Flight instructor rating

[Bond James Bond]

Looking for recomendations on study material for Writtens
Thanks

 

[simtech]

Sheppardair...im doing it now as well.

 

[MauleSkinner]

https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/

 

[sarangan]

Looking for recomendations on study material for Writtens
Thanks

To nitpick, flight instructor is a separate certificate, not a rating.

As for study materials, start with FAR/AIM, Airplane Flying handbook, Instructor's handbook, etc.. As an instructor you need to be able to distill the information directly from the source.

 

[AggieMike88]

Here is more than you asked for

This question comes up on r/flying periodically and here is what I share.

CFI Preparation, Reddit


Being a good CFI isn’t really taught in accelerated or slow schools. That is earned by teaching, in the deep end of the pool with no flotation device…. And they just released the hungry sharks.

You get good by doing it, making mistakes, figuring out, and constantly improving.


That said, be it slow or accelerated, you need to pick the instructors who are high quality and can teach the “what you need to know to pass the CFI ride” correctly and in a manner that actually helps you.

The oral exam is the tough part. The flying simple.

A ground school system (Kings Sporty’s Gleim) can be of help for general and specific knowledge items.

But many will do just fine pairing up with a good 2-year CFI who has helped other instructor candidates, a study buddy also working for their CFI, and the following resources.


- For the knowledge exams, SheppardAir. Full stop.

- For packing the knowledge into your head purchase the following.

1. The PTS. And read it thoroughly on what the examiner will be asking. At first it seems like Mount Everest. But if you read the notes at the beginning of each section, it's much, much less than that.
2. The ACS's for Private and Commercial. (Get the paper ones so you can do highlighting and margin notes)
3. The FAR/AIM
4. AC 61-65H for the endorsements
5. FAA Aviation Instructor Handbook
6. ASA's Practical Guide to the CFI Exam
7. Todd Shellnutt's book, available at store.ToddShellnutt.com

For the lesson plans, look at sources such as BackSeat Pilot, WiFi CFI, Divergent Aero, etc. and pick one.

Purchasing the lesson plans will become your foundation for this aspect. Go through them and personalize to your style and method of teaching.

These lesson plans will contain the "full course dinner" of the topic. They are intended to be a reference book of what to teach. But it is likely you never open this book during the check ride.

What you will be referencing is the "appetizer" versions of the lesson. This is a 2 page summary of the bullet points and whiteboard sketches that help you remember the details of the lesson and stay on track with what is being taught. I recommend printing them on card stock and slip them into page protectors and then organized into a binder.

Also, using power point slides is totally permitted.

Oh, for the sanity of your examiner, when creating a lesson the super boring Runway Incursion Avoidance lesson (a required item), consider using an instructional "adventure story" narrative that blends a retelling of one of your flights with appropriate emphasis on the required bullet point items.

Be sure to practice teaching to anyone you can hogtie to a chair for 20 minutes. The more practice the better.

Endorsements

Endorsements can be an area that will make you a rock star or a failed rock.

Some tips:

Learn to reference the individual endorsements by the title name, the basic info, and the FAR reference.​

For pre-solo students, learn why Todd Shellnutt tells us that TIM loves BaCoN ON Pizza​

Know the difference between Bravo "to" and Bravo "through". Bonus points for knowing that Part §91 Appendix D lists the Bravo airports that prohibit students operating there.​

For Post solo students, work with your 2-year on all sorts of odd ball scenarios and be able to answer if you can endorse for this & that. And if you can, which endorsements and what would it say.​

For the PPL Checkride scenario , be ready to rattle off the endorsements (by FAR reference) needed to say the student has been trained and is ready. (Hint, there are 4 things you are certifying unless the student scored 100 on the written, then there are just 3)​

Same thing as above, but for the Commercial Pilot. Hint, it's similar with one change.​

For private pilot and beyond, know how to endorse for things like High Performance and Complex Gear, etc.​

The examiner is going to expect you to also smoothly answer questions about adding additional category and/or class to an existing airman's Cerificate. For this, your roadmap is §61.63(b) and (c).

An example could be "Very experienced high time commercial helicopter pilot with zero time in fixed wing wishes to add commercial ASEL to his certificate. Tell me what is the process (including training) and the endorsements needed to make this happen."

Another example is "A commercial pilot with only Airplane Single Engine Sea Plane wants to add Commercial ASEL to his certificate. Tell me what is the process (including training) and the endorsements needed to make this happen."

Work with your 2-year until you can easily describe the training required per §61.209, if a knowledge test is required, and what endorsements are needed for this commercial pilot crossover student to take his check ride​

 

[Clip4]

I don’t believe he claimed he wanted to be a good CFI. Some just want the certificate as quickly and effortlessly as possible.

 

[flyingron]

It would do some good to sit down with the regs. Flight Instructor is a CERTIFICATE not a rating. Category and class are RATINGS on the flight instructor CERTIFICATE. The instrument is also a rating on a flight instructor certificate. You should also learn what the additional requirements for exercising your flight instructor CERTIFICATE privileges are.

 

[kath]

I don’t believe he claimed he wanted to be a good CFI. Some just want the certificate as quickly and effortlessly as possible.

...and others are inclined to give question-askers the benefit of the doubt, until there is evidence to the contrary.

 

[schmookeeg]

I like precision in language as much as the next guy, but these nitpicks are cringeworthy.

