificate requirements.