CFI Renewal

AggieMike88

AggieMike88

Touchdown! Greaser!
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The original "I don't know it all" of aviation.
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My first CFI renewal approacheth. Due in June but have been told not to wait to last moment.

Lots of solutions out there for this.

Suggstions? Opinions? Which do you use?
 
I’ve been using American Flyers lifetime renewal. Kind of boring but the price is right.
 
FIRC for me. The very best was the one I did live the first time around, the group setting is so much more interesting). I used Gleim several times, then went to American Flyers' $99 for life. This year, Sporty's made theirs free (along with a whole bunch of other good material for CFIs) so I went with them.

Basically, the online FIRCs are the same. There are some differences in presentation (Sportys added a few "supplementary" videos) but most (all?) of the topics are set by the FAA.

You have to do 16 hours - they are timed. You can complete it within 3 calendar months before expiration to keep your current certificate month. The time requirement is a good reason to start early. You can pile up the 16 hours at once or do it little by little over a few weeks. That's how I do it.

Boring? Well, that depends. If you know a subject well, you'll be tempted to let it run out the hour in a separate window while you post on POA, and take the quiz. Other subjects, though, can give you insight to where the FAA sees problems and offer some good techniques.

(Timing: My month is April. I completed it in January. My plastic arrived yesterday)
 
midlifeflyer said:
Basically, the online FIRCs are the same. There are some differences in presentation (Sportys added a few "supplementary" videos) but most (all?) of the topics are set by the FAA.
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I did the ASF eFIRC for years…They actually had current info on a lot of topics. I wasn’t impressed the last couple of times I used them, though. One year they SNAFUd, and I did Gleim just to get it done…they were basically direct outlines of FAA publications.

Topics are set by the FAA, but there can be a big difference in quality of material.
 
MauleSkinner said:
Topics are set by the FAA, but there can be a big difference in quality of material.
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There can - Sporty videos beat AF's text - but there is just so much one can do with 16 mandatory hours. Before the 16 hours became a timing thing, I did Gleim and finished the whole thing off in an hour or two. Basically I'd scan the material for something interesting and take the quiz.
 
My 1st Choice is a Live FIRC. Where I get to meet other instructors and often FAA inspectors and DPE's.
My 2nd Choice, Check with your local DPE's. Mine is happy to do a renewal and it gives me a chance to fly with him.
I have also renewed using Wings Credits, or 1st time pass rate for check rides.
In 25 years of instructing, I have yet to do an online course.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
 
I think it's personal preference whether you do it online or in person.

Spending way too much time on computers in general and in Zoom calls in particular, I chose an in person FIRC last year. I enjoyed it, even though it was more costly and required travel and a hotel stay. I guess it's hit and miss, depending very much on the FIRC instructor and to some extent also to the other participating CFIs.

Looking at the many forum reports of online FIRC, they all seem to be somewhat dull, but the convenience can't be beat.

No wrong answer here - pick which you think will work best for you.

- Martin
 
brcase said:
Check with your local DPE's. Mine is happy to do a renewal and it gives me a chance to fly with him.
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We had an examiner in the area that I wanted to renew with just to take a checkride from him. Unfortunately a schedule didn’t exist in my world, and we could never make it work.
 
My experience with in-person was somewhat different than others. Attending meant travel, and a 2 night minimum stay at a hotel to add to the cost. Though the lecturers were good, it's a 2-day, 8 hour a day iron butt marathon. I thought the interaction with other CFIs would be great, but, it didn't seem like there was much time for that, except during bathroom breaks and lunch. Seems like the courses were always at the downtown Hilton, or such, and as a poor CFI, staying at the Motel 3 across the tracks, I wasn't hanging out in the hotel bar with other attendees (most were probably locals anyway, and stayed at home, so after the sessions, all were gone). For me, online is just fine, and way more convenient.
Another consideration, does your chosen course provide paperwork and application handling, and is there an extra fee for that? I know some courses provide a certificate of completion, but then you have to personally deliver stuff to your FSDO. For me, that's a 3 hour drive one way, just more expense.
As they say, lots of options, pick the one that works for you.
 
Jim Carpenter said:
My experience with in-person was somewhat different than others. Attending meant travel, and a 2 night minimum stay at a hotel to add to the cost. Though the lecturers were good, it's a 2-day, 8 hour a day iron butt marathon. I thought the interaction with other CFIs would be great, but, it didn't seem like there was much time for thag, except bathroom breaks and lunch. Seems like the courses were always at the downtown Hilton, or such, and as a poor CFI, I was staying at the Motel 3 across the tracks, I wasn't hanging out in the hotel bar with other attendees (most were probably locals anyway, and stayed at home, so after the sessions, all were gone). For me, online is just fine, and way more convenient.
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Back when I was a kid, there was always one the weekend before or after the National Agricultural Aircraft Association convention in Las Vegas…my parents would make a vacation out of it every year. Back then it was 3 days, IIRC.

