Lesson Plan: You will need to prepare a lesson plan on a maneuver to be taught both on the ground and in flight. Your lesson plan will be assigned when you schedule your test. This changes each test.

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Examiner Weight: 165 Pounds

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Baggage Weight: 10 pounds, plus whatever you normally keep in the airplane.

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Test Fee: Please refer to the Rates page for current test fee information.

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Scheduling and Weather Policy: Please refer to the Scheduling page for details.

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Required Endorsements:

Please refer to the current edition of advisory circular 61-65.  At the time of writing, 61-65H is current.  You will need the following endorsements in order to take your CFI practical test.  Please have your instructor review your logbook to ensure that these endorsements are complete and current.  Missing endorsements may prevent your test from being completed on schedule.  Other endorsements may apply, but at the minimum we will need the following:

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-A.1 Prerequisites for Practical Test (61.39)

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-A.2 Review of deficiencies on Knowledge Test (61.39)

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-A.41 Fundamentals of instructing knowledge test (61.183d) (NOTE: If you are exempt from this test, you'll need to bring whatever documentation that reflects that.)

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-A.42 Flight Instructor aeronautical knowledge test (61.183g)

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-A.45 Spin Training (61.183 i1)

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-A.65 Completion of a flight review (61.56) (Yes, you need a current flight review in order to take this test.  If you have a previous checkride you're using to meet 61.56, bring that logbook with you so I can verify it, please.)

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-A.73 Retesting after failure of a practical or knowledge test (61.49) (NOTE: Only required for a retest)

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Required Documents:

Please ensure that you have ALL of the following documents, in addition to the required endorsements listed above.  If you're missing documents or paperwork, I won't be able to conduct your test and we'll need to reschedule for another day.  That's not fun for anyone.

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-Completed application in IACRA

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-Please have your IACRA login credentials readily accessible.

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-Paper copy of the 8710-1 printed from IACRA after CFI signature.  (Please use the "View/Print PDF" button, not the "Print" button)

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-Knowledge test results

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-Pilot logbook with all pages totaled

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-Record of ground instruction received (This is missing all the time.  I can't do the test without it.  You're paying your CFI to give you ground training, make them log it for you!)

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-Government issued photo Identification.  Passport, US driver's license, Military ID, etc.  Foreign Driver Licenses are not acceptable.

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-Valid, unexpired medical certificate (Third Class or higher) OR Basicmed

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-Pilot certificate

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-All aircraft documentation (ARROW, as applicable)

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-All aircraft maintenance records (AV1ATES, as applicable. Photocopies are fine, I don't need the orginal logbooks.  Please confirm any pertinent AD compliance!)

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-Lesson plan for assigned maneuver

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Test Advice:

-Go through the maintenance records well in advance of the test date. Verify that all the inspections are up to date, ESPECIALLY the airworthiness directives. Remember, 91.7 says that it is your responsibility as PIC to make sure the airplane is airworthy. While it is the owner's responsibility to keep it airworthy under 91.405, it is your job to make sure the owner is doing their job. Please review 91.417 carefully.  AD Compliance is a consistent issue. If they are not documented correctly, I can not and will not fly your airplane, which means your test is cancelled.  Blanket statements such as "All AD's are current" are not acceptable.  The FAA is very clear about the requirements. For further detail, you can read the Easter-Precision Letter.  Remember that recurring AD's need to have their next due date listed too.  This has been enough of an issue recently that I have adopted a no-show policy, and I will probably charge you a cancellation fee if your test can't be conducted as a result of information that, in reality, is part of the test.

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-Please dress comfortably.  There's no need to "dress to impress."  Shorts are perfectly fine.

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-Bring some snacks, or better yet, lunch.  This test is a long one.  We'll take some breaks during the test and you'll feel better with some food.  Trust me on this one.

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-Read the manual.  Read the handbook.  Go find the source.  "My instructor said" is almost always the wrong answer on a CFI test.  Don't tell your student what the answer is, show them where to find it.

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-Take your time.  A lot of the mistakes I see during tests are simply the result of people rushing into things without thinking about what they're doing.  If you take an extra 10 minutes to finish the test, that's fine.  Watch the details.

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General advice: Think like an instructor, and think like an examiner.  You're supposed to be teaching this stuff.  How would you present this material to someone who has never seen it before?  If you were sitting in my seat, what information would you want to see in order to be sure that the applicant knows their stuff?  Take the time to actually read the ACS and think about it from the CFI perspective.

 

Fundamentals of Instruction:  Lots of people run into problems here.  I think what happens is that people are just barely comfortable with the material themselves and they forget that they're supposed to have instructional proficiency of all these items.  In other words, you're supposed to be fully comfortable teaching someone else all about the FOI.  What I would suggest doing is getting familiar and comfortable with the information directly out of the ACS, and using that as a framework to build your discussion around.  That's essentially what I'm looking at when I listen to you talk about the material.  For example, if we look at AO I, Task E (which is a required task, hint hint), what I would hope a CFI applicant would do is be comfortable listing off the Instructor Responsibilities quickly, maybe using a whiteboard or scratch paper, and then expand upon each item.  For example, that might look something like 

"What are the responsibilities of an Aviation Instructor?"

"Well, the Aviation Instructor’s Handbook tells us that the responsibilities of an aviation instructor are:

1. Helping Students Learn

2.Etc

3.Etc

4.Just like the ACS says

Now, what that means, is that we are responsible for helping students learn by..." and then we can have a discussion about those items.

 

Technical Subject areas: Many people struggle with II.K, logbook endorsements.  Basically, you should be able to walk me through the training and paperwork process for a Sport, Private, Commercial, etc. As a reminder, under the ACS you are now expected to be proficient in the privileges,limitaions, training, and qualification requirements for every certificate that you will be authorized to teach.  That includes the Sport and Recreational pilot certificates, along with flight instructor certificates.  Remember that as a CFI, you're also working in sales. You'll need to be able to communicate effectively with students about the requirements and benefits of different ratings. I am very scenario-based throughout this portion of the test. None of the scenarios are intended to be unnecesarily difficult, but they will reflect real situations that you'll encounter working with students. 

 

Common problem areas in the technical subject areas is stuff like systems and airspace.  People don't go into enough detail.  For example, if they're talking about airspace, they can tell me about A/B/C/E/G airspace okay, but they can't really work through special use airspace.  Same thing with systems.  Most people have a general, high-level overview of how stuff works, but they don't really understand the details, which means they have a real hard time answering those "okay, but why?" kind of questions. Again, remember that you are now the expert that students call when they don't understand how something works.

 

Lesson Plan: For your test, you’ll be assigned a maneuver to prepare a lesson plan.  We need to be able to teach it effectively and hit all the required items from the PTS.  Remember that sometimes we need to discuss foundational knowledge or skills in order to have a conversation about the lesson at hand.  For example, say we're talking about Slips To A Landing.  Does that mean we need to talk about landing skills as well?  I'll leave that up to you and how you want to present the material.  Break it down into simple terms and remember to use those FOI skills to build an effective presentation.  A student who has never even heard of this thing before should be able to understand it when you’re finished.  Reference the PTS and ACS and make sure we’ve covered all required elements of the task.

 

Flight Portion: Definitely be comfortable teaching each maneuver.  If you need an additional resource for the maneuvers and how to teach them, the University of North Dakota has a fantastic video series on YouTube that does a great job of breaking things down into manageable pieces to help ensure you understand what's going on.  They're easy to find, just go to YouTube and search for "UND Chandelles" or whatever maneuver you want.  Think about foundational skills here as well.  If you're going to do a Chandelle, what basic skills are involved?

 

Stalls: Be comfortable taking the airplane all the way to the break in each stall, including the cross-controlled stall.  Remember, we're teaching someone else what the airplane looks and feels like.  I see a lot of CFIs that are honestly afraid of full stalls.  They shouldn't be.  Here's a good exercise for you: Think about a cross-controlled stall.  If we spin, which way will it go?  Now, go try one in the airplane, and let it get deep into the stall.  What the airplane actually does may surprise you (In a good way).  Now that you've seen it, why did that happen?  Explore it.  Go slow.  I don't want you to rush through the stalls, I want you to break it down and teach it to me.  Many flight instructors seem to be afraid of stalls.  That doesn't exactly inspire confidence in your student.

 

Engine Failure: People are terrible at engine failures.  That's our fault as flight instructors.  We're not teaching this task effectively.  If you have a student who has never seen an engine failure before, what would you want to show them in order for them to understand a successful method for doing it themselves?  I'm going to ask you to teach/demonstrate a simulated engine failure.  You can teach it any way you want, but be advised I’m going to have you do it over a runway and you will be expected to put the wheels on the ground in a controllable manner.  Your student should be capable of replicating what you just demonstrated to them.  Luck should not be part of the discussion.

Landings: We'll do a few of the private and commercial landings such as Shorts, Softs, Power Off 180s.  We'll have you demonstrate a couple, and I'll be playing student and making some mistakes on at least one landing.  Same thing with the Short/Soft takeoffs.  The landings don’t need to be perfect, but they do need to be technically correct.  Pay attention to the details.  The ACS is very clear: We should be on center line, longitudinally aligned with the center line, with the correct crosswind corrections applied, and touching down at the correct pitch attitude.  We should be touching down on the mains first, not flat or on the nose wheel.  As a reminder, every landing except for the soft field landing requires you to touchdown on a pre-selected point. For the normal landing, that's at or within 200 feet beyond, short field landing is at or within 100 feet byeond, power off 180 is at or within 200 feet beyond, and the slip to a landing is at or within 400 feet beyond.  There is no allowance for touching down short of the touchdown point of any landing.  That's not my rule, that's straight out of the ACS.

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-Slips and Skids: I've had a lot of issues recently with people who can't tell the difference.  That's a problem. We need to be able to identify each, use the appropriate one, and explain the aerodynamics involved.  I've had a number of people who tell me they're going to use a slip, but then show me a skid instead, and don't see that as a problem.  That's an automatic unsatisfactory test.  Deliberate skids thinking we're doing a slip are not acceptable. Watch for your student doing a skid.  This is how spins happen.  You should be able to explain the aerodynamics involved, what the difference is, how to identify the slip vs. the skid, and why we care.

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Questions?

Text me and ask!  I'm here to help.  You can try calling me too, but I do spend a lot of time in airplanes and I'm not always available to answer.  A text message is the most reliable and preferred way to reach me.  You can also take a look at some of the frequently asked questions page.