Prep for CFI

Visceral

Well-Known Member
For the guys who have completed or are now enrolled in the CFI program at FSI, what does the classroom time consist of? Are you learning more of the how to teach, or are they drilling the FAR/AIM, PTS', etc into your skulls? The CFI oral is supposed to be the toughest ones with a lot of first time failures, and it seems like a lot of information to digest. If you had a chance to start over again 2 months before the first day, what areas would you concentrate on learning?
 
If I were to do it again, I would have read Chp. 1 of the PHAK (pilots handbook of aeronautical knowledge) - Principles of flight. Although I wasn't grilled on it during the check ride or interview, it was the information that didn't sink in during private. I had a basic understanding, but I don't think I could have sufficiently explained all of the forces in a climb, turn, descent, load factor, induced drag, ground effect, etc. to my student. It is one of the topics you might be assigned to brief you flight line instructor, so you would be a step ahead.

I would also re-read all of the manuevers in the Airplane Flying Hand book. Explaining, demonstrating, and evaluating these is going to be the basis of all our instructing.

Hope this helps.
 
I did ground school then my single engine add, then the flying part of my CFI....Single engine add time excluded I think I did a month of ground with a month of flying..
 
'Naut, during my CFI I flew usually 3 times a week and would sometimes throw in a ground brief with a flight so it actually took me more like 5-6 weeks. I wasn't in much of a hurry until the end when there was an interview group just about to enter (which I was the last one to get in). I found that I usually needed that day inbetween lessons to write and prepare a good brief. I didn't have anyone's old briefs to copy so I used the Gleim and the instructor PTS as a guide. The Instructor PTS should become your bible, learn it, live it, love it....I would also become familiar with the Private and Commercial PTS...I took my commercial PTS and wrote in the margin all the differences between the Comm and Private....So let's say in Steep Turns the Commercial PTS says, applicant establishes a 50 degree bank +/-5, I wrote in the margin Private 45 degrees +/- 5......True the Comm PTS doesn't have the Private ground ref maneuvers but those are pretty easy to remember. So I'd suggest really going between the Instructor and Comm PTS and those two will tell you what you're expected to teach as well as how the student should perform.....

B-master
 
Thanks "B-Master" for the info. I'm starting CFI Sept. 3rd, & I'd like to be done by about the end of October/beginning of November, which sounds possible from what you've said. Thanks for the advice, & if you come up with anything else, feel free to pass it on!

'naut
 
I hear St. George's classes can be very hard, but very good. I had him for Aerodynamics and he covered the semester of Aero I had in college in the first two classes! I can't imagine doing all of CFI w/him.

Chunk
 
St. George is really good. Eric is right just stay on pace for the reading and you'll have no problems. His CFI class teaches you so much it's not even funny.

Chunk, your post was actually mentioned in class, it was quite the compliment.
 
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