Of course, he was terrified of letting his CFI lapse and having to take a checkride. ;)
 
Jim Carpenter said:
Another consideration, does your chosen course provide paperwork and application handling, and is there an extra fee for that? I know some courses provide a certificate of completion, but then you have to personally deliver stuff to your FSDO. For me, that's a 3 hour drive one way, just more expense.
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There may be an exception here and there but at this point all the main providers do the paperwork, typically for a small fee for a fee (Ive seen $25-$50). For those who want to do it in person, I don't know if this is universal, but some DPEs (maybe the ones who do CFI checkrides) have been authorized to process the renewal paperwork.
 
I do the AF for life program as well, and pay them the $30 (or whatever) to handle the paperwork. As others said it's boring and certainly won't make me proficient again, but it works and the price is right.
 
My certificate expires in June as well. I just started the AOPA course. It’s as enjoyable as it can be. They will also handle the paperwork upon completion of the course.
 
I do the American Flyers and it's painful, though I keep doing it since you only pay the first time you do it and it's easy enough to pass the tests without actually reading anything.
 
ACE CFI for ten years now. Currently gotta do it every year (141 thing). One time fee for completion cert and $35 to process. No hassles.
 
All of the online FIRCs are basically the same. I’ve been using Ace CFI because they were the cheapest
 
American Flyers for me, too. Was planning to add another CFI rating this year to take care of the renewal but going overseas ruined that plan.
 
American Flyers. Some years I read the info, others I just let the timer run. I do my own paperwork, and these days the FSDO does a Zoom appointment, so I save the $30 processing fee for dinner at McDonald's.
 
I recently got my CFI so I have not done a renewal yet. I had planned using on American Flyers lifetime program when the time came. Today I received a package from Sporty’s congratulating me on earning my CFI. They must be mining the FAA Airman records - I did not purchased any training material there for the CFI. The package is promoting their free CFI portal and it mentions the FIRC is “completely free” for portal users. It sounds like it is open to all CFIs. The link is Sportys.com/CFI if you want to give it a try.
 
For the first time I switched from AOPA E-FIRC to Aviation Seminars Online and found it a more enjoyable experience with all paperwork handled by AV.. Aviation Seminars is also the only outfit still offering in person FIRC, except for American Flyers, & then only at their regional AF HQs. AV online is a pre-recorded classroom style course.
 
American flyers, paid one time 25 years ago. The first one is rough to get through, and then after that not much changes in the information. The is you want you find the loophole to knock it out easy.
 
TommyG said:
American flyers, paid one time 25 years ago. The first one is rough to get through, and then after that not much changes in the information.
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They certainly haven't changed the website in that 25 years!
 
I used to do the in-person. Couldn't sit that long these days. Than I did Gleim for awhile, that was very bland. Than AOPA which was media intensive. Than King for awhile. I think this year I'll do ACE.
 
Just finished my Ground Instructor renewal with Sporty’s. The course is free and automated renewal for CFIs is $49. Not too bad but the have the timing off. Some interesting modules take more than an hour if you watch the videos and look up the references. Other irrelevant modules take 20 minutes and you have to keep the waking up the browser to get through the 45 minutes before you can move on.
 
Doing the final quiz. Had this question about AOA devices...

upload_2023-3-31_17-42-15.png

Was it PoA or the old red board where we had a thread making fun of AoA devices?
 
AggieMike88 said:
Doing the final quiz. Had this question about AOA devices...

View attachment 116217

Was it PoA or the old red board where we had a thread making fun of AoA devices?
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I think it was more making fun of the guy from Hawaii who wore the socks on his hands and aggressively pushed selling his aoa devices nonstop in every. single. thread.
 
FIRC completed and submitted.

Went with AF and their $99.00 for life.
 
eman1200 said:
I think it was more making fun of the guy from Hawaii who wore the socks on his hands and aggressively pushed selling his aoa devices nonstop in every. single. thread.
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Completely forgot about the socks. Had a captain at work several months ago who wore the same things and was just as much of a D-B if not more so...didn't make the connection until now.
 
Learned something new here! I've been faithfully paying for the Gleim FIRC for the past 25 years. I wasn't aware of the AF $99 lifetime deal, or the Sporty's free deal. Thanks!
 
I did the in-person American Flyers for the first two renewals and the last one at Meacham was super boring with some chump who was there mostly to play videos. It sucked. That was 36 years ago, so hopefully, their in-person experience has improved since then...

I did AOPA last year and it seemed to take forever to finish it. They took care of the IACRA and my cert showed up after two weeks.

I want to do a different online renewal this year. Sporty's sounds like one way to go...
 
Being in agreement with your assessment of AOPA E FIRC for the first time I left AOPA and went with the Aviation Seminars FIRC and was well pleased with their unique online format. Support and IACRA requirements were well handled. Aviation Seminars is also one of the very few FIRC providers that continues to offer in person FIRC
 
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