CFI Renewal- Checkride or online
 

My CFI Cert. expires at the end of the month... I am contemplating taking the CFI-I checkride or just renewing online.

If I renew online (Gleim, AF, Jepp), how long should I give between start to finish (including paperwork and FSDO)?

Or should I just buckle down and get the CFI-I done?

Do you have Inst. students lined up or ready to train? If not, I'd apply the cost benefit approach. What's it going to cost you, and what's the benefit? I'm sure the online renewal is going to be cheaper than the II ride.

Get this taken care of this month though, if you let your CFI lapse by default you'll be forced into the expensive option! Once your CFI expires, I think you'll have to do a reinstatement ride before you could add a rating.

I'm not sure but reading the regs literally would seem to imply that would be the case. A new rating might not re-instate the ratings on your old expired certificate. Probably better ask your FSDO to be sure.

I would plan on two weeks to finish an online course (although you could do it in one long day if you really had to), and then add another week before your expiration date to process paperwork.

For what it is worth, I would say to get the CFII. Unless there is no ability to use it at your school. I got my CFII about 6 months after I started full time instructing and I was able to study on my own and get a sign off from another instructor and passed because I had a good idea how to teach at that point. So don't fret about the checkride. It will be better for you...and you can then take up VFR students in IMC legally! It will benefit everyone! If money is an issue, then I guess you have no choice! But it will put another feather in your cap, and if you are instructing to get into the airlines...you are going to want to get that CFII! Not a deal breaker, but why not take this time to improve on your craft! Haha...CRAFT. Sorry I had to do it! Good luck!

The American Flyers FIRC has a time limit before you can take a quiz and move on to the next section. I think it was 90 minutes. There where something like 8 sections and the course was like a min of 15 hours.

I didn't know that and thought I could do it in a day, but I was wrong. All said and done it's not that hard to read the section then just stay logged on whilst you do other stuff then take the quiz. I think I ended up taking 2 days to finish the course and then another day to drive up to the FSDO. Actually processing at the FSDO only took about half an hour. Most courses will even do that for you, but I don't really see it being worth the cost of that service.

You need to know your enemy. From the FSIMS:

5-502 REINSTATEMENT. A holder of an expired flight instructor certificate issued after November 1, 1975 may have all ratings reinstated by accomplishing a flight instructor additional rating practical test.

Good to know... I don't plan on letting it get that far, but that would sure beat re-doing it all if it ever got to that point. I figured go with American Flyer since I'll have to renew again in the future and its a one time purchase... Correct? Then I do not have to stress about getting the checkride done before the end of the month.

AF's FIRC is easy though, and just take a few days or over a week, leave the screen open while you go do other things, and it'll still count the time. Just be sure to actually read through the section at least once. It's 100 minutes of studey per chapter.

Not to mention, LIFETIME fee of $125(I think it's still that) I'm doing my renewal right now, keep plugging at it every once in awhile, I'll get the paperwork ready this week to take to the FSDO, just have Chapter 8 to finish.

Now, in your case, just do the CFI-I. It's the easiest check-ride you'll ever take!

Regarding the CFII ride... I'm not concerned about the flight given I've been flying approaches from the right seat for a while, partial panel and all... but do they go over anything catchy on the ground?

My instructor or I have not used any of the examiners around us for this ride or the instrument before.

This one has me scratching my head, so I'd like to see what you guys think. It is pretty clear from this that a new CFI rating would renew/reinstate any expired ratings. This sounds similar to a flight reviews purpose to me.

However, I have a chief counsel article that specifically says you cannot use a CFI ride as a flight review. The two seem to completely contradict each other. What do you guys/gals think? Thanks.

~Brian