American Flyers CFI School?

T

tobaknight

New Member
I'm definitely leaning toward attending American Flyers CFI school in April, and have of course read the previous threads about the topic, but would love some updated info.

Also if you happened to attend at the Pompano Beach location, what did you do for housing during the program? I will more than likely have a friend with me I can share the costs with, but the people I spoke to at AF didn't have an abundance of info regarding cost effective lodging in the area.

Thirdly, anything you can share regarding you experience getting a CFI position afterward, either with AF or otherwise, would be great food for thought.

Thanks!
 
1. Factor in at least 20% more time than they quote.
2. Factor in more money than they quote.

Everyone I know that has been there were there WAY longer than they were supposed to be, and paid way more than the minimum, BUT they all said the instruction was very good.
 
For what its worth, my CFI initial checkride is on Tuesday...I will fly once more on Monday, bringing my total cost for the CFI to about 1,000 dollars. How much are you going to spend at American Flyers, and for what? If you are able to put 40 days of your life on hold to go to American Flyers, i'm telling you now, take those 40 days and spend them at the library or in your house studying on your own. You know all of the information...Aside from endorsements, theres nothing that wasn't covered during your PPL/Com certs...I just think you will be spending A LOT more money than you really need to by going to American Flyers or any CFI academy for that matter.
 
i did it and was prepared well in 30 days. I did spend if i remember about 20% more than they quoted but at the same point they told me I would up front. I thought they were reasonable. there rates are excessive for everything else but the CFI is a good deal. I only did about 15 hours of flying with them, all the rest was ground. in the end I am glad I took 40 days and got it done. It seems to take everybody else so long to do it self paced.

Mike, keep us posted on your checkride. Good Luck! I am sure glad I don't have to do it again!
 
Cody: What was your experience as far as finding an instructor position after completing the CFI Academy? Are there any pro's or con's to the program that you weren't aware of before entering, or things that I should throw into my equation that I might be overlooking?


Mike: Good Luck!!
 
I went to the academy in Addison, TX. The November '07 class. Sure, they will offer you a job. They pretty much offered everyone in our academy a job, and not one person took their bait. The problem is that they will only pay you $12/hr and first bring you on part-time. Factor in the long sleeve button down shirts and new ties, along with the khaki-type dress pants that are required in order to work there, and you might dig quite the hole with debt just to be able to work there.

This is another place that has yet to come around with understanding market demand for a CFI. They have a huge advantage because they are able to offer you a job before ever leaving the academy and being able to explore other CFI opportunities.

Good luck.
 
Codyjp said:
Mike, keep us posted on your checkride. Good Luck! I am sure glad I don't have to do it again!
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gee thanks for the kind words of encouragement haha!!!

Thank you though...I'll make a post on Monday night and add results on Tuesday =)
 
I went thru the American Flyers CFI training in January 2008. I did my PPL/Instrument/Comm/CFI/CFII/MEI thru them. The training was great but so god damn expensive.

If your looking for job placement then most of the American Flyers WILL have job openings. Once you get hired you'll spend 2-3 days going thru AAAAAALLLLL of the AMERICAN FLYERS rules/regulations and whats allowed, not allowed, etc (like ex: no flying w/winds over 30kts, no soloing the RG's, etc...) basically all the insurance and flyers policies. Once you go full-time expect your paycheck AFTER taxes to be in the $2200-$2400 range...

Just so you know... FWIW...

A.) STUDY AS MUCH OF THE PRIVATE/COMMERCIAL AS YOU CAN AT HOME BEFORE YOU GO!!!

B.) If your going thru the 30 day course then TAKE YOUR CFII written test BEFORE you get down there!!! Trust me on this one. I took my CFII written test the NEXT DAY after I took my Instrument written test. But, as long as you do it BEFORE you go its 1 less thing to worry about truuuust me on that.

C.) Start your PTA's!!! PTA's are your Personal Training Analysis binders hold EVERYTHING you need to teach a student. It covers every maneuver, every chapter, every EVERYTHING. For example...slow flight for a PVT. student... you list how to set up for it, what the STUDENT should expect to have happen, how to maintain your stall warning horn reguarding airspeed, how to maintain altitude w/power, etc... Now, do that for EVERYTHING and I personally have three 2" binders FULL of pages w/page covers on then for JUST private pilot. I have another one for Commercial, and yet another for Instrument. Now you don't have to do this one but i'd recommend making one eventually for teach a student how to flight instruct which is a tricky area honestly. Start asking CFI's at your local place on how to do your PTA's and start making up your own!!! You'll save a #####LOAD of time, and money.
 
PTA's. i have a binder of those somewhere!

my advice on those is the same, start ASAP if you can get an idea of how. that being said, mine are looking quite pretty but I wasted to much time making them that way.

I could have done them with a blunt crayon and the examiner could have cared less! just do with it takes to get them done. remember, they are only for you to use, not others.
 
I find it funny how everyone thinks their CFI folders are required for their check ride when it isn't in the PTS anywhere to begin with. You can go in with a folder full of porn and the examiner could not dock you. He might question you on why you have a folder full of porn though...

Anyway, American Flyers is a good school. It is on the expensive side and it is true to add at least 20% to the final cost. The instructors at AF are very knowledgeable and can answer the question "why" without hesitating at least 98% of the time. If they don't know any answer they will find it for you.

