New CFI - Tips, Do's and Don'ts

BoilerPilot2007

BoilerPilot2007

Well-Known Member
New CFI - Tips, Do\'s and Don\'ts

Hey everyone:

I'm going to start training for my CFI this summer.

I'm starting to slowly collect materials for lesson plans, study up on previous knowledge and other little things.

Some questions:

1) How many hours in the right seat did you spend training for your CFI?

2) Are there any places that are better to get materials for lesson plans than others? Any you'd recommend?

3) Are there any areas I should focus on that would be benenficial, and are not covered heavily in training?

Answers to these, and any other tidbits of information and/or advice would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks so much for your time guys!

Cheers,
 
Re: New CFI - Tips, Do\'s and Don\'ts

I finished my CFI at lafayette aviation last summer....the best part of it was the ground school.....they start it at random times so id call up and see when the next CFI gnd. starts....definatley worth it....i got all the lesson plan topics basically from the ground school stuff that we went over, and then went to my collection of reference books to put together what i thought was a good explanation of what should be covered.....you can go through the PTS's and get topics too...i also ordered one of those pre-made lesson plan books from sportys just to have some more reference...had every private/comm/inst plan you could think of....but i ended up making a binder of my own hand written plans.......i think i spent about 10 or so hours in the right seat of their arrow before i felt comfortable with flying and explaining things, etc....
 
Re: New CFI - Tips, Do\'s and Don\'ts

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Some questions:

1) How many hours in the right seat did you spend training for your CFI?

2) Are there any places that are better to get materials for lesson plans than others? Any you'd recommend?

3) Are there any areas I should focus on that would be benenficial, and are not covered heavily in training?


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1) 25 hours... you'll be comfortable after 5-10 hours though, it's not a hard transition, just a differant perspective on the panel/ outside.

2) I've used Jeppesen lesson plans up to date, they are good to go by, and I make alot of notes and explainations in the margin to add to what's there.

3) Start from the begining and get used to talking through EVERYTHING you do in the airplane. Also look at your instructor (playing the student) when s/he is doing the maneuvers, look at what they're doing you'll be surprised how easy it is to correct a problem when you know where the student is looking.

Above all, HAVE FUN with this and BTW, the FOI is the hardest part (at least it was for me).
 
Re: New CFI - Tips, Do\'s and Don\'ts

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Some questions:

1) How many hours in the right seat did you spend training for your CFI?


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between four and five. Depends on the person, I suppose. The hardest part for me was figuring out my heading and adjusting the throttle....
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2) Are there any places that are better to get materials for lesson plans than others? Any you'd recommend?


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I'd say that the Jepp lesson plans are pretty good! I kind of have a combination "made up with a little bit from here and there" lesson plan collection.

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3) Are there any areas I should focus on that would be benenficial, and are not covered heavily in training?


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Curriculum development!!!! Alot of people never spend much time on this, and then they're trying to figure out how to get somebody trained!
 
Re: New CFI - Tips, Do\'s and Don\'ts

I spent 4.6 hours in the right seat before my CFI "soloed" me from that side. It takes a while to get used to being at an angle to the instruments, and the control feel is a different (you use your opposite hand to manipulate the yoke, and it may take some time to develop the proper motor skills). The maneuver that gave me the most trouble from the right seat was making smooth crosswind landings.

I had 49.9 hours from the right seat when I took my CFI checkride. I scheduled the first checkride when I had 26.7 right seat hours, but there were nearly two months from the time of that one's cancellation to the time when I actually took the test. I was trying to fly 3 times a week during this period to keep my proficiencies up.
 
Re: New CFI - Tips, Do\'s and Don\'ts

Congratulations on starting your CFI. You'll have a lot of fun.
To answer your questions:
1. I spent 15 hours right seat since I did my initial in a twin (you need 15 hours PIC in make and model).

2. Buy a lesson plan book from Jeppeson, or anything from a pilot shop that has all the plans in them. Use it as a guide to make your own lessons. However, definitely make your own lesson plans for all the manuevers in the format you would teach on the ground.

