What advice would you give someone for a CFI checkride?

[Princesspilot206]

In all seriousness, looking for some stellar advice on knocking this out of the park. Please and thank you!

 

[Walboy]

You're gonna make a mistake, somewhere, somehow. Admit it, then turn it into a teaching moment.

Know the Private, Commercial, and CFI ACS inside and out. There should be zero questions in your mind on anything in any of those publications.

Know every single endorsement you'll be able to provide cold. And if you stumble, know exactly where to find the answer in the FARs and AC 61-65.

Tabbing the FAR/AIM ain't gonna impress anyone.

 

[Lndwarrior]

Maybe take some pressure off yourself by not trying to hit a home run, and instead, be ok with getting to home plate on stolen bases and walks.

A win is a win.

 

[Lindberg]

You're gonna make a mistake, somewhere, somehow. Admit it, then turn it into a teaching moment.

This 100%. Your flying will not be perfect on the ride. Own it and critique yourself as if you were a student.

Know the Private, Commercial, and CFI ACS inside and out. There should be zero questions in your mind on anything in any of those publications.

No examiner should expect you to know everything, but you should be very familiar with these and have copies.

Know every single endorsement you'll be able to provide cold. And if you stumble, know exactly where to find the answer in the FARs and AC 61-65.

Again, your examiner shouldn't expect you to have these memorized. But have a copy of the AC, and maybe a flow chart of what endorsements are needed when.

Tabbing the FAR/AIM ain't gonna impress anyone.

My examiner appreciated that mine was tabbed and highlighted. There was only one reg that I had to look in the TOC for. And there was plenty that I had to look in the book for. In fact, he expected me to. I'd say it's poor form to rely solely on your memory for complicated and important details unless you're Rainman.

 

[farangutan]

It was daunting to teach until I spent all day for a couple weeks leading up to my checkride working remotely in the main study room of the flight school. Every private, instrument, commercial, multi, other CFIs and CFI applicants came into the study room I would tell them that any question or doubt on any material to ask me to teach it to them.
Even on some topics I thought I had a solid knowledge I was hot garbage at explaining it until I practiced dozens of times. It was a big confidence boost for the checkride.

 

[ateamer]

Don’t try to BS your way through something you don’t know. Be upfront with your student/DPE (who will roleplay as a student) about your limitations and work with it. Also expect for your “student” to drag the lesson off on some tangent, and be able to keep him from going down a rabbit hole, and stay on the relevant matter. Or for the “student” to argue about a technique that he was taught differently by another instructor. Another opportunity for a guided learning discussion.

 

[RussR]

While you're flying, do not use 100% of your attention trying to fly well. The examiner already knows you can fly the maneuvers within standards, after all, you've passed at least 3 checkrides by this point.

For example, the examiner asks you to demonstrate steep turns. So you focus on nailing it - you're within 10 feet and roll out exactly on your heading, etc. Except to do that took 100% of your attention, and likely you didn't explain much, or very well, during the maneuver. And more importantly, you didn't give yourself a chance to show how to correct anything.

If I'm demo-ing a maneuver to a student, and I happen to be absolutely nailing it, that's not ideal - because there's nothing to talk about correcting. Heck, if this is starting to happen I will intentionally introduce some error so I have something to talk about. But it's easier to just let things happen as they do - "okay, see, I'm getting a little steep here, so I'll roll out a few degrees of bank. As I'm doing that I want to make sure I don't climb...." Of course you need to be aware enough of what's going on to do this, but you should be at that point by now anyway.

It's the same on the CFI checkride. DON'T do everything perfectly. The examiner would much rather you show how to correct a situation than to just nail everything.

In some ways, this actually makes it easier.

 

[MauleSkinner]

Look at the questions that people ask here. Wade through the responses and identify which ones are correct, which aren’t (and find supporting material). Of the stuff that’s correct, would it be appropriate for the level of a Student? Private Pilot? Commercial? Does it apply with or without an instrument rating? Or is it just “nice to know” stuff that would be good when you’ve got a pilot who’s proficient but sees the ACS as a minimum rather than a maximum?

 

[Walboy]

This 100%. Your flying will not be perfect on the ride. Own it and critique yourself as if you were a student.

No examiner should expect you to know everything, but you should be very familiar with these and have copies.

Again, your examiner shouldn't expect you to have these memorized. But have a copy of the AC, and maybe a flow chart of what endorsements are needed when.

My examiner appreciated that mine was tabbed and highlighted. There was only one reg that I had to look in the TOC for. And there was plenty that I had to look in the book for. In fact, he expected me to. I'd say it's poor form to rely solely on your memory for complicated and important details unless you're Rainman.