I did do AF's academy and I had no problems completing the academy in the amount of time shown. I had all my flying and ground done in the time allotted. I was delayed however because the DPE's that the FAA gave me to use. One had just vanished as he didn't answer his phone at all, and the other one I was given had a full schedule. I got in earlier than I normally would have, only because someone canceled. AF got the Miami FSDO to send us our DPE's within the first three weeks of the course. My experience was a smooth operation. I went to the AF based at KPMP.

Advice before going:
1. Start reviewing your instrument knowledge as you will be doing you CFII first if you go Part 61.
2. Take your FOI and CFI or CFII before you go. Getting at least two tests out of the way will help you free up some time.
 
developing lesson plans are a good aid it learning though. that being said, they are only for you and do what YOU need and nothing else.

Porn, well that might relax or excite you... either way, maybe good motivator!
 
Codyjp said:
developing lesson plans are a good aid it learning though. that being said, they are only for you and do what YOU need and nothing else.

Porn, well that might relax or excite you... either way, maybe good motivator!
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I was just pointing out that they are not required. They do help in the long haul, but an examiner will most likely not even touch your folder.
 
Did mine at American Flyers in SJC. I think they relocated somewhere else. I had the best instructor in the whole world (David Kinser if you're around, I miss you buddy) for most of my course (PP, COMM ASEL). The CFI course went smoothly and swiftly. I guess I was pretty knowledgeable when I got done. I landed a job while the ink was still fresh on my temp cert.
Our airplanes were old though, we only had one new Skyhawk, but this was in 1998.
 
Maurus said:
I was just pointing out that they are not required. They do help in the long haul, but an examiner will most likely not even touch your folder.
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I wasn't disagreeing with you for sure. I wonder how I would have done if I had used some pre made plans though? For me the prep was what made me learn it.

shoulda used a crayon though...
 
The sad thing is that for my initial CFII, I only had to teach about wake turbulence (yes it is in the PTS for the CFII).
 
Most of the comments re: AF's CFI Academy seem right on. Their advertised prices are lowballs despite ample evidence that a huge proportion of their clients will need additonal flying, ground training or both.

I went to Addison back in 2005 and contrary to what others have said I saw the majority of my class and the class ahead of us, complete their CFI and CFII within the advertised time. I had a death in the family and went home with just the CFII intial but had completed all the training. After dealing with the loss of my father, I spend a couple of hours with a local CFI and passed my CFI-A with a DPE about 60 days from the time I'd started. I was working as a CFI the next day and felt ready for the task.

One major point that is usually overlooked in these discussions is the benefit of having several people in a high intensity class with you. Yes, AF did have great instructors when I was there, but I also had some awesome classmates that taught me as much or more than the instructors. You also get hours and hours of practice teaching and seeing others teach so you can learn from their mistakes. This is great experience that allows you to make your mistakes and talk yourself into corners with peers, not neophyte pilots that will remember your screw up as gospel for the rest of their lives. That is the one thing a place like AF can provide that you won't get otherwise and I think it is worth the cost.

As far as working for AF, I wouldn't do it. Almost every flight school in the country is looking for CFI's right now. No reason to take a job paying way less than everywhere else.
 
I just completed the 30-day CFI/CFII academy in Santa Monica, and I thought I'd share a few things for those of you considering going to American Flyers.

You can choose to do the program under part 141 or part 61. The initial cost of part 61 is $2,995. The initial cost of part 141 is $5,070. For the extra money, part 141 gets you:

1) An in-house CFII checkride. This is an APR (like a stage check) and is UNFAILABLE. In other words, if you are a truly horrible pilot (the only way you could possibly fail this), it just counts as dual given. Once you've passed it, you have 60 days to pass your CFI initial with a real examiner, and your CFII will be "tacked on" to your CFI certificate

2) 10 more hours of flight time than part 61

To save a little money, I did it under part 61, which includes only 10 hours of total flight time plus one hour dual in the sim. We could use the sim ourselves as much as we wanted. I bought an extra 1.7 hours beyond the 10 I initially paid for, so I spent $255 more than the advertised price.

I found that to be an extremely reasonable price. The only things that are ridiculously overpriced are the four academy manuals. They cost $80 apiece and are nearly worthless. In fact, if you want to go to the Santa Monica academy in the coming months, I will sell you mine for $25 apiece, since they require you to have them.

Overall, my classmates were my biggest asset. Practicing teaching to them, and listening to them teach, helped immensely.

My advice: Even if you're self-motivated enough to do it on your own, consider the academy if you know more than one other person will be attending. Not only do they improve your teaching, they're contacts for later on in your career.

I passed my CFI checkride on the first try yesterday and am scheduling my CFII ride soon. There were four other people in my class, and they all passed on their first try.
 
I attended the Morristown, NJ location. The initial cost of the program is thought to be just under $3,000 while in actuality, it is never done in this amount of time. And so you are put into the position of having to go 141. If you call up their central number and talk to a guy named George, be careful about getting misled. Myself and another gentleman went into the academy expecting to pay a certain amount while the final number was more about $5,500. If you have six grand to spend, then yes it is a good program and you'll pass the checkride(s) without much problem.

If I could go back and do it again I may have done it differently. Then again, they DO know their stuff and I believe I walked away with a great amount of knowledge.
 
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