Definition
An FAA-certificated organization authorized under 14 CFR Part 141 (pilot schools) or Part 142 (training centers) to provide pilot training, testing, and checking under an FAA-approved Training Course Outline. These facilities operate under stricter structure, recordkeeping, and oversight than instruction conducted under Part 61, and graduates may qualify for reduced minimum flight hours for certain certificates and ratings.
Plain English
A flight school or training facility that the FAA has formally approved to run pilot courses to a fixed, FAA-accepted syllabus. Because the program is approved and audited, students often need fewer flight hours to qualify for a certificate than they would under less structured training.
Context Anchor
Seen in discussions of how flight simulation training devices are used in formal pilot training programs.
Why Pilots Care
The type of school you choose affects the minimum hours required, how your training is structured, and whether simulator time can substitute for aircraft time. Part 141 schools and Part 142 training centers typically allow more credit for flight simulation training devices than informal Part 61 instruction.
Intuition Check
Do not read this as just any business that gives flying lessons. In FAA use, a Pilot School/Training Center usually means an organization approved or certificated to conduct training under specific aviation rules.
Example Sentence 1
Because she enrolled at a Part 141 pilot school, she could earn her commercial certificate with fewer total flight hours than the Part 61 minimum.
Example Sentence 2
Students at the training center practiced emergency procedures in the device before flying the same maneuvers in the aircraft.