mistarose

I will be beginning my Part 141 CFI training in about three weeks. I got my instrument rating at the end of last summer, and will be getting my commercial license in 1-2 weeks now.

What can I do to speed up and make the ground and flying as smooth, cheap, and as effective as possible? Any suggestions would be greately appreciated.

Laxrox43

Mistarose,

My suggestions are plain and simple:

1.) FIRST AND FOREMOST!!! Have a ball with this one. You will learn A LOT durring this process. Not only will you learn more about the nit and the grit of the basics of your roots, but you will learn more about yourself. Life lessons that will carry you through your career.

2.) Study before and after lessons - the more you see the material, the easier it is to articulate.

3.) Practice aloud at home. I know that sounds kind of dorky, but that is one of the main things you have to get used to.

4.) Make your lesson plans in advance. Nothing sucks more than to just 'wing it.' You will be amazed as to how difficult it is, to teach someone.

5.) ALWAYS have in the back of your mind "what was this like for me at 0 hrs, 10 hrs, 15 hrs...and so on. That really kicked my but, because I am anal and articulate...but you just have to remember, 'what was it like for me at -- hours?' Try not to use big words, or fancy accronyms - make everything as simple as possible - like you are talking to a 5 yr old...

6.) Everything comes back to your preparation - your instructor will be able to tell if you did your HW. Now, he/she will understand where you are coming from if you stumble through, because believe me...everyone does, so DON'T GET DISCOURAGED!!! This is something that everybody goes through. Your CFI is probably the hardest Instructor Certification to get. - Just because you aren't "in the know" for some of the stuff. (ie. first checkride with an FAA inspector - which isn't as bad as everyone may tell you...so don't make prejudices until you experience it for yourself - go into your flight test with a WIDE OPEN mind)

Now as for the money issue, I am sure that you can figure it out. The more prepared you are, the less money it will take in the long run. I did my CFI Part 61 so what I did was purchase a Block Time of 10 hrs in a 172RG, and 20 hrs with my instructor. It took me about a month and 1/2 to get the two writtens done, my lesson plans done, the flight and ground training done. About 10 hours of my 'dual' was on the ground, just so I could teach all of my lesson plans. A lot of my airport buddies gave me crap for going through each and every one, but it made my checkride that much more easier. I was ready for anything he wanted me to teach---I ended up teaching 8's on Pylons...my favorite...NOT!

I am sorry for going on and on. Just wanted to pass on some secrets to success. If you have anything further to ask, don't hesitate. I am sure others will chime in and help ease some anxiety. Good luck with your COMM checkride, and CFI as well.

D

Punkpilot48

You should go out and get the pilo0ts handbook for aeronautical handbook. If you dont have it already that is. Then go ahead and read it about three times. Then when you think youve gott that down get on google and start doing even more researching. Gettin your CFI is fun you really feel like you know something by the time you take your checkride. The problem is that about two weeks or so after you pas your brain is going to do a memory dump of half the cool things you thought you had just mastered. Well maybe thats the partyin after you get you CFI.

Punkpilot48

I used this site a lot. But pretty much most of my tudying was straight out of the Pilot Handbook.

http://www.av8n.com/how/

Alex

I would definitly read the Aviation Instructor's Handbook, it'll give you a really good head start as far as gettin all the basic FOI stuff down, and it's actually a really good book. I usually read through it once a year to keep myself fresh with the FOI knowledge. -Alex

Pilotpip

My advice, think about all the little things that you haven't thought about since your first time in the aircraft. Dumb it down and list ever step in doing something. You'd be amazed at how automatic something like turns about a point will be for you do do, but think about the fact that the student sitting next to you hasn't done it, and has no idea of what or why you're doing it. What are you looking at? When are you looking at it? What are you doing to the controls? Why are you doing it? You get the idea.

mistarose

What books should I buy in prep for CFI and for reference durring? I have basically all the basic books, but what books made especially for CFI's?

Also whats the deal with making your CFI notebook, people have told me to just buy/borrow other CFI notebooks and take and edit at will to form your own. Any suggestions or tips?

Thanks

Laxrox43

Mistarose,

Think about getting the "Flight Instructor's Handbook." That will go through ALL of the Fundimentals of Instruction (FOI). The GLEIM FOI and FIA (Flight Instructor Airplane) test prep books. Virtually EVERY book that you have used for your PPL and Commercial Cert. you will use for research and making your lesson plan binder.

Now as far as your lesson plan binder goes, that is up to you. I borrowed a lesson plan from my instructor just to see how one would work/flow. Then I made up my own. You could do the obvious - borrow your buddies folder, and change a few words. BUT think in the end - will you really be proud of something that you copied and edited, or would you be proud of one that you started from scratch? Not only will completing your own lesson plan folder make you feel good, but it will also force you to delve into the material. You will be refreshing your memory from your PP days, and reviewing your more-recent commercial maneuvers/procedures. It basically makes it a little bit easier on you in the long run. Anyway, good luck with your checkride (Comm) and good luck with your CFI. Just remember, nothing is more rewarding then passing on your passion for aviation and watching the perverbial 'lightbulb' go on in their head. It always brings a smile to my face...

My 2 cents...
D

mistarose

Well I passed my Commercial Checkride, everything went great! Now I am VERY anxious to start CFI while all this information is still fresh in my memory. I began by reading the Jeppessen CFI book, it talks all about learning and stuff, I understand people learn different ways, and that you need to adapt to teach each student the best... I don't know, I guess I just want to start teaching.

Any ideas for ways to organize the CFI notebook? Basically I just have no idea where to start, and the way I operate, is I just try to learn as much as possible before my instructor actually starts teaching me so I can save money and progress faster.

thanks

Pilotpip

Mine is divided like this:

Ground lessons (regs, wx, aeromedical, etc)

Flight lessons (straight and level, up to comm maneuvers in that order)
Nifty handouts -have some good ones like CS prop diagrams and whatnot for students

Advisory Circulars - I have a current copy of 61-25E(endorsements) and 60-25F(knowledge test codes). You'll use these two enough to justify printing all 90 pages worth. If not, save them in PDF to your computer because the FAA site sucks.

Aircraft "cheat sheets"- This is handy for quizzing, especially when you fly differnent types. I have a few of these made. About two pages of quick and dirty explanations of major systems, dimensions, weights, airspeeds, and important info about aircraft.

If you buy the ASA copy of the FAR/AIM, look at the front for reccomended studying for the CFI. Get some post-it page tabs (the color coded ones you can write on) and mark every section. you'll end up with 8 rows of tabs side by side, and you might get laughed at. But you'll know where to find everything. After doing this to the 2005 edition, I found no need for the 2006book because I can find nearly anything I'm asked about pretty fast.

I'd also read a few pages of the FAR every night. You'll accomplish two things: 1, you'll learn the regs. 2, you'll cure any issues with insomnia.

I'm still a new CFI. I sat there and rolled my eyes while doing all of this. It was really time consuming. Now, I'm happy I did. The binder isn't for your students, it's for you. I've consulted it a ton, but find it diminishing in frequency.