TSA Rule... what constitutes "training"?

On Tue, 26 Oct 2004 17:45:30 GMT, "Geoffrey Barnes"
wrote:

As I understand the TSA rule on alien flight training -- and please correct
me if I am wrong about this -- anyone who is already engaged in flight
training does not need to undergo the background checks. Now if that's true
(and it might not be), what does a student need to have done to have started
their flight training prior to Oct. 20? For example, if a foreign student
came in and did a 30-minute "discovery flight" on Oct. 15, and logged the
time as a half-hour "lesson", were they already engaged in flight training
when the rule took effect? What if the discovery flight took place in
August, or June, or April, or a year ago?

Flight training is defined as instruction received from a flight
school in an aircraft or aircraft simulator. Any such activity that
is noted in a logbook prior to October 20th would exempt the student
from the new TSA procedures (as I interpret the regs). There is a
time limit for lessons to begin after a new student that is subject to
the regs is cleared. He must begin lessons within 180 days. I'm not
sure if there are any time limitations on the situation that you
proposed.
Rich Russell