3. Know your FOI's. Have a seperate section in your CFI binder that covers the FOI's, such as the Laws of Learning, examples of teaching methods. Also, my DE asked what are the duties of an instructor. This is in the front area of the PTS.
Also, have all your systems drawn out and ready to explain. Put a 'systems' section in your CFI book. Most examiners will allow you to use your own notes, drawings, and lessons.
TIP - do not answer a question wrong. If your not sure of an answer just say so. You're not given much slack on this exam. One wrong answer can mean a pink slip. One more thing. Practice demonstrating and explaining all your maneuvers simultaneously in the air with your instructor. This can be tough to do.

"Jerry, these are load bearing walls, they're not coming down." !!
 
Re: New CFI - Tips, Do\'s and Don\'ts

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TIP - do not answer a question wrong. If your not sure of an answer just say so. You're not given much slack on this exam. One wrong answer can mean a pink slip.

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I always wondered about this. Since pretty much anything is game on the CFI, its unfair for a 250 commercial pilot to be able to answer anything. You are saying that it is better to say, "I dont know, but I know how to find out" than to BS it?
 
Re: New CFI - Tips, Do\'s and Don\'ts

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TIP - do not answer a question wrong. If your not sure of an answer just say so. You're not given much slack on this exam. One wrong answer can mean a pink slip.

[/ QUOTE ]

I always wondered about this. Since pretty much anything is game on the CFI, its unfair for a 250 commercial pilot to be able to answer anything. You are saying that it is better to say, "I dont know, but I know how to find out" than to BS it?

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I'd say that's pretty close to the truth....
 
Re: New CFI - Tips, Do\'s and Don\'ts

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

TIP - do not answer a question wrong. If your not sure of an answer just say so. You're not given much slack on this exam. One wrong answer can mean a pink slip.

[/ QUOTE ]

I always wondered about this. Since pretty much anything is game on the CFI, its unfair for a 250 commercial pilot to be able to answer anything. You are saying that it is better to say, "I dont know, but I know how to find out" than to BS it?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep.
 
Re: New CFI - Tips, Do\'s and Don\'ts

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1) How many hours in the right seat did you spend training for your CFI?

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It only takes a few to get comfortable enough to fly solo in the right seat...

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2) Are there any places that are better to get materials for lesson plans than others? Any you'd recommend?

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check out Jedi Nein's site, she's a class act: http://pages.prodigy.net/jedinein/cfi.html

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3) Are there any areas I should focus on that would be benenficial, and are not covered heavily in training?

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Yes, the PTS... if you make notes in it you will not only be studying it, but you'll be prepared and able to look things up on the fly.

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Answers to these, and any other tidbits of information and/or advice would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks so much for your time guys!

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The CFI ride is overhyped IMHO, you are not in the 7th circle of hell during the ride as some would have you believe... just study and enjoy.

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Since pretty much anything is game on the CFI, its unfair for a 250 commercial pilot to be able to answer anything. You are saying that it is better to say, "I dont know, but I know how to find out" than to BS it?

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It is not unfair to ask a commercial pilot to answer 'anything', your students will ask you much worse after you get certified, and you'll have to explain simple things in excruciating detail. If you focus on the student's interests during the preparation (vs your own interest on passing the ride), you'll not only be able to pass but you'll be able to serve your students as well.
 
Re: New CFI - Tips, Do\'s and Don\'ts

Wow just a few hours?

We have a course at my school that lasts an entire semester for CFI, 37 lessons
 
Re: New CFI - Tips, Do\'s and Don\'ts

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Wow just a few hours?

We have a course at my school that lasts an entire semester for CFI, 37 lessons

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No offense to your school, but they're alot like my school....they want your CA$H!!!!!
 
Re: New CFI - Tips, Do\'s and Don\'ts

UND wanting your money? no way. UND is committed to providing the finest training available. that explains why if you train outside the UND curriculum they remove you from the program. part 141 was cool up until CFI, now it's becoming a pain in the butt. part 61 you can get yoru CFI/CFII for $4k in less than a month. here it takes 2 semesters and close to $10k.
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Re: New CFI - Tips, Do\'s and Don\'ts

You can train outside of Purdue and still instruct there. As long as you pass the 8 hour oral and checkride and prove you have the right stuff..

Purdue takes enough of our money anyway
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Cheers,
 
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