Definition
A person who holds a current flight instructor certificate or ground instructor certificate issued by the FAA under 14 CFR Part 61, with the appropriate ratings and endorsements to provide the specific training, instruction, or endorsements being given.
Plain English
An instructor the FAA has officially approved to teach pilots and to sign off on the training they have completed.
Context Anchor
Seen in sport pilot training requirements, logbook endorsements, and certificate eligibility rules.
Derivation
"Authorized" comes from the Latin auctoritas, meaning power or permission granted by a recognized source. In this context, the authority comes from the FAA — the instructor has been formally permitted by the FAA to teach and to certify training.
Why Pilots Care
Only training received from an authorized instructor counts toward the minimum requirements for earning the sport pilot certificate.
Intuition Check
Do not read authorized instructor as simply any good teacher or experienced pilot. Here it means an instructor who has the specific FAA permission required for the training or endorsement involved.
Example Sentence 1
Before a student pilot can fly solo, an authorized instructor must endorse their logbook.
Example Sentence 2
Check the instructor's certificate and endorsements to confirm they are authorized to teach the sport pilot privileges you need.