CFI-A....looking for advice

aa747

Well-Known Member
Hi everyone.
My name is Ahmed, I am a CPL ASEL, and I am planning to start my CFI-A.
I will be attending Brazos Valley Flight Services in College Station.

I have found the messages on these forums highly informative, and I was just wondering if anybody had any advice on

- what stuff to study; more importantly how to prioritise since I wish to get done with the ground and flight traning in 2-3 weeks. Thats the time my school has given me to continue on a scholarship for ATP.
Checkride time is not counted in this.

- how to conduct myself in the ground lessons, presenting lessons plans etc.

- how to prepare for the oral

- how much to expect on average for ground training? is it 40 hours?

thanks everyone.
 
First, welcome to the forums.


- what stuff to study; more importantly how to prioritise since I wish to get done with the ground and flight traning in 2-3 weeks.
Here is what worked for me. Take the PTS, and study anything and everything they can check you on. Not just the CFI PTS, but also the ones for the students you will have. Much better to know the material than need to constantly looking in a book to find an answer. You really owe it to both yourself and any future students to know as much as you possibly can. Basically you need to study up to the point you think you know the subject, then study it further.


- how to prepare for the oral
Personally, by doing what I said above, I felt competely ready for the oral exam.


- how to conduct myself in the ground lessons, presenting lessons plans etc.
Just be calm and relaxed. I try to teach it at a elementary level to my students. I know I will have to walk them through some maneuvers rather slowly, while others are much more simple and we can get through quicker.


- how much to expect on average for ground training? is it 40 hours?
I have heard around 40 hours, but I am not really sure. I do not recall from my training.


Hope this helps.
Best of luck.
 
The FAA has free publications to download:

The Airplane Flying Handbook
Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge
Aviation Instructor's Handbook

Those should get you ready for the oral, along with the PTS. That should get you a headstart. You can also Google CFI lesson plans to help you structure those. Good luck!
 
The Aviation Instructors Handbook has a chapter inside that goes into some detail about lesson plans and gives examples. Those 3 books, along with the PTS, is the vast majority of what I am studying for the initial.
 
The Airplane Flying Handbook
Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge
Aviation Instructor's Handbook

These are your best bet. I spent one week 8AM - 8PM studying and writing lesson plans based on these three books. I feel that if you work really hard on a lesson plan, you remind yourself of why some of the things you have already mastered happen the way they do. You also learn what you have to say in order to make someone understand the idea/maneuver. Make one lesson plan for each of the items on the PTS and know the Private and Commercial PTS tolerances for each maneuver.

I don't think anyone has mentioned this but going over the FAR's. I was quizzed right out of the FAR/AIM. I tabbed out parts 61/91 so that if asked I could flip to the page easily.

The other hot topics were aircraft systems, my examiner was an A&P and he liked that I could describe the A/C systems in detail.

And of course weather. Good luck though. I really enjoyed getting my CFI because I learned so many things in so much more detail by asking myself "how am I going to explain this to some one"
 
Not sure what the -A is for, but sorry to hear you will be stuck in the arm pit of Texas. If you prove that you're not an Aggie, I'll post more constructive information.
 
Thanks everyone for your great replies........really appreciate it....
errr well I am not an aggie......I am actually an international student, and most of my work was done at weiser airpark in houston.....just my school isnt doing cfi's anymore.....
Also, I have kind of printed all the lesson plans, and I have gone through them a couple of times.......I am just a little confused as to how deep into the subject I should go....I also have all the afore mentioned faa publications with me....
any advice on presenting ground lessons to my instructor and stuff?
really appreciate the info......thanks a bunch!
 
OK then I'll let your location slide. My advice:

Keep it short.
Keep it relevant.
Practice ahead of time and remove "um" from your vocabulary.
Most people only listen to the first and last few minutes of anything you have to say, so make your points clear at those times.

The material itself is all in the PTS. Make sure your lessons have a purpose. Don't just throw out aerodynamics for the hell of it - Explain why knowing this or that helps one anticipate the airplane and improves stick and rudder (hopefully this will alleviate some of the typical "left rudder. airspeed. rudder. airspeed" that occurs in the cockpit of most new students.. Don't just explain aeromedical factors - Explain how this guy killed himself because he didn't care to read up on hypoxia. Little diddies and stories go much further towards making a point than "now turn to page 69 of the Airplane Flying Handbook for some more goofy pictures and dry reading material."

Never hesitate to ask questions on Jetcareers.
 
AA,

Remember, the lesson plans are for YOU. Write them to the extent that you feel that you need to remember some particular peice of information about down the road.

Also, it's a good idea to know your limitations as a CFI and the required endoresements. A Major portion of my oral was on that. The big things are in the details and it's important that you know your limitations, etc. so that everything is done correctly with your students (and so that you can cover your behind).

Good luck...it's a very rewarding check ride!
 
The greatest reccommendation I can make for a CFI applicant would be tabs.

The little sticky tabs that you can write on one end and stick the other in your book of choice. Read throught the books that mojo6911 reccommended and tab everything you're weak on. The FAR's, the AIM, the PTS Ratings Task Tables. Put tabs on your lesson plans for procedures and maneuvers that you may have a harder time explaining.

This checkride is not like the rest. It is 'relatively' open book. If he asks you a question that you aren't at least 90% sure of the answer, look it up.

Don't get me wrong, you want to study every possible minute for weeks prior to the checkride, but those tabs are a lifesaver.
 
Thanks everyone for your great replies........really appreciate it....
errr well I am not an aggie......I am actually an international student, and most of my work was done at weiser airpark in houston.....just my school isnt doing cfi's anymore.....
Also, I have kind of printed all the lesson plans, and I have gone through them a couple of times.......I am just a little confused as to how deep into the subject I should go....I also have all the afore mentioned faa publications with me....
any advice on presenting ground lessons to my instructor and stuff?
really appreciate the info......thanks a bunch!

Do you have a girlfriend/wife/friend that wouldn't mind you "teaching" them a subject? I found it helped me quite a bit, since my girlfriend (now my wife) doesn't know a thing about airplanes or aviation. If she could understand it, I knew I was doing OK.

EVERY CFI checkride is different. It all depends on your examiner. Your school should have a gouge on what to expect. I wouldn't worry too much. It sounds like you have put the work in.
 
Hi everyone,
thanks for all your help.
Greg, I have written out the lesson plans already with some changes. I use the prints I have as a reference and add a little material to them.
Sheblerep, thanks, I am using the tabs on the FAR AIM.
mojo6911 thanks expecially for your advice - really helpful.
Anyways, at the school, we finished our FOI part. 100% Self study and presentation.
I am giving the written on Saturday.

After that, we are going to start ground lessons.
First part is aerodynamics........
any ideas/ good references/ any important stuff that is overlooked by newbies?
thanks.......
 
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