jetlaggy

I use American Flyers..one fee for lifetime renewals..seems easy enough for me.

rickair7777

Yes, definitely for renewals. Easy and mostly free (you'll probably want to pay them the modest fee to process the paperwork).

RatchetA10

I think this is what I'd heard of. Wonderful, thanks guys.

Edit: a friend finally got back to me and mentioned ACE CFI. Not a mil comp test prep, but a renewal service similar to American Flyers i think...

Peabody17

I did Sheppard for the CFI Mil Comp and it was very effective.

thurberm

Congratulations on the job offer.

I used Sheppard for the Mil-to-CFI in 2010 when I was retiring. They were fantastic then, and I've spoken to others who've used it recently and still sounds just as good. Mil-to-CFI is one of the best deals going for military aviators.

They used to have access--back when that was somehow allowed--to the FAA question bank. No longer allowed, but they keep their question bank up-to-date by conducting exit interviews with their customers after they take the test.

I read through the entire question bank once a day for a week, then once on the morning before I took the test. Missed one of 100 questions. Their dope was spot-on. Feedback from friends indicates it still is.

Once you have it, I would definitely recommend the online renewal option with your provider of choice. Sitting through an online CBT with easy tests sprinkled throughout every two years is easier then the other renewal options, even if they apply to you.

I use American Flyers "FIRC for Life" as it was the best option price-wise at the time. Pay once, good forever. For about $27 bucks, they'll do all the FAA paperwork for you as well every two years, saving you the pain of a trip to the FSDO to do it yourself. That's a lot less than the round-trip cost of gas to get to my FSDO. I log in, go through the program, pay the $$, and my temp CFI certificate comes immediately, the card as soon as the FAA gets around to it. Couldn't be easier.

The course and test content, as well as the timers (how long you have to dwell on each slide before continuing) is completely dictated by the FAA. The content and presentation are essentially the same no matter what provider you pick, so I recommend picking the most cost effective one for you. No matter which one you pick, it's totally worth it to never have to deal with getting your CFI the civilian way. Even if you don't intend to instruct on the side, it's always there if you decide you wanna put it to use later.

Last bit of advice, Google "Everything Explained for the Professional Pilot." It's the Rosetta Stone for military guys moving to the civilian flying world. Hard copy or iPad app (cheaper and searchable, well worth it) will be invaluable for helping you to sort out flying in the civilian word. Has been for me.

Congrats again!