Republicans in Congress are trying to slightly pare back America's uniquely high flight-hour requirements for pilots, over the objections of some Democrats and unionized pilots who argue it'll see commercial airliners falling from the sky.
Working its way through both the Senate and House right now is legislation that would reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the next five years. Included in the House's reauthorization bill is a provision that would let aspiring airline pilots count up to 250 hours of simulator time toward the 1,500 flight hours they need to get certified. Currently, they can only count 100 simulated hours toward that requirement.
