Having recently completed the Flight Instructor Airplane Initial check ride, I thought it would be helpful to provide some insight on navigating what is arguably the least straight forward rating with regards on how to prepare and navigate from A to Z.
The CFI certificate is a teaching certificate moreso than a flying certificate although both are involved. Your instructor needs to teach you to teach. You need to learn and love the FOI. And you need to be organized. You’re going to practice teaching at the whiteboard and may even want to involve technology.
The ACS for this is written like a dungeons and dragons game and you need to read it from front to back more than once. You will definitely be tested on the FOI and until you get past the dryness of the material you aren’t ready.
First things first, the written tests. The Initial CFI requires two written exams - Fundamentals of Instruction (FOI) and Flight Instructor Airplane (FIA). Simply study for these any way that best suits your learning style. Gleim, King and Sheppard Air offer courses on these. The problem with Sheppard air for the CFI exams is, you *really* need to know the material, not just memorize it at the rote level. You will not pass the oral if you only have a rote level of understanding. I would recommend getting these exams taken before doing anything else, as it will aid in your lesson plan preparation. Once the written exams are completed, you’re ready to move to the next step.
Step two - the CFI Binder:
You will need to build a binder with all of your lesson plans and associated documents. I recommend a 3-inch binder at minimum. Anything less will not be suitable. Once you have the binder, begin your journey through making lesson plans. While you can find pre-made lesson plans online, I strongly suggest making your own, or modifying ones that are found online that can be tailored to your specific teaching style. The lesson plans found online have been created by someone else in a way that worked for them, but it doesn’t mean they will work for you. Backseat Pilot, Mark Berry’s CFI Binder and WiFi CFI are just a few of the many available online lesson plans. Some are for purchase, others are free. Whichever you choose, make sure they include each task and item that is listed in the ACS, as your DPE will be expecting you to hit each item within each lesson subject. Once the lessons are completed, three hole punch them and place them into your binder. Now you will see why the 3-inch binder is necessary. After they are in the binder, go through each lesson one-by-one and make sure to highlight all of the required tasks in the ACS to make sure you include them and don’t miss anything. I recommend tabbing each lesson so you can flip to it quickly. KNOW YOUR LESSON PLANS FROM FRONT TO BACK. I can’t stress this enough. The DPE is expecting these to be taught with instructional knowledge, they can’t just be read off, so you must spend adequate time learning the material and able to teach it.
FAR’s - You don’t have to know them all, but I would become familiar with student pilot regulations and training requirements. If you don’t know something, just be sure you know where to find it.
Advisory Circulars - AC61-65H and AC61-98. Print each of these out and become familiar with them, especially the endorsements in Appendix A. This will help you during the Endorsements and Logbook Entries lesson. You need to know what the process looks like to get a student from zero time, to their check ride, like TSA requirements, IACRA, endorsements etc. @Rgbeard was a great study partner for this section specifically!
The Flight -
The flight portion of the check ride is essentially a single engine Commercial check ride from the right seat, except now you’re teaching everything you’re doing, instead of just doing it (ie., how to set up for maneuvers, what you’re watching for etc.) Know the tasks in the ACS that you will be expected to perform and the standards for each (you may get asked about them in detail). You will perform both Private Pilot and Commercial Pilot maneuvers, and to the corresponding standards. You will also perform the maneuver that you taught during the oral for the DPE. In my case it was 8’s on Pylons.
That is the jist of the certificate from A to Z. I hope this helps anyone working on their CFI or thinking about pursuing it.
The CFI certificate is a teaching certificate moreso than a flying certificate although both are involved. Your instructor needs to teach you to teach. You need to learn and love the FOI. And you need to be organized. You’re going to practice teaching at the whiteboard and may even want to involve technology.
The ACS for this is written like a dungeons and dragons game and you need to read it from front to back more than once. You will definitely be tested on the FOI and until you get past the dryness of the material you aren’t ready.
First things first, the written tests. The Initial CFI requires two written exams - Fundamentals of Instruction (FOI) and Flight Instructor Airplane (FIA). Simply study for these any way that best suits your learning style. Gleim, King and Sheppard Air offer courses on these. The problem with Sheppard air for the CFI exams is, you *really* need to know the material, not just memorize it at the rote level. You will not pass the oral if you only have a rote level of understanding. I would recommend getting these exams taken before doing anything else, as it will aid in your lesson plan preparation. Once the written exams are completed, you’re ready to move to the next step.
Step two - the CFI Binder:
You will need to build a binder with all of your lesson plans and associated documents. I recommend a 3-inch binder at minimum. Anything less will not be suitable. Once you have the binder, begin your journey through making lesson plans. While you can find pre-made lesson plans online, I strongly suggest making your own, or modifying ones that are found online that can be tailored to your specific teaching style. The lesson plans found online have been created by someone else in a way that worked for them, but it doesn’t mean they will work for you. Backseat Pilot, Mark Berry’s CFI Binder and WiFi CFI are just a few of the many available online lesson plans. Some are for purchase, others are free. Whichever you choose, make sure they include each task and item that is listed in the ACS, as your DPE will be expecting you to hit each item within each lesson subject. Once the lessons are completed, three hole punch them and place them into your binder. Now you will see why the 3-inch binder is necessary. After they are in the binder, go through each lesson one-by-one and make sure to highlight all of the required tasks in the ACS to make sure you include them and don’t miss anything. I recommend tabbing each lesson so you can flip to it quickly. KNOW YOUR LESSON PLANS FROM FRONT TO BACK. I can’t stress this enough. The DPE is expecting these to be taught with instructional knowledge, they can’t just be read off, so you must spend adequate time learning the material and able to teach it.
FAR’s - You don’t have to know them all, but I would become familiar with student pilot regulations and training requirements. If you don’t know something, just be sure you know where to find it.
Advisory Circulars - AC61-65H and AC61-98. Print each of these out and become familiar with them, especially the endorsements in Appendix A. This will help you during the Endorsements and Logbook Entries lesson. You need to know what the process looks like to get a student from zero time, to their check ride, like TSA requirements, IACRA, endorsements etc. @Rgbeard was a great study partner for this section specifically!
The Flight -
The flight portion of the check ride is essentially a single engine Commercial check ride from the right seat, except now you’re teaching everything you’re doing, instead of just doing it (ie., how to set up for maneuvers, what you’re watching for etc.) Know the tasks in the ACS that you will be expected to perform and the standards for each (you may get asked about them in detail). You will perform both Private Pilot and Commercial Pilot maneuvers, and to the corresponding standards. You will also perform the maneuver that you taught during the oral for the DPE. In my case it was 8’s on Pylons.
That is the jist of the certificate from A to Z. I hope this helps anyone working on their CFI or thinking about pursuing it.
