Getting ready for CFI checkride

Inverted25

Inverted25

Well-Known Member
Well I decided to just go ahead and take my CFI ride here in the next month. I think I'm ready but anything in particular that I need to study up extra on. I been studying for maybe a year now at least just havent got around to taking the checkride.
 
I'm assuming you will be taking your ride with the FAA? Know your F.O.I. stuff very well. I know it seems kind of silly and pointless but during my CFI oral exam we talked about that stuff for quite a while, even though I have yet to get any use out of that information since I became a CFI. Type up lesson plans for every maneuver you will be certified to teach, base them off of the PTS. Your examiner will pick one or two of these maneuvers and ask to see a lesson plan. I also remember my examiner asking a lot of questions about aerodynamics (what causes a spin?, what is the difference between a slip and a skid? etc). Be preparded for a 3 to 4 hour oral if you're taking it with the FAA. Good luck!
 
Box a chocolates..never know what you're gonna get. I always tell my students to know what you know and what you don't know. Be humble and honest, look the inspector in the eye and let them you want to be there and be a PROFESSIONAL CFI for the time you are a CFI, not just another time builder.
 
Talk with everyone you can find who took their test with that particular examiner. Everyone uses the same PTS, but everyone has their pet strong points.

Talk to the examiner. Most people just call and ask "how much do you weigh". Ask if there is a particular ground or flight lesson they would like to see. They may or may not tell you. If they do, make the best darn lesson you possibly can. Use PowerPoint, make handouts, and practice. Remember, the examiner sees the same thing again and again and again. If you can do a standout presentation, you are ahead of the game of making a good impression.

Concentrate on the oral. Don't waste time and money over training for the flight portion. The test is 90% over once you get past the oral.
 
Actually our local FSDO hands the CFI checkride to a local DPE who is a former fed. I talked to two guys who went with him recently in the last year and they both said hes big on your lesson plans but doesnt touch weather at all in the oral. His flight is pretty rough from what they said. They both had over 2.8 in the air with this guy. He likes to see every manuever twice and he is big on landings. Hes known to fail people if theres any side loading at all during the landings.
 
My thing is I'm wondering if I should do the whole ride in the 182RG or use my Cherokee 140 for everything but landings and use the 182RG for the landings.
 
Inverted25 said:
Actually our local FSDO hands the CFI checkride to a local DPE who is a former fed. I talked to two guys who went with him recently in the last year and they both said hes big on your lesson plans but doesnt touch weather at all in the oral. His flight is pretty rough from what they said. They both had over 2.8 in the air with this guy. He likes to see every manuever twice and he is big on landings. Hes known to fail people if theres any side loading at all during the landings.
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You talking about TH or someone else?
Still far less painful than what some people experienced with some specific FSDO peeps.
 
Memorizing the books is easy. What is difficult is walking into the FSDO and presenting yourself in a way that makes them think you should have students already signed up. It is a fine line between a cocky know-it-all and somebody ready to sure as shucks teach some 17 yr old how to land. Talk loud, clearly and confidently and half the battle is won.

Take luck.
 
Guy said:
Concentrate on the oral. Don't waste time and money over training for the flight portion. The test is 90% over once you get past the oral.
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While I agree with the sentiment, I have heard of people passing the oral with flying colors and doing something stupid in the airplane. Not that I'd have firsthand knowledge of something like that...:rolleyes:
 
You talking about TH or someone else?
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Walt Moore is who CFI canidates from our flight school usually get. Rumor is the reason we never get the Feds is that a Fed had a very bad experience in one of our airplanes and since then they just give Walter all the CFI checkride from our school.
 
I took my CFI ride about a month ago, and it was very heavy on part 61 and endorsements. I would practice going through the regs and being able to point out everything a student would need to solo, take a private check ride, etc.
 
Rumpel said:
...Be preparded for a 3 to 4 hour oral if you're taking it with the FAA. Good luck!
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One of my friends spent a little over 8 hrs with the FAA on the oral for his CFI Initial checkride. He said he knew his stuff cold, but the examiner wanted to spend extra time since it wasn't flyable weather and he had already blocked out the time. The next day they took almost 4 hrs on the flight portion.
 
Inverted25 said:
Walt Moore is who CFI canidates from our flight school usually get. Rumor is the reason we never get the Feds is that a Fed had a very bad experience in one of our airplanes and since then they just give Walter all the CFI checkride from our school.
Click to expand...

:rotfl:
 
The last two guys who went to this examiner their oral was only 1.5 hours. Hes pretty quick on stuff as long as you know the answers to the questions he ask. If he thinks you know the material he doesnt spend alot of time on it. He is just know for the long flight portion. Last guy had to do the flight over two days because he was soo tired after two hours the first day he asked for a conituance. He ended up flying over 2 hours again the second day for a total of over 4 hours on the flight portion.
 
The best questions I would study for hard would have to be knowing how to put together a lesson plan and being able to understand and bring down to a student level. Now beleive it or not for me it was very hard to bring such advanced knowledge and "dumb it down" for examiner to understand it at a student level. The examiner will want to see you be able to show him that you will be able to work well with a student. He knows you know your knowledge but can you teach it. If you are able to do this you will be an instructor. Congratulations.


P.S Study Aerodynamics, and Airspace. I cant wait to hear you passed :rawk:

CFI,CFII,MEI
 
If I had the chance to do my CFI ride over again knowing what I know now I would, study the FOI stuff and know it well. The examiner that I had told me that the CFI check ride is to see how well you can teach and being able to memorize all the regs is not what their looking for in a canidate, cause after all your coming in there as a commercial pilot and should already know the regs minus endorsments in depth. Also I would use one plane and know that plane well. It's much easier than having to know everything about two planes and doing all the maneuvers in both, that's what happened to a guy that I know, he took two planes and had to do the mauevers in both not just landings. Good Luck! :rawk:
 
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