OP wants feedback to "knock it out of the ballpark".

OP didn't ask if that's a worthy goal.

 

[bluesideup]

Hi.

...looking for some stellar advice on knocking this out of the park...

I do not think that at CFI level there is "knocking it out of the park". The failure rate is fairly high at that level.
There is a lot to learn and a lot more to Teach.

For the oral be humble, and make sure you know where to look things up, if you need to. This can, and likely will, be a learning experience for you.
Memorize as much as you can, definition of Learning, Laws of learning, Endorsements... there is always something they can ask to make you humble if you are not.

For the flight portion:
Know Everything about your plane, systems, limitations, the unusual / little known things about that specific acft..
Teach everything. Why do you do the maneuver, how you do it, explain before you do something, why do you do it this way, what is expected to learn from it, what to expect in the next step... keep telling what you do and give details about the all steps, i.e. L8 what you expect at 90 deg.. attitude, speed, configuration...
Good luck.

 

[Clip4]

In all seriousness, looking for some stellar advice on knocking this out of the park. Please and thank you!

So you really want to knock it out of the park? Here you go:

1. Study the Aviation Instructors handbook until you have instructional knowledge. Then write a PowerPoint presentation you are going to use to teach it in a ground school. Prepare both stage quizzes and a final exam. Then practice teaching it.

2. Assemble a library of all the FAA handbooks, ACs FAR-AIM, Aeronautical Chart Users Guide, ect. and study these publications until you have instructional knowledge. Then write a power point presentation to teach a private and commercial ground school. Prepare quizzes and final exam. Then practice teaching them.

3. Write a notebook with all the maneuvers for the private, commercial and flight review, Make sure you include aerodynamics and risk management for each lesson. Indentify and write lesson plans for every emergency you student might experience. This includes all the AFM emergencies and those not in the AFM. (Broken throttle cable, departing a prepared surface, communications loss, ect. Write 4 pre solo tests - emergency procedures, aircraft systems, aircraft operations and risk management. Then practice giving those lessons.


4. Study the Part 61 endorsements for the private, commercial and flight review. Know the training and conditions that must be met before you issue those endorsements.

5. Purchase or prepare a training folder for your students and become familiar on its use.

 

[brcase]

It was daunting to teach until I spent all day for a couple weeks leading up to my checkride working remotely in the main study room of the flight school. Every private, instrument, commercial, multi, other CFIs and CFI applicants came into the study room I would tell them that any question or doubt on any material to ask me to teach it to them.
Even on some topics I thought I had a solid knowledge I was hot garbage at explaining it until I practiced dozens of times. It was a big confidence boost for the checkride.

This is the best advice IMO.
if you can hang out with your instructor/flight schools students and provide ground instruction. will teach you the most about the topics and teaching.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL

 

[Gilbert Buettner]

There's good advice above. Also, when you are demonstrating a maneuver, if you start to exceed the standards, remember to say, "And this is a common mistake. Here's how to correct it." Then do.

 

[PaulS]

Try real hard not to mess up.

 

[RyanB]

While you're flying, do not use 100% of your attention trying to fly well. The examiner already knows you can fly the maneuvers within standards, after all, you've passed at least 3 checkrides by this point.

For example, the examiner asks you to demonstrate steep turns. So you focus on nailing it - you're within 10 feet and roll out exactly on your heading, etc. Except to do that took 100% of your attention, and likely you didn't explain much, or very well, during the maneuver. And more importantly, you didn't give yourself a chance to show how to correct anything.

If I'm demo-ing a maneuver to a student, and I happen to be absolutely nailing it, that's not ideal - because there's nothing to talk about correcting. Heck, if this is starting to happen I will intentionally introduce some error so I have something to talk about. But it's easier to just let things happen as they do - "okay, see, I'm getting a little steep here, so I'll roll out a few degrees of bank. As I'm doing that I want to make sure I don't climb...." Of course you need to be aware enough of what's going on to do this, but you should be at that point by now anyway.

It's the same on the CFI checkride. DON'T do everything perfectly. The examiner would much rather you show how to correct a situation than to just nail everything.

In some ways, this actually makes it easier.

Good advice, but I can’t imagine that’s standard across the board with all DPE’s. You still have to fly the maneuver to ACS standards at the end of the day.

