How to study for my CFI
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Becoming a flight instructor is one way to build hours quickly or continue a rewarding career in aviation. A flight instructor's job is to teach student pilots the principles and skill sets it takes in becoming a competent pilot.
Becoming a CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) is one possible career choice for pilots. Other options are also available, but pilots choose this option for several reasons. The most prominent reason is because of the luxury it gives one to build hours and make a living at the same time. This blog will help you study for your CFI exam and provide strategies to pass and become a certified flight instructor.
What is a CFI (Certified Flight Instructor)?
A Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) guides students through all the essential technical subject knowledge areas with ground and flight lesson plans. Flight Instructors also use scenario based training to make training impactful and meaningful. Furthermore, they provide continuous guidance to their students until they become pilots by keeping them safe and building their confidence. Getting a CFI rating is one of the important parts of advanced flight training, it is usually one of the last ratings acquired before heading off to the airlines.
Passing the CFI checkride can be more challenging for many pilots than others. This is because CFI applicants lack the skills of an educator and struggle to teach key concepts effectively. Practical testing experiences are all dependent upon your specific Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE).
The FAA allows DPEs to create a plan of action based upon the testing requirements found inside the Flight Instructor ACS. (Effective May 31st 2024).
Preparation Using a Training system such as CFI Bootcamp
Many students are overwhelmed by the quantity of material covered during the CFI practical test. The truth of the matter is that CFI is NOT a self study rating. FAR 61.185 states that a student must receive ground instruction on the FOI and all aeronautical knowledge for recreational, private and commercial pilots.
There is no provision to use a home study course as there is with most ratings. Most think that finding a 2 year instructor to give you ink in your log book is sufficient but it is not!
Hence, focusing your studies on a structured curriculum such as ours will help focus your efforts on the things that matter. 100% Online CFI Course Preview - FREE. After you can attend a ground school where you’ll learn the intricacies of what it actually takes in becoming an instructor.
Fundamentals of Instruction (FOI)
The Achilles heel of CFI training is the Fundamentals of Instruction (FOIs). It contains the primary “closed book” part of your practical test. The truth is that pilots are not educators first, which means they lack teaching skills hence the most unfavorable element of CFI training.
The time of the FOI portion depends upon your examiner; it could last 30 minutes or many hours. Some examiners may test based upon Q&A whereas others may test using scenarios.
You can begin by using an online course which covers the tasks inside the FOI. Our FOI online course is always an option.
Secondly, you can purchase a sound set of lesson plans such as our FOI lesson plans to use as a guide through the content. By doing so you’ll be able to hyper focus your efforts to ensure that not only are you covering everything, but are able to verbally convey the information fluidly and effectively. We always recommend speaking your lessons out loud as this helps with finding the weaknesses within the content you may have.
The Area of Operation I: Fundamentals of Instruction includes:
Task A. Effects of Human Behavior and Communication on the Learning Process
Task B. Learning Process
Task C. Course Development, Lesson Plans, and Classroom Training Techniques
Task D. Student Evaluation, Assessment, and Testing
Task E. Elements of Effective Teaching in a Professional Environment
Task F. Elements of Effective Teaching that Include Risk Management and Accident Prevention
How to Use Materials For Your CFI Checkride Studies?
A question we get a lot here at CFI Bootcamp is “There is an overwhelming amount of information to study, where do I start?” By using a structured curriculum such as ours, you’ll find that the CFI Self Study Guide that has been built to be used along with our self paced 100% Online CFI Course will help solve that problem for you.
You may quickly start to solidify the vast amount of information you need to understand from the Flight Instructor ACS. After using the Self Study Guide with the Online course, students will complete the CFI Workbook to reinforce the information learned. We do this to build your confidence and fill in any knowledge gaps you may have inside any of the technical subject areas.
One-on-One Additional Ground and Mock Checkrides.
At CFI bootcamp, we recommend an extra 10-12 hours of one-on-one training to help you improve your skills. We do this by re-visiting any complex technical subject areas, and testing you through mock oral examinations. Without this, we find that a student simply isn't prepared enough to maintain consistent results.
Final Words
To conclude, while you’re studying to become a CFI, you must keep practicing teaching and explaining concepts. The truth to the matter is that the CFI rating is NOT a self study rating. Finding a reputable school or accelerated training program such as our Accelerated CFI Course, can dramatically influence your outcome.
Begin with finding a friend or group with whom you can practice teaching and receiving critiques and feedback from. When you are prepared, participate in a program. This program will provide you with the training and hands-on experience you need to improve your studying.
As always you can find out more about our training system by leaving your Email below and/or contacting us at: