Originally Posted by Otto123

These are all great points and advice, thank you. I have been told a number of times that I should wait for any advanced instructor ticket so that the discounts might apply to the training by the FBO I hire in with. As I say that, it has always been on the back of my mind about the competitive nature of the industry now with all the furlow's and low hiring rates. I ask those of you that are already in the industry,...do you see those low time pilot's (new hire's) that have been flying the commuters, etc. I don't think too many of them are going back to instructing...some of them feel entitled to the regional job and are too good for instructing, and many of them didn't even have their CFI's in the first place. filtering back into the teaching ranks due to the economy? I am wondering too if there are even higher time commercial pilots who don't have the job security...are they either renewing their instructing tickets or getting them just to stay flying?

With regards to the onus being on me in becoming the best CFI that I can be, I understand that the work is mine. I'm sorry, I wasn't getting on you, I just want you to know that an accellerated program puts the stress on the CFI, not the candidate. To do it right (and cheap) you'll have to put the stress on yourself...which it looks like you are doing.K A question that I have is do any of you have a recommendation of a syllabus that I could use as a template to formulate my own lesson plan? Keep in mind that there is a huge difference between a lesson plan and a syllabus. Most places that you instruct at will have some sort of syllabus to keep you on track. The ones that don't expect you to evaluate each student and tailor the "syllabus" to them. And if I may ask, what does the lesson plan(s) typically include? You will find this spelled out very clearly in the FOI. PM me if you would like a sample of the ones I made. My style is not the end all be all, but it may be a good start for you finding what will work for you. Is it acceptable to break down each ticket and create a separate plan for each? YES! However, remember, you really need to create lesson plans for topics, not syllabi for each ticket. I am not really sure I am interested in doing an accelerated program (no offense Krafty1) simply because I think it would be difficult for me to understand everything that I would need to teach someone with little or no experience. With that said, 250 and Choxy, I ask the both of you, what should I expect out of a CFI in reviewing my lesson plans along with the flying portion? This is kinda how you have to think about it. If you came to me and told me you were prepared for the test, I would say great, now teach me XXXXX, CCCCC, and DDDDD...and you need to have lesson plans to teach me these things. (not that if I were your CFI, i would not help you until the end, I would be there to guide you all the way.) If i remember correctly, most, but not all of these things are listed in the PTS. The flying portion is probably the easiest ride you will take in terms of actually flying the plane. This is because if you screw up, you use it as a learning experience and EXPLAIN what you did wrong (now if you can't perform any maneuver, thats different). I actually announced that I was going to mess up on purpose to show what happens when a typical error happens in a maneuver. However, the examiner is evaluating your ability to teach! So you better be not only talking, but saying the right things! I tend to look at it as they are now working for me instead of the other way around when they were teaching me.

I apologize for the response being so long, but things are confusing where I am with accelerated schools, individual broker instructors, etc. telling me "this" is where I should be to do my CFI ticket. Obviously like everyone else out there, I am not interested in frivously spending money in acquiring any rating, etc. Things are tight and I want to get the most out of it for my money.

Thanks in advance for all your help.