I'mma start saying I have my "instructor card", which is irrefutably true, and I can skip this whole category of word wankery.

 

[Dan Thomas]

This book.....

....will make you a lot smarter instructor. You wouldn't believe some of the stupid stuff students pick up from instructors that think they know a lot more than they do. Like carb ice being a winter phenomenon, etc.

 

[MauleSkinner]

I like precision in language as much as the next guy, but these nitpicks are cringeworthy.

I'mma start saying I have my "instructor card", which is irrefutably true, and I can skip this whole category of word wankery.

I’d guess that most people working on becoming flight instructors these days are intending to fly for a living, and the FAA requires “word wankery” at the ATP/Type Rating level, so it’s probably best to start early.

 

[simtech]

Hahaha all he asked for was study material for the written tests...nothing about instructing or anything other than the written test required for CFI.

 

[MauleSkinner]

Hahaha all he asked for was study material for the written tests...nothing about instructing or anything other than the written test required for CFI.

This your first time on POA?

 

[Bond James Bond]

I’ve been a good pilot for35 years, I’ll be good flight instructor too,
Thanks to those with the positive feedback, the rest of you, well, you know what you can do

 

[IK04]

I rate most instructors a 7.

Stay away from those 3's.

 

[simtech]

This your first time on POA?

Hahaha yeah what was I thinking!

 

[Clip4]

I’ve been a good pilot for35 years, I’ll be good flight instructor too,
Thanks to those with the positive feedback, the rest of you, well, you know what you can do

I never met a flight instructor who claimed to be lousy. Many claim they are good.

 

[Ryan F.]

In my experience, flight instructor applicants who...

• are thoroughly familiar with the Practical Test Standards
• use the PTS as a syllabus and "checkride prep" checklist
• come prepared with all of the FAA publications and reference materials which are articulated in each Task
• have experience navigating said publications/reference materials and can deduce where to look for information when it is needed

... tend to have a greater chance of success on their first attempt.

Good luck,

 

[midlifeflyer]

I like precision in language as much as the next guy, but these nitpicks are cringeworthy.

Yes and no. It can get out of hand (i roll my eyes at "it's not a BFR any more!") but the difference between "certificate" and "rating" has regulatory consequences. The "logging PIC wars" have died down considerably, but having been a part of it for 30 years, tossing around "certificate," "rating," and "endorsement" as though they were the same thing was a huge part of the confusion- "I can't log PIC in that because I'm not rated for high performance."

 

[sarangan]

I’d guess that most people working on becoming flight instructors these days are intending to fly for a living, and the FAA requires “word wankery” at the ATP/Type Rating level, so it’s probably best to start early.

While precision of words does not always imply greater knowledge and experience, a lack of knowledge does show up in a person's language. When someone calls any propeller airplane a "Cezzna", that immediately tells us the extent of their aviation knowledge. There are many subtleties in aviation, such as ATC instruction vs ATC clearance, flight visibility vs reported visibility, VORTAC vs VOR, acting PIC vs logging PIC, certificate vs rating. It is ok for a new pilot to be unaware of these subtleties, but when a flight instructor candidate starts questioning if these differences are important......

 

[Dan Thomas]

Does the US instructor training include coverage of the Seven Learning Factors like Canada's does? I found that part to be the most valuable aspect of my training. https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/pu...e-tp-975#part-i-learning-and-learning-factors

 

[Dan Thomas]

I never met a flight instructor who claimed to be lousy. Many claim they are good.

Yup. We're all above average, every one of us. Just like most drivers. It shows that half of us are weak in math.

 

[sarangan]

Does the US instructor training include coverage of the Seven Learning Factors like Canada's does? I found that part to be the most valuable aspect of my training. https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/pu...e-tp-975#part-i-learning-and-learning-factors

Yes, most of these, if not all, are part of the FOI. However, I like Transport Canada's description. It seems a bit more direct and less wordy.

 

[TommyG]

Yes and no. It can get out of hand (i roll my eyes at "it's not a BFR any more!") but the difference between "certificate" and "rating" has regulatory consequences. The "logging PIC wars" have died down considerably, but having been a part of it for 30 years, tossing around "certificate," "rating," and "endorsement" as though they were the same thing was a huge part of the confusion- "I can't log PIC in that because I'm not rated for high performance."

sadly a large potion of these debates are argued by people that have no real experience, don’t go further than a breakfast flight or even leave the pattern, etc.

 

[midlifeflyer]

sadly a large potion of these debates are argued by people that have no real experience, don’t go further than a breakfast flight or even leave the pattern, etc.

A large portion of everything is argued by people with no experience. But there were many very knowledgeable and experienced pilots debating this - including those insisting that the actual rule was not the rule. Experience doesn't always imply knowledge; sometimes it even prevents it.

 

[jordane93]

^^^^ Yep. I had a friend that did a checkout with a new flight school and claimed he needed a flight review. He had just passed his instrument checkride a few weeks earlier. Somehow multiple ATPs, CFI/II/MEI and Gold Seal instructors didn’t know that reg.

 

[RussR]

Yup. We're all above average, every one of us. Just like most drivers. It shows that half of us are weak in math.

Well, the average (the mean) person has something like 1.9999 legs. Ergo, most people have more than the average number of legs.

Statistics is fun!