Most airline pilots and other professional pilots have “cut their teeth” as flight instructors. There is really no other better option than being a flight instructor to gain all that experience and flight time necessary to advance on to the other professional pilot careers, like airline pilot jobs.
Our CFI initial course is a very detailed, thorough, and hands-on course, and requires a lot of hard work and dedication on the part of the applicant as well as the instructors. The course is about 60-80 hours of ground school, and 10-12 hours of flight training. You need to keep in mind that the CFI training is about being able to teach aviation, both on the ground and in flight. This course is not about your piloting skills. We understand that you already hold at least a commercial pilot certificate, hence you already have mastered the art of flying. Now it is about mastering the art of teaching aviation.
This is the reason why the CFI course is always ground-heavy. The 60+ hours of the ground school includes all the subject areas covered in the Fundamentals of Instruction and the Flight Instructor Aeronautical Knowledge. You will have to spend a lot of time yourself for self-study, and also practice teaching other students while your instructor is supervising. By the time you are ready for your FAA check-ride, you will have gained all the knowledge and confidence necessary to qualify as a flight instructor and teach others how to fly.
The Flight portion of the course includes all the Private, Commercial, and CFI maneuvers, with you teaching from the right seat. The course also includes the required spin awareness, entry, and recovery techniques. At the completion of the course, you will have all the skills and confidence necessary to teach another pilot while sitting in the right seat of an airplane.
A typical training day includes 2 ground training sessions of about 3-4 hours duration with your ground instructor, and one flight schedule of about 1-2 hour duration with your flight instructor, and another 3-4 hour session of self study, video session and lesson plan preparation and research work. By the end of the training you will be ready to hit the bed to get a good night’s sleep to be ready for the next day’s routine.
A typical training day includes 2 ground training sessions of about 3-4 hours duration with your ground instructor, and one flight schedule of about 1-2 hour duration with your flight instructor, and another 3-4 hour session of self study, video session and lesson plan preparation and research work. By the end of the training you will be ready to hit the bed to get a good night’s sleep to be ready for the next day’s routine.