CFI Initial

[CaptLabrador]

So I will have my CFI initial coming up soon. Has anyone ever had a problem with an examiner who didnt want the CFI to have his lesson plans out in front of him during the ground teaching portion for reference? Or who didnt want an applicant to pull out his FARs book to clarify anything if he/she wasnt sure of an answer? Just unsure I guess and I like to know what people went through...and yes I know this thread im sure has been done before.

 

[flyingmoose]

No you should be able to use all your reference material to and extent. Unless of course it is something they think you should know.

 

[poadeleted20]

Having your lesson plan available during a lesson so you stay on course and cover all the points is always welcome. Reading your lesson plan verbatim as the lesson itself is not. Likewise, pulling out the FAR/AIM (or anything else in that big stack of reference material you should be taking to that test) to show information in support of your lesson is good, but having to pull out the book and look up the answer to something you really should know off the top of your head (say, the basic 3-152 VFR cloud clearance rule) is not.

So, it's not a black-and-white/yes-no issue -- it's about whether you know the material and can teach it. There are tools you should be using to help you teach it, but those should be tools, not crutches.

 

[CaptLabrador]

Having your lesson plan available during a lesson is always welcome. Reading your lesson plan verbatim as the lesson is not. Likewise, pulling out the FAR/AIM (or anything else in that big stack of reference material you should be taking to that test) to show information in support of your lesson is good, but having to pull out the book and look up the answer to something you really should know off the top of your head (say, the basic 3-152 VFR cloud clearance rule) is not. So, it's not a black-and-white/yes-no issue -- it's about whether you know the material and can teach it.

Yeah, thats about what I expect. Thanks for the affirmation.

 

[TMetzinger]

My Inspector EXPECTED me to have all the references ready, and in fact sent me a checklist of good references ahead of time (I had most of them but there were a couple of oddball ACs related to maintenance - the inspector's pet focus area - that were new and useful to me).

The CFI examination is an evaluation of your skills as a teacher - you'll be expected to know a lot of stuff, know when you don't know something, and know how to deal when your student asks you something you don't know, either by looking it up or failing that to say "OK, now I've got homework, I'll get an answer for you". BSing is NOT an option.

 

[RotorAndWing]

I've given CFI initial examinations. I expect you to come prepared, have your lesson plans and reference material. If the candidate needs to reference say something in the CFR's he's not sure about, no problem. I want to see that you recognize that you may not have the correct answer and more importantly you can find the correct answer then explain to me why it's correct.

It's all about teaching and doing your own homework.