Getting Ready for CFI Program

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iRyan

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Ryan
Well I signed up for the cfi-a program at MN Aviation beginning in July. I started reading the FAA publications and I am feeling overwhelmed. I cant see how i will get through all the info in 2 momths while working. I heard good things about the program, but the amount of material is staggering. Do i need to memorize the AFH, PHAK and the endorsements? I am getting the certificate to be a better pilot and maybe teach just to share my love of flying. Icant believe i got through 4 checkrides and know so little. ugh.
 
You do not need to memorize the endorsements. What you can do is start by going through the PTS for the private, and build a lesson plan for every task in the PTS, using the PHAK and AFH and the PTS itself. I'm attaching a sample.

Then do the same thing for the Commercial and CFI PTS'.

The CFI is SUPPOSED to be a lot of work. Building a lesson plan will help get you thinking like a teacher (which is what the CFI is all about) instead of a pilot.

Also, hit the books on the FOI, and see if you can get that written out of the way first.
 

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  • Private - Steep Turns.pdf
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Thanks Tim, I will do as you say. I am studying for the FOI written using the Gleim book and the FAA publication. I know the questions have changed, so i hope to learn the subject,then use Sheppards. I owe it to my future students and to myself to learnas much as i can and to keep learning. thank you.
 
Completing an initial CFI-A in two months while working full-time is going to be a challenge. As you are discovering, there is a great deal to learn, not just about flying, but also about teaching. I was going to college full-time when I did it, and it took me six months.

The most important thing to remember about the CFI ticket is that it’s all about teaching, not flying. You will be judged more on your ability to impart learning to your student than on any demonstration of your own pilot skills. The Aviation Instructor's Handbook book is rather dry, and (considering that it’s supposed to be prepared by professionals who really know about teaching) not all that easy to learn from. However, the important data are there, and you’d best learn not only to parrot them, but to understand what they mean and apply them when you teach (and if you don’t recognize these “levels of learning” you’re not ready yet). You will have to be able to read the student’s mind to find out whether he’s really learned the material or not, and if not, WHY not. Then you must be able to figure out how to get past whatever barrier to understanding exists in that student’s mind. You’ll find that there are as many successful techniques as there are students, but there may only be one of those many that works for any one particular student. Being able to hit on one that will work quickly, before the student becomes discouraged, is the toughest part of flight instructing.

How to work through this? Get with some successful teachers, not necessarily pilots. I’m talking about someone you know who’s an experienced high school teacher, one that the kids remember long after graduation as the highlight of their experience. Talk about teaching and learning with this person. You might also consider some basic education courses at the local college.

Finally, here are a few points I put together to get your mind right for the initial CFI checkride:

1. You are a teacher, not a pilot. How you teach is far more important than how you fly the plane. It doesn't matter if you slightly screw up a maneuver, as long as you identify the screw-up as it happens, talk about why it happened, and then how to do it right.

2. Don't rush into any answers. When asked questions, show the examiner where the answer is written -- you're showing how to teach a student, not demonstrating your own superior knowledge. That means you should know COLD where to find the answers -- if asked about the red/green/white tower light gun signals, it shouldn't take you more than a few seconds to get to the right page in the AIM. And you should know instantly whether an answer to an FAR question is in Part 61 or Part 91 (HINT: If the rule applies no matter who's flying the plane, it's in 91. If not, it's in 61.)

3. Be relaxed and organized. When asked a to teach an item, take a moment to gather your thoughts and draw out any blackboard diagrams or itemized lists for the lesson. You're not on "Jeopardy" -- there's no one gonna beat you to the buzzer and steal your $200 prize.

4. Inventory your stuff before you go to the meet -- the checklist in the PTS is a good tool. Make sure you have all the source materials to teach as well as answer all the questions in the PTS.

5. Typically, during the oral, the examiner will jump on one topic and continue asking questions until you run out of answers. In the Air Force, we called this game "Stump the Dummy." As the questioner knows more than the questionee about the topic he selected (which is why the questioner selected it), the final outcome (the dummy is stumped) is never in doubt. The critical elements are how far the dummy can get before being stumped, and how he handles the situation -- straight knowledge, clear explanations, use of the book when appropriate or necessary, and no BS or tap-dancing when finally stumped.

6. Expect a long, grueling session. You're being given the authority to release others into the sky without anyone else's oversight. They want to make damn sure you can make good decisions in that respect. For that reason, I think the initial CFI is the most significant ride you'll ever take.

Good luck,
Ron Levy
CFI since 1973
 
Ron Levy said:
Completing an initial CFI-A in two months while working full-time is going to be a challenge. As you are discovering, there is a great deal to learn, not just about flying, but also about teaching. I was going to college full-time when I did it, and it took me six months.
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I did mine in 19 days while working. I really didn't seriously study hard for it until the last week. I took a few days off right towards the end to study harder. The FSDO Inspector also said I was the first person he had ever passed on an initial CFI on the first attempt.

