Shiner
El Capitan
Passed my CFI initial checkride at the Scottsdale FSDO earlier today and thought I'd share my experiences getting this certificate with everyone.
Background:
I've been training at a Part 61 school out of SDL for the past 2 years. I called the FSDO and scheduled the ride a month in advance and worked my butt off to get ready. I owe a lot of gratitude to my instructors who were both extremely knowledgeable and thorough. I wouldn't have passed without their guidance.
Oral/Ground Preparation:
I made a lesson plan for each TASK in the CFI PTS. Writing the lesson plans and organizing all of the material helped me get a great feel for the information and develop a strategy to teach it. I based all of the information in the lessons on FAA reference materials (PHAK, AFH, FAR/AIM, Aviation Weather Services Book, Aircraft POH, etc). Before the checkride, I tabbed all of these references, so any information could be readily obtained. My instructors helped me with examples to use for certain lessons, additional knowledge, and evaluating my teaching ability. The whole process took a lot of time, but it has paid off greatly, as my knowledge feels so much deeper than before.
Flying Preparation:
I did about 7 flights over two to three weeks to get comfortable with flying in the right seat and evaluating my "students" performance. I did about half in a 172 SP and half in a 172 RG. I should have started with the RG from the beginning because it may have saved a flight or two. Watching and critiquing students can be a difficult skill to acquire and I overlooked this portion of CFI training before going through it.
The Oral:
The checkride was scheduled for two days, ground one day and flight the next morning. I brought all of my reference materials, lesson plan binder, charts, plotter, PTS's, teaching-model airplane and anything else I might need to help teach any lesson. Presentation is important for the oral and I walked in knowing I was prepared. I was asked about the required TASK's as well as The Learning Process, Airplane Flight Controls, Certificates and Documents, Airworthiness Requirements, and Maneuver Lesson on Lazy Eights. I struggled the most with Certificates and Documents, but luckily my FAR/AIM was tabbed, highlighted, and handy. The oral went great and I was done in about 3.5 hours. The examiner was impressed.
The Flight:
Showed up the next morning, and had to reschedule the checkride because of a maintenance issue discovered during the run-up. Had a couple of photo flights over the weekend to stay in flying mode and got paid which was nice. Had the ride rescheduled for today. The examiner was not happy I didn't have an airport diagram handy during the taxi. He told me it's something the FAA looks for, so take note. We had a good crosswind out there and I didn't perform great in the gusty conditions, but overall the flight was safe. In the air we covered, short/soft takeoff and landing, no flap landing, go-around, steep turns, slow flight, power off/secondary stalls, lazy 8, engine out emergency, eights on pylons, s-turns, and BAI. The air work was smooth considering the conditions and I flew about 80% of the time. I was constantly talking and explaining what I was doing and why. Any deviation from altitude or airspeed, I noted and told him I was working to get back to my desired figure. The areas I could have performed better were the crosswind takeoffs and landings.
Getting this certificate has been extremely rewarding and I am anxious to put it to use. Thanks to everyone who contributes to this forum. I hope this write up helps some other CFI candidates out there. Feel free to PM me.
Background:
I've been training at a Part 61 school out of SDL for the past 2 years. I called the FSDO and scheduled the ride a month in advance and worked my butt off to get ready. I owe a lot of gratitude to my instructors who were both extremely knowledgeable and thorough. I wouldn't have passed without their guidance.
Oral/Ground Preparation:
I made a lesson plan for each TASK in the CFI PTS. Writing the lesson plans and organizing all of the material helped me get a great feel for the information and develop a strategy to teach it. I based all of the information in the lessons on FAA reference materials (PHAK, AFH, FAR/AIM, Aviation Weather Services Book, Aircraft POH, etc). Before the checkride, I tabbed all of these references, so any information could be readily obtained. My instructors helped me with examples to use for certain lessons, additional knowledge, and evaluating my teaching ability. The whole process took a lot of time, but it has paid off greatly, as my knowledge feels so much deeper than before.
Flying Preparation:
I did about 7 flights over two to three weeks to get comfortable with flying in the right seat and evaluating my "students" performance. I did about half in a 172 SP and half in a 172 RG. I should have started with the RG from the beginning because it may have saved a flight or two. Watching and critiquing students can be a difficult skill to acquire and I overlooked this portion of CFI training before going through it.
The Oral:
The checkride was scheduled for two days, ground one day and flight the next morning. I brought all of my reference materials, lesson plan binder, charts, plotter, PTS's, teaching-model airplane and anything else I might need to help teach any lesson. Presentation is important for the oral and I walked in knowing I was prepared. I was asked about the required TASK's as well as The Learning Process, Airplane Flight Controls, Certificates and Documents, Airworthiness Requirements, and Maneuver Lesson on Lazy Eights. I struggled the most with Certificates and Documents, but luckily my FAR/AIM was tabbed, highlighted, and handy. The oral went great and I was done in about 3.5 hours. The examiner was impressed.
The Flight:
Showed up the next morning, and had to reschedule the checkride because of a maintenance issue discovered during the run-up. Had a couple of photo flights over the weekend to stay in flying mode and got paid which was nice. Had the ride rescheduled for today. The examiner was not happy I didn't have an airport diagram handy during the taxi. He told me it's something the FAA looks for, so take note. We had a good crosswind out there and I didn't perform great in the gusty conditions, but overall the flight was safe. In the air we covered, short/soft takeoff and landing, no flap landing, go-around, steep turns, slow flight, power off/secondary stalls, lazy 8, engine out emergency, eights on pylons, s-turns, and BAI. The air work was smooth considering the conditions and I flew about 80% of the time. I was constantly talking and explaining what I was doing and why. Any deviation from altitude or airspeed, I noted and told him I was working to get back to my desired figure. The areas I could have performed better were the crosswind takeoffs and landings.
Getting this certificate has been extremely rewarding and I am anxious to put it to use. Thanks to everyone who contributes to this forum. I hope this write up helps some other CFI candidates out there. Feel free to PM me.
