Double I (CFII)
 

Hey everybody,

I passed the Initial CFI yesterday and it feels great!! First order of business is take a few weeks and do NOTHING to relax a little bit, but then I'm going to get right into working on the instrument instructor rating. I've heard the ride is fairly simple and straightforward, but I was wondering if everyone could share with me the best ways to prepare for the II checkride.

Thanks,

Ky

Do it in a twin and then you'll have a leg up on the MEI. Get a few key instrument manuals for reference, I assume you already have the Jeppesen manual, supplement that with the Peter Dogan book and the Bill Kershner books. As far as the written goes, you need to use a standard test prep book and/or software such as Gleim and start taking practice exams. It's the same written as used for adding an instrument rating, the exact same one. As for the practical prep, fly lots of approaches and do the airwork just like you were an instrument student but sit in the right seat and practice telling a pretend student how to do everything. Have them play dumb and make few intentional mistakes, also. I recommend using US Air Force basic attitude-instrument method rather than the FAA primary secondary instrument teaching method, the latter is really confusing.

Here's my input...

Go ahead and take the written if you haven't done so already, but spend at least several months being a CFI and teaching actual students before taking your CFII (if possible).

You'll see what I mean after just a few months teaching vs. where you are right now.

And, congratulations! :)

Congratulations on your CFI!

I would recommend you jump right in and finish your remaining CFI certificates as soon as you can. The more your student load picks up, the more difficult it will get to find time (or energy and desire, eventually) to work on your certificates. At my old instructing job, there were a few CFIs hired who only had their CFI. They were always "working on their CFII," but never really got anywhere. They also ran into the problem of proficiency after some time. How well can you fly an approach and follow IFR SOPs when all you've done is VFR maneuvers for the past however many months? I got my CFII 5 weeks after my CFI, and my MEI a month after that. Never had to worry for the remaining 2.5 years I spent instructing.

The CFII is straightforward as an add-on; work on lesson plans and IFR procedures. I relied mainly on the Instrument Flying Handbook and the latest copy of the the FAR/AIM for my preparation.

There is never a "best way", just be an expert on the PTS and understand it forwards and backwards. You know how to teach, so there's usually less emphasis on teaching in the CFII, but you still have to be able to teach, and it's expected you'll be doing this on the flight too. It's easier than a full instrument checkride IMO, but make sure you know all the little things. There's more tendency these days to skip the "basics" due to glass displays that always show your position on a map, a magenta line, a ground track, etc. Understand your equipment, but also understand the basics like timed turns, compass turns, NDB tracking, and how to teach these things. Impress your examiner with your practical knowledge and application, not the TERPS criteria for an arc.

The primary-supporting method is not the "FAA" method, it's one of two methods from the Instrument Flying Handbook, and even though it's worthless for the most normal instrument flying, you have to be able to teach both. Where primary-supporting is useful is for teaching scan, because how do you know what to look at next? Should it be the VSI or the ALT? Which is better and why? It's good to use to teach this idea and helps with interpretation. Control performance helps you figure out what inputs to use and what to expect, primary supporting helps you figure out where to look next or what is the most important to look at for a certain task, besides the AI. Once you lose the heading and attitude, you can't fly control-performance anymore either. The concept is valid, the application is questionable IMO, but you can address that somewhat by "using" it with partial-panel flying.

I think you should get the MEI within 4 months, since it is a VFR checkride also, and you're in "checkride mode"....Then work on the written, and then start flying/prepping for the CFII, as it's a kind of different.... at least that's what I did.

Disregard if local WX demands a CFII, or you're not multi-rated yet....

When I got my CFII, many moons ago, I went to the FAA for the ride, as finances precluded me using a DE. Anyway, this particular inspector had a reputation for being a d**k. On the oral, after about two hours, he asked me how the attitude indicator re-erected itself after a tumble. For the life of me I could not effectively explain to him how it worked. That was the one and only ride I ever busted. After about two weeks, and the requisite re-training, I went back to this same guy. That was the only question he asked me the second time around. I answered, almost verbatim, out of the Instrument Flying Handbook. We were in the air after 15 minutes. The rest was a piece of cake. Sometimes, even then, they like to put you in your place. Make sure you know ALL the details! Good luck.