COMM and CFI Training Materials

[J. Taylor Stanley]

I am getting ready for my Commercial and CFI test and checkrides. I plan on doing them pretty close together, and I imagine much of the material will relate. I have done the King schools courses for my private and instrument, and made a 98% on both. So I will probably use those for my writtens. My question relates to the Orals. What materials do you guys recommend. I have seen the ASA Oral Exam Guide mentioned a lot. Are those good? Also, what about lesson plans? I have seen people recommend making them all from scratch, and other saying the pre-built ones are a good starting place to make your own. I would like to get a set that I can use as a template and modify to fit my own aircraft and style.

I understand that being a CFI is a huge responsibility, and I am committed to giving the best possible instruction I can. To me, being over prepared for these test is the only way to go. I know anything can happen, but I would like to give myself the best possible chance of knocking these test out on the first try!

Do you guys think it is accurate to say that if I go into the commercial oral being ready for the CFI oral that I would be well prepared for it?

 

[dmspilot]

If you are prepared for a CFI oral then yes, by default you should be prepared for the commercial oral, since a CFI has to be able to teach what a commercial pilot has to know.

Strongly recommended for the CFI checkride is that you use the FAA source materials. Know the Private, Commercial, and CFI ACS/PTS, the Airplane Flying Handbook, and the PHAK inside and out, and read the Aviation Instructor's Handbook, and all of the other numerous references listed in the CFI PTS. The ASA Oral Exam Guide, if used, should be the last step in your study process.

If you're going to make your own lesson plans, I don't think buying prebuilt ones would save any work. Cross-reference the relevant task from the pilot and instructor ACS/PTS and the discussion of the maneuver in the Airplane Flying Handbook. I will take this opportunity to note that I was asked to present a lesson on a topic that I didn't have a plan for during my checkride...so it's important to learn how to make one (for the checkride and real life too of course).

 

[J. Taylor Stanley]

Well the price is right on those first 5 references. LOL This is kind of like eating and elephant. I just need to take the first bite....

 

[kath]

For CFI, I shelled out for two Gleim books: A) the CFI written test prep book, and B) the CFI "practical test and maneuvers" book.

"A" was helpful, and there was a lot of overlap with commercial stuff, so I imagine it could probably do double duty in terms of studying for writtens. However, I am always skeptical of books whose *sole* purpose is to teach toward a test, and do not bother with background knowledge. But it was an effective concise-ifying of what you need to know from other resources (AFH,PHAK,FAR/AIM). I got a 92.

"B" was far less helpful; most of it was duplicated in the better-written AFH. I did use it to help prepare a little "maneuver book" of my own, wherein each maneuver is summarized on a kneeboard-sized piece of paper, with a description of the maneuver, basic "talking points", ACS standards, and common errors. (The FAA seems to be big on common errors!) Putting this together was a lot of work, and I made it from scratch, but now I have a set of nifty colorful handouts for students, as well as a resource for myself, so time well spent. However, in retrospect I didn't really need the Gleim book, I could've harvested most of what I needed from AFH.

Gleim also has an FOI book, but I didn't use (need) that one, so can't report...

Ask your Commercial CFI to let you fly some of your lessons from the right seat. Because that takes some getting used to, and if you can fly all the Commercial maneuvers from the right seat, you've pretty much just done much of the flight portion of the CFI ride.

 

[J. Taylor Stanley]

Is the CFI still in PTS? I am looking on their website and I only see PPL, Instrument and Comm in ACS.