10 U.S.C. § 9656
Aircraft and equipment: civilian aviation schools
The Secretary of the Air Force, under regulations to be prescribed by him, may lend aircraft, aircraft parts, and aeronautical equipment and accessories that are required for instruction, training, and maintenance, to accredited civilian aviation schools at which personnel of the Department of the Air Force or the Department of the Army are pursuing a course of instruction and training under detail by competent orders.