My CFI Book

How to Edit Content

Authoring and editing the book’s content is similar to using a word-processing application like Microsoft Word. Editing is available on any device used to access the Web.

Book Content Versus Lesson Plans

Note: You can see which book pages are used by a lesson plan (and vice-versa) by opening the “View Options” menu when viewing a book page or lesson plan. A list of related pages/lessons can then be shown.

The content is divided into two areas: the book (My CFI Book) and lesson plans. Although the category structure is similar, each has a unique purpose. It is helpful to know how these areas are designed to make the editing process easier.

My CFI Book holds the majority of the content, therefore the book is where the most editing will take place. Although book content can be seen when viewing a lesson plan, it is simply a copy of what is contained in the book.

Lesson plans are helpful for teaching the content in the book. They display content from the book based on a series of user selections during the editing process. In this way, two or more lesson plans can display a single section of the book without having to duplicate it (write once, use everywhere).

Learn more about lesson plan editing on the How to Customize Lesson Plans page.

The Dashboard

The dashboard is a dedicated area of the site for managing content and staying up to date on the latest changes. You can find the dashboard link from the main menu.

For quicker access to the dashboard, edit your profile within the dashboard and choose “Show Toolbar when viewing the site.” A black toolbar with frequently accessed links will appear when viewing the content outside of the dashboard.

Adding and Editing Pages

  • To edit the book, click the “Customize” link from the page used to view the CFI Book contents.
  • New lessons are added from the dashboard. Click “Add New” under the “Lesson Plans” menu.

Drafts and Trashed Pages

Book pages have multiple status types that can be changed from the dashboard. Drafts are pages that you are working on. They do not appear when viewing the book. You can edit a draft and choose to Publish it when ready to go live. Trashed pages are kept temporarily so that you may restore them. After restoring a trashed page, the status is changed to draft.

Blocks

Blocks are the foundation for building book pages and lesson plans. They allow for content and media to be formatted separately and arranged into many different layouts, such as columns.

Each section of content is a separate block (e.g., paragraphs, images, media). You’ll see the outline of the block once it is selected (using the selection tool). The block can then be moved up/down or removed.

Shortcut: Toggle between edit and select modes by pressing escape and enter on your keyboard.

Adding and Removing Blocks

To add a new block, click the “+” button, then select the type of block from the menu. When you work within the text editor, pressing the return will create a new paragraph block. You can then select another block type if desired.

To remove a block, select it by clicking on it once. Then press backspace or delete.

Formatting Blocks with the Settings Panel

Each block has settings that can be viewed and modified from the settings panel. Click the gear icon to open or close the display.

Multimedia

Audio and video can be easily added to My CFI Book and lesson plans. The media will be playable when viewing My CFI Book on the Web or a slideshow. You can upload files, link to files already on the Web, or play YouTube videos.

You can add a YouTube video using the dedicated YouTube block. The Video URL can be edited by clicking on the pencil (edit) icon in the toolbar. The video can be removed by clicking on the video frame and then pressing delete or backspace on your keyboard.

Sample Video: Stall Recovery in Unusual Attitudes

Uploading Images

A media organizer is available to help you upload and organize new images for your book. After an image is uploaded once, it can be used multiple times and on any of your pages.

Note: Images from other websites should not be inserted. There is no guarantee that the external image will be available over time. In addition, your web browser may display security notices. Instead, download the image to your computer and then use the media upload feature on this website.

External References

References can be made to various external publications. These references should be placed immediately after level-one headings. Links are automatically generated for each reference if written to the standards provided on the contributor guidelines page.

References to FAA Handbooks

References to FAA handbooks can be used but are not a part of the default content. All handbooks begin with “FAA-H-8083-“. The revision identifier (the letter) should not be included.

Any of the following examples can be used:

  • FAA-H-8083-3
  • FAA-H-8083-3 p95
  • FAA-H-8083-3 p95 (Description)

The page number (e.g., “p95”) is the PDF page number. The pdf page number will be used when generating a link. A textual description, such as a chapter or heading title, can be provided in parentheses.

Available handbooks:

  • FAA-H-8083-1 (Weight and Balance Handbook)
  • FAA-H-8083-2 (Risk Management Handbook)
  • FAA-H-8083-3 (Airplane Flying Handbook)
  • FAA-H-8083-6 (Advanced Avionics Handbook)
  • FAA-H-8083-9 (Aviation Instructor’s Handbook)
  • FAA-H-8083-15 (Instrument Flying Handbook)
  • FAA-H-8083-16 (Instrument Procedures Handbook)
  • FAA-H-8083-19 (Plane Sense)
  • FAA-H-8083-25 (Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge)
  • FAA-H-8083-27 (Student Pilot Guide)

General Tips for Consistency

Note: You are not required to follow any particular writing style when editing your binder for personal use. Please review the writing guidelines if you choose to contribute content for other members.

  • Be consistent with styles (fonts, text sizes, and colors).
  • Organize the content under a hierarchy of headings.
  • When describing the position of a cockpit switch or control, use capitalization (e.g., OFF, UP, or AUTO).
  • Definitions should be bold. Important words should be underlined. Words in italics will stand out.
  • Do not duplicate content. Instead, make a note to reference another page (e.g., See Also: Aviation Rules of Thumb).

Advanced Editing

Page Break for PDFs

Page breaks can be added to PDF files. A new page will always begin where the page break is positioned. The page break will appear as a horizontal line (divider) when viewed on the Web.

Content Structuring

There’s no coding knowledge required to use the online editor, but a little background knowledge will help take full advantage of authoring and publishing capabilities.

The content of My CFI Book is displayed in HTML format, or Hypertext Markup Language. HTML is the language used to create and display web pages in a browser.

Colors, fonts, and other styling details are controlled through Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). CSS is applied globally (throughout the site), but changes can be made to overwrite the default styles for sections of text.