Bombed CFI oral

Galaitoto

Well-Known Member
I'm kind of destroyed now. The worst part to me is that some people I know studied for a couple of weeks and passed easily. When others heard who my examiner was they said, " he is so easy!" I on the other hand studied for around 6 months. I felt I was ready and so did everyone else. Well long story short, I felt like I didn't know jack •. Really destroyed my confidence, bad. So I have 3 options. 1. Retake the test. 2. Just fly another 100 hours and apply to anywhere who will take me since my goal is to fly cargo anyway. 3. Go back full time to my current non avaition career and leave the flying to the people who know their •. None of my friends or family want to see me not retake the test because they say i'm giving up, maybe I am but I don't want another fail on my record. As my luck would have it, there were 2 faa examiners sitting in on my oral, but I still would have failed had they not been there. I just don't want to go through that again, that was some B.S
 
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I'm kind of destroyed now. The worst part to me is that some people I know studied for a couple of weeks and passed easily. When others heard who my examiner was they said, " he is so easy!" I on the other hand studied for around 6 months. I felt I was ready and so did everyone else. Well long story short, I felt like I didn't know jack . Really destroyed my confidence, bad. So I have 3 options. 1. Retake the test.

You are never going to be more prepared than you are right now. Study a bit more and get it done.

I've been there, I didn't pass my initial CFI ride. It wasn't easy to do it all over again. But I did, and I passed. I've passed 2 more CFI rides since then. Even if your ultimate goals don't involve having a CFI cert, well, it turns out to be pretty useful in aviation in general.

Was there a specific area you felt shaky on? Or just nervous?
 
Sorry to hear.
......but......
Get back on the horse!

I would think it likely that you will be judged in future interviews by the way you handled the failure as opposed to the failure itself.

Good luck whatever you decide!
 
Take a shot of whiskey, a deep breath, put down the gun, learn from your less than satisfactory areas, and get back on the horse!

I failed my CFI oral as well. I redid my lesson plan and knocked it out of the park and moved on in my career. If you want to be a flyer nothing will help your career at the beginning like getting your CFI. You can do it, just get back on the horse.

What areas do you need help with? I'm sure many people here, myself included, would be happy to give you advice on a lesson plan, etc. Feel free to PM me if you like.
 
I'm kind of destroyed now. The worst part to me is that some people I know studied for a couple of weeks and passed easily. When others heard who my examiner was they said, " he is so easy!" I on the other hand studied for around 6 months. I felt I was ready and so did everyone else. Well long story short, I felt like I didn't know jack . Really destroyed my confidence, bad. So I have 3 options. 1. Retake the test. 2. Just fly another 100 hours and apply to anywhere who will take me since my goal is to fly cargo anyway. 3. Go back full time to my current non avaition career and leave the flying to the people who know their . None of my friends or family want to see me not retake the test because they say i'm giving up, maybe I am but I don't want another fail on my record. As my luck would have it, there were 2 faa examiners sitting in on my oral, but I still would have failed had they not been there. I just don't want to go through that again, that was some B.S

Sorry to hear that, dont give up.
 
Ditto on all of the above.
Oh...and welcome to the "I failed my CFI oral/ride club" You are most definitely not alone, and give yourself a few days and get back into it.

Hopefully the examiner gave you a de-brief on what you need to work on.

AND..after you pass your CFI (and you will) just think how much better that beer will taste.

Feel free to ask questions either online are as a PM. If I can help, I will.
 
What areas did you he get you on?

I was in your same boat about a month ago. Bombed the oral. I was the most pissed I have been. I felt great and prepared going in and then you hear the words that you didn't pass. Worst feeling. I was bummed for about a week, if not longer, but as everyone says, get back up on the saddle and knock it out!
 
As I'm only a lowly PPL, forgive my ignorance... Wouldn't failing the ride still need to be divulged in future applications if asked about?

Seems to me, if the answer is yes, the only option is to take everyone's advice, study up, and retake the test. Then, when you're asked about your CFI check failure, it becomes a learning moment that can be explained to a potential employer, instead of a failure moment.
 
As I'm only a lowly PPL, forgive my ignorance... Wouldn't failing the ride still need to be divulged in future applications if asked about?

Seems to me, if the answer is yes, the only option is to take everyone's advice, study up, and retake the test. Then, when you're asked about your CFI check failure, it becomes a learning moment that can be explained to a potential employer, instead of a failure moment.
You divulge a failure only during a retake. (Don't know about job applications).
For your next certificate and/or rating you don't list previous failures.
 
As I'm only a lowly PPL, forgive my ignorance... Wouldn't failing the ride still need to be divulged in future applications if asked about?

Seems to me, if the answer is yes, the only option is to take everyone's advice, study up, and retake the test. Then, when you're asked about your CFI check failure, it becomes a learning moment that can be explained to a potential employer, instead of a failure moment.

A great point. If I was interviewing someone, saw they had a checkride failure, but not the associated rating, they wouldn't exactly go to the top of the pile.
 
Ditto on all of the above.
Oh...and welcome to the "I failed my CFI oral/ride club" You are most definitely not alone, and give yourself a few days and get back into it.

Hopefully the examiner gave you a de-brief on what you need to work on.

AND..after you pass your CFI (and you will) just think how much better that beer will taste.

Feel free to ask questions either online are as a PM. If I can help, I will.

keep-calm-and-welcome-to-the-club-11.png


Failed mine. Retook it. Passed.
 
You divulge a failure only during a retake. (Don't know about job applications).
For your next certificate and/or rating you don't list previous failures.
Delta:
"Have you ever failed any proficiency check, FAA check ride, or line check?"

United:
"Have you ever failed any proficiency check, FAA check ride, or line check?"

Envoy:
"Have you ever received a notice of disapproval from an FAA Inspector or FAA designated examiner for failure of an FAA Oral, Practical, or Flight test?"
"Have you ever received an unsatisfactory evaluation during any pilot training, testing, or checking event?"

(etc.)
 
You are never going to be more prepared than you are right now. Study a bit more and get it done.

I've been there, I didn't pass my initial CFI ride. It wasn't easy to do it all over again. But I did, and I passed. I've passed 2 more CFI rides since then. Even if your ultimate goals don't involve having a CFI cert, well, it turns out to be pretty useful in aviation in general.

Was there a specific area you felt shaky on? Or just nervous?
Of all things, true north and magnetic north got me. After I showed him the lines of variation while teaching dead reckoning, he says " but I don't understand the difference, can u show me on the board?" So I drew a circle and showed the lines of latitude and longitude, but I blanked out on where magnetic north would be compared to true north. After that he says he busted the turn coordinator, can he fly? My ding don't self was unable to locate the reg for that. 91.213 I think. I'll never forget it now. I appreciate all of the positive responses from everyone. After all the help from you guys and a full day of not thinking about aviation, well that's a lie but it sounded nice, I decided to dive back into it. Even if I fail 5 more times, I know deep down that I'll be a good instructor because I truly want to be, this test does not determine my future.
 
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