I’m wanting to get my cfi rating and im looking for suggestions. Im not familiar with what steps are needed. I don’t plan on doing this for hire. I just want to teach my daughters how to fly. They are both interested which is exciting for me.
Currently
SEL
Instrument.
Tailwheel
Using basic med at the moment and prefer to stay that way. I think that’s possible if not for hire but I’m sure someone knows for sure.
Best of luck, teaching my daughter was one of my primary motivations for getting the CFI.
You’ve got three writtens and two practical exams to pass…
You’ll first need to get your commercial. The commercial takes about 10 hours of flight training for many competent pilots. You’ll be learning and perfecting some new maneuvers, and the oral is really just a more intense private pilot oral. It’s not hard, you should already know just about everything. Commercial pilot maneuvers are all VFR.
When that is done, you need to pass the FOI (Fundamentals of Instruction) and FIA (Flight Instructor Airplane) written exams. You’ll also need to get a spin endorsement that says you have demonstrated instructional proficiency in spins. You don’t want to do that in your Cirrus, since you won’t be able to re-use the plane after recovery. Find a 152 and an instructor that is GOOD and PROFICIENT at spins.
Then it is time to STUDY! The CFI is one of the hardest practical exams, and for good reason… You are held to an extremely high standard.
You’ll spend far more time on the ground studying and preparing lesson plans than you will spend in the air. The airwork is simple, it is just a matter of doing what you already know how to do, except you’ll be doing it from the right seat. Find a good instructor that can help you learn to fly from the right seat. Consider an accelerated program like Venture North. It will help you if you are training with other pilots who are also working on the CFI, as you can study and grill each other.
Get a copy of the PTS for the CFI so you know what you’ll be expected to teach and know. Plan lessons for each task. I made powerpoint presentations for every lesson. There are also some excellent resources available to help you create lesson plans. I used the Backseat Pilot as a framework, and I also used this book to help me create ground lessons.
The challenge for the CFI is learning how to teach effectively. Take your daughter up and teach her now, it will help you as you figure out how to talk through each lesson. Talk through everything that you do when you demonstrate a maneuver, and learn to give constructive verbal feedback to your student as she practices each task.
You can do this all under Basic Med, AFAIK.
Thanks for the reply. I want to buy them plane so they don’t hurt mine. I think it’s hard to beat a 172 but thinking possibly about a Remos or CTS
I better get my part done first. Been a bit since I’ve had to study.
Can I be your kid, I would love to have that availability!