So it can most certainly be done. But it also was most certainly one of the hardest things I've done. Luckily my line of work is constantly pushing what I consider to be the "hardest" thing. So I'm used to crunch time.
 
I did mine in less than two months. I had also done non-flying instruction prior to that, so I didn't have to learn how to teach. Some people can teach naturally, and some might know everything about a subject and not be able to teach it. If you're the latter, it's going to be a pain in the butt.

Ron's points 1-6 are good advice, although the stump the chump didn't happen with me for whatever reason. My oral was less than 90 minutes - which isn't the norm from what I've heard.
 
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Thanks for the info. I know I can do it and I have good study skills, but teaching is something I have never done. I just can't imagine being an instructor as there is so much I don't know. I am excited to learn all I can and to contribute to this forum and the red board after I pass. I have heard good things about MN Av. but I know the real learning will begin after I have my certificate. The thought about teaching someone to land a plane and not to mess up makes me a bit nervous.
 
The biggest key to teaching isn't knowing the stuff, it's conveying it so your student can relate it to something they know. The more well rounded you are, the better chance of you being a decent instructor.
 
I did mine in 12 days at a program similar to the one you'll be doing. Make sure you're solid on Commercial level aeronautical knowlege and get to know the elements of all private and commercial level maneuvers in the AFH. Don't just know how to do them, know the in's and out's of them. For instance, when it comes to steep turns, be able to talk about why it is practiced, the aerodynamic factors affecting the maneuver (for example, know why back pressure is needed to maintain altitude in a turn etc), and common student errors when learning the maneuver. After you're pretty solid on that, start getting to know the FOI stuff. I would save studying endorsements for when you actually get to class (assuming the program you'll be doing includes a comprensive ground school). Best of luck! If you're anything like me, you'll learn alot studying for the CFI
 
Thanks. Here is a dumb question,but what is considered commercial level aero knowledge?
 
You need to know the PHAK very well. Maybe not have it memorized, but (for example) if someone asks where the best glide speed comes from, you should be able to discuss the lift/drag curves (including all drag components) and show how best glide is derived.

And you need to be able to apply that knowledge to the manuevers, and be able to teach the interconnections to the student. Example, explain how in a turn the lift vector changes and there's less vertical component so additional back pressure is needed, but that increases both vertical AND horizontal lift so rate of turn is increased for the same bank angle as you apply the back pressure.
 
iRyan said:
Thanks. Here is a dumb question,but what is considered commercial level aero knowledge?
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Enough to pass a CP written and practical test oral portion (which your sig line suggests you've done). And then for CFI, you have to be able to teach all that to someone who doesn't know it.
 
Thanks Tim. I had to push back the class for a month b/c of dr appointments, so I am a bit relieved to have about 3 months to prepare.

Would you recommend doing the lesson plans now and studying the PHAK at the same time? It's really humbling to go through this and I just started. I still feel 3 months will not be enough.
 
TMetzinger said:
You need to know the PHAK very well. Maybe not have it memorized, but (for example) if someone asks where the best glide speed comes from, you should be able to discuss the lift/drag curves (including all drag components) and show how best glide is derived.

And you need to be able to apply that knowledge to the manuevers, and be able to teach the interconnections to the student. Example, explain how in a turn the lift vector changes and there's less vertical component so additional back pressure is needed, but that increases both vertical AND horizontal lift so rate of turn is increased for the same bank angle as you apply the back pressure.
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I'm a fairly new pilot and I absolutely love the fact that as I continue to fly (a little over 100 hours now) I'm constantly drawing the interconnections between various functions of flying. My instructor did a great job explaining a whole lot of facets of flying (and still does when I see him) however when drinking from a fire hose, it is hard to take all of it in at once. Now that I'm learning a little every time I fly, or just sitting in the airplane playing with the avionics’ since I killed the battery trying to start it (long story, new primer installed) and needed to charge the battery... Things are a whole lot easier to understand and come together nicely. The Ah-Ha! moments are great.

I don't know how to tell a student to study for the CFI, I haven't been there. I can say from a recent initial student perspective, if the teacher can figure out how to reduce the fire hose to a water fountain, while still putting out the fire and correlating how the figurative water got there, what made it get there, why it works to put out the fire and all present all this data in a manner that is consistent with the learning style of the student, that'll make a fantastic CFI.
 
iRyan said:
Would you recommend doing the lesson plans now and studying the PHAK at the same time? It's really humbling to go through this and I just started. I still feel 3 months will not be enough.
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Do the lesson plans in conjuction with your study for the Fundamentals of Instruction test. Trying to do lesson plans before you learn how to do them would be an exercise in futility. What you'll want to do is start with one, and then get with your instructor to critique it, and build from there. Part of the process will be attempting to teach from the lesson plan you built, and learning what works and what doesn't. Don't try to build 50 lesson plans all at once -- you might find you need to rewrite them all the first time someone else looks at them, or you try to teach one.
 