 

[hindsight2020]

I probably misunderstand the context of the advice. At face value it strikes me as specious advice. Being able to "instructional demo" something to qualifying standards is part of the very rubric that distinguishes a pilot from an instructor pilot. In the usaf IP production side of the house, being unable to fly a demo to proficiency while attempting to verbalize the mechanisms behind its core components, is the first and most common stumbling block to being able to graduate. It is also the most common pilot error among instructor upgrade candidates: inability to fly to rated airman standards and verbalize accurately/timely at the same time.

It's been decades since my CFI-A checkride, but I don't remember it being particularly demanding or rigorous on the "student error" simulation, which is where most of our initial candidates end up struggling in the usaf undergraduate instructor side of mil IP production.

At any rate, the former for me was mostly a "demo-demo" proficiency verification from the ASI for me, with an unnecessarily long ground eval portion for gratuitous effect. I was green as all get out back then, so I appreciated the ASIs "wide angle" lens approach to that checkride. The fail rate back then was over 50% (fsdo shenanigans) so he could as easily nit picked a maneuver or two to fail me on. Lord knows it wasn't my best showing (long day, poor nutrition leading to passive airsickness, you know, broke college student rushing to get done, standard). I did like he made candidates fly into the FSDO in the middle of the connecting flights push (IND FSDO). Kind of a validation of core competencies before even getting to the eval. Night and day from my ATP checkride 11 years later (admitedly, a much easier one), where the only debrief item was "...you taxi too fast".

I think someone not able to verbal through a demo flown to ACS standards is not ready for that checkride. Now if you mean perfect vs just within ACS while talking, then ok sure, I agree with that decision. That's just prudent "economics" decision making aka gaming.

 

[turbosuper]

Know which endorsements are needed to solo a student, cross-country and those needed for a private pilot practical found in AC 61-65H. You don't need the exact wording, but you should know from memory basically those needed.

Know from memory the requirements for the 150 NM cross-country for a student. For example at least 50 NM from departure point to another point of landing, but other legs can be shorter. Also they must be full stop landings.

Know airspace and chart symbology. For example, you can get into class E surface area with less than 3 miles visibility with a special VFR clearance obtained from the approach/center listed in the chart supplement or relayed through FSS. What class D becomes when the tower is closed is shown in the chart supplement. What does the 'R' mean behind a frequency above a VOR box. Know the runway length for drawing the runways instead of depicting the standard airport circle. Have a copy of the Aeronautical Chart Users Guide as some symbols are not in the chart legend. Be familiar with SFRA's for example Washington DC or LAX. The sectional and TAC charts show info on these as does Part 93. Know where ADS-B is required i.e. not under class C shelf, but above it.

Know Sport Pilot and Recreational Pilot limitations and BasicMed requirements.

 

[Dave Theisen]

Know which endorsements are needed to solo a student, cross-country and those needed for a private pilot practical found in AC 61-65H. You don't need the exact wording, but you should know from memory basically those needed.

Know from memory what counts as a cross-country for a student. For example at least 50NM from departure point to another point of landing, but there can be shorter legs between. Only one stop has to be 50NM from departure. Also they must be full stop landings.

Yes, it has to be to a landing, but there is no full stop requirement.

 

[turbosuper]

Yes, it has to be to a landing, but there is no full stop requirement.

61.109(a)(5)(ii)
One solo cross country flight of 150 nautical miles total distance, with full-stop landings at three points, and one segment of the flight consisting of a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles between the takeoff and landing locations; and

 

[Dave Theisen]

61.109(a)(5)(ii)
One solo cross country flight of 150 nautical miles total distance, with full-stop landings at three points, and one segment of the flight consisting of a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles between the takeoff and landing locations; and

Yes, it states that specifically for the long cross country which is not what you referenced in your previous post.

 

[bbchien]

"Never reply with anything you can't support from source material...."

 

[NordicDave]

Remember it is a rigged test! I tell new students this who are stressing about the oral exam and check ride. Easy to imagine their facial expression.

It is rigged, and rigged in the students favor. They usually relax when they realize this truth after telling them "you already know the questions you are going to be asked and the flight maneuvers to demonstrate".

 

[Albany Tom]

The night before, maybe two nights before, get plenty of rest. Don't plan on doing anything except relax and eat before the checkride. Lots of people underestimate the value of being relaxed and rested before any kind of test or important event.

 

[Hengelo]

If there is something you understand but feel tenuous on, spend some time and write a one-pager teaching it. How do you renew your CFI? Do you have an example of runway incursion to disucss? Where do you find oddball endorsement/teaching requirements (rotary wing to glider, etc)?

Also, make sure you have the most up to date versions of PHAK, AFH, etc. (Referencing version minus one might **** of the DPE, ahem, or so I've been told )