AC 61-65J wording traps that postpone checkrides
Why the § 61.39 endorsement must say 'preceding 2 calendar months' (not '60 days') — and the other normative phrases that catch students out.
AC 61-65J is the FAA's normative endorsement language. Every endorsement in your logbook for the practical test should match the wording in the AC, not a paraphrase. DPEs have discontinued checkrides over the exact wording of these endorsements — not because the substance was wrong, but because the regulation references in the endorsement were not what the AC says they should be.
'Preceding 2 calendar months', not '60 days'
The § 61.39 practical-test prerequisite endorsement (AC 61-65J A.30 / A.31) reads, in part: "…received the required training on areas of operation listed in § 61.107(b) … in the preceding 2 calendar months…". The colloquial '60 days' is not the regulation; calendar months are not 60-day windows. An endorsement that says '60 days' has been used as grounds to discontinue.
Verify this exact wording before the practical. If your CFI uses an endorsement template, double-check the substituted phrase.
Knowledge-test endorsement: the right CFR sections
The pre-knowledge-test endorsement (AC 61-65J A.27) cites § 61.35(a)(1), § 61.103(d), and § 61.105. All three citations should appear; some templates drop one. Without § 61.105, the DPE has no record that the CFI confirmed the aeronautical-knowledge ground training was complete.
Solo cross-country: two endorsements, not one
- § 61.93(c)(1) — the general solo cross-country endorsement, made once, that authorizes solo XC flights in general.
- § 61.93(c)(2) — a per-flight, dated CFI endorsement made before each individual solo cross-country. A DPE auditing the logbook expects to see one of these dated entries paired with each solo XC flight.
Pre-solo: knowledge before training
The § 61.87(b) pre-solo aeronautical knowledge test endorsement must be dated before any solo flight. So must the § 61.87(c)(1) maneuvers/procedures and § 61.87(c)(2) make/model pre-solo training endorsements. Order matters; DPEs spot-check the dates.
If your CFI hand-writes endorsements, photograph the AC 61-65J examples and write directly from them. If they use a digital tool, audit each endorsement against the AC the day before the practical. The cost of finding a wording mismatch the night before is a phone call. The cost of finding it at the desk is a discontinuance.
Source citations
- 14 CFR § 61.39
- 14 CFR § 61.35
- 14 CFR § 61.87(b)
- 14 CFR § 61.93(c)(1)
- 14 CFR § 61.93(c)(2)
- AC 61-65J