Mattl said:
I can say from a recent initial student perspective, if the teacher can figure out how to reduce the fire hose to a water fountain, while still putting out the fire and correlating how the figurative water got there, what made it get there, why it works to put out the fire and all present all this data in a manner that is consistent with the learning style of the student, that'll make a fantastic CFI.
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That's a whale of a sentence, but it's dead on. If someone can acomplish the above they will be an outstanding teacher in any field.
 
Ron Levy said:
Do the lesson plans in conjuction with your study for the Fundamentals of Instruction test. Trying to do lesson plans before you learn how to do them would be an exercise in futility. What you'll want to do is start with one, and then get with your instructor to critique it, and build from there. Part of the process will be attempting to teach from the lesson plan you built, and learning what works and what doesn't. Don't try to build 50 lesson plans all at once -- you might find you need to rewrite them all the first time someone else looks at them, or you try to teach one.
Click to expand...

Fully agree. The lesson plan is there to remind you, the instructor, of all the things you need to cover when teaching a certain subject. It's not supposed to be the lesson itself.

I cut and paste the PTS things into my lesson plans, just because that's the standard my student will be judged on. Then I pretended to teach the subject the first time, and made notes of the things I'd need to better explain it (diagrams, FAR/AIM, whatever) and any hints on things that I might not know cold. Then I took that plan to my mentor (the CFI teaching me to be a CFI) and only when we were happy with the format and the content did I start doing the same thing for all the other subjects.

This is a lot easier to do for manuevers than it is for other subjects because the PTS and the AFH spell out the manuever itself and the standards and common errors.

But you also need to do plans for knowledge subjects like, for instance, required inspections. In that case the format may differ a little bit, and you'll have a LOT more references to FARs and advisory circulars.

Example - I do a full hour on "maintenance", covering:
Airworthiness - what it is and how you tell.
Type Certificates and Supplemental Type Certificates
Noting defects and returning the airplane to service
Deferrals for things that can be deferred (and what they are)
Required inspections
Service Bulletins and Airworthiness Directives.
 
The best advice I can give you -- this is the best money you'll spend with regards to getting your CFI -- is to buy this video right now:
http://www.kingschools.com/productd...scu=GAWPRSNL&gclid=CMr6j4DrgrACFUHDtgodUX6fUg
It is a mock CFI checkride. The only King video I think that is worht having. It's like 8 hours worth of material.

The *HARDEST* part about getting your CFI is teaching. You simply have no idea how little you know until you stand in front of a white board and attempt to teach it. Record yourself. Watch yourself. Keep trying to make it better.

If you act like John King did in that video you'll pass.
 
Practice makes perfect. For a CFI, we typically don't get to "practice" until we *are* one. 'Teaching' *your* CFI a topic helps, but it's a known false scenario. You and your CFI both know the CFI-playing-a-student already understands the material.

The best way is if you can actually teach a real student while your CFI supervises. Hearing actual questions from a real student (or seeing that very real blank look on their face) kicks *your* learning into high gear. Ground lessons are easy to setup for this. Doing an actual flight this way is up to everyone's comfort level with the CFI-applicant teaching from the right seat while the actual CFI sits in back, or the CFI-applicant in back trying to explain things while the actual CFI sits in the right seat.
Even sitting in back (keeping your mouth shut) while watching your CFI teach someone is very helpful.
 
Thanks for the info again. Jesse, I will buy that video now, thanks.

I had to reschedule my class again, not it's not until Sept. 6. At least I have more time to prepare.

Thanks again.
 
Tell you what. since we have students here, and you've got ALL summer to get ready, why don't you...

Go knock out the FOI material and take the written next month. Read the AFH and the PHAK next month too.
In July, maybe we can set up a teleconference/video conference with you, me, and one of the student pilots on POA, and each week I'll give you a subject to teach, and over the next week you can:
  • Prepare a lesson plan for the subject
  • Submit it to me for review
  • Revise as needed
  • Teach to the student
  • Debrief
And there's no need to limit it to just me, we can get other CFIs in the act if they're willing. Once you've done a couple of these, I think you'll be a lot more comfortable when you start your training.

Don't be scared. It seems like a lot. It IS a lot, but remind yourself that you already know the subject material, it's the teaching of it that's new. And remind yourself of some less-than-impressive CFIs you've met in your life, and remember that THEY could do it - so can you.
 
Wow Tim that sounds great! Thanks. I will do that for sure. That is very kind of you. I am freaking out as there is so much to know. I hate feeling ill prepared for anything.
 
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