Why Become a Flight Instructor?

Flight instructing is a practical way to grow as a pilot, gain experience, and build a solid foundation for your career.

Here are some benefits of becoming a flight instructor:

Teaching improves your understanding and sharpens your flying abilities.
It’s an effective way to build flight hours while earning income.
Guiding students offers a rewarding way to stay engaged in aviation.
Instructing helps meet the flight hour requirements for advanced roles.

Education is not a preparation for life; education is life itself.
John Dewey

What to Expect from Flight Instructor Training

Flight instructor training prepares pilots to transition from performing aviation skills to teaching them effectively.

Here’s what to expect:

Subjects: Training covers the FOI, logbook endorsements, regulations, and techniques for teaching maneuvers, with an emphasis on instructional methods.
Teaching Focus: The shift moves from pilot proficiency to teaching proficiency, focusing on explaining, demonstrating, and critiquing skills.
Evaluation: You’ll learn to identify errors, correct them effectively, and encourage sound decision-making through risk management and communication.

What Makes Instructor Training Different?

Measures of Success: Pilot training emphasizes mastering maneuvers and meeting performance standards. Instructor training, however, focuses on your ability to teach those skills. Success is no longer about how well you perform but how effectively you can transfer knowledge and guide a learner’s progress.

Teaching Over Doing: You’ll need to break down complex tasks into simpler steps, explain why each step matters, and adapt your methods to suit different learning styles. This requires thinking like an educator rather than just a practitioner.

Knowledge Level: As a pilot applicant, you were asked to “parrot” back what you learned to demonstrate competency. During flight instructor training, your mindset should be geared towards understanding the materials to a level where you can concisely explain and correlate related knowledge to learners at various skill levels.

Developing a Teaching Perspective

Understanding Learners: Students bring varying backgrounds, learning speeds, and confidence levels to training. Your job is to assess these differences and adjust your instruction to meet their needs.

Explaining the “Why”: Effective teaching goes beyond the “how” of a maneuver. You’ll need to help students understand the “why” behind procedures, safety protocols, and decision-making processes to promote critical thinking.

Communication is Key: Clear, concise communication is essential. Avoid jargon, tailor your explanations to the student’s level of understanding, and ensure that your instructions are always actionable and easy to follow.

Balancing Flying Skills with Instructional Skills

Dual Responsibilities: You must maintain your flying proficiency while developing your teaching ability. This dual focus can be challenging but is essential for success as an instructor.

Flying While Instructing: As an instructor, you must monitor the student’s performance while staying ready to take control of the aircraft if necessary. This requires sharp situational awareness and quick decision-making.

Getting Ready for Flight Instructor Training

Review Core Knowledge: Before beginning instructor training, ensure you have a solid grasp of private and commercial pilot topics, including aerodynamics, weather, regulations, and navigation. Your ability to teach will depend on how well you understand and can explain these fundamentals.

Master the Fundamentals of Instruction (FOI): The FOI forms the backbone of instructor training. Focus on key concepts such as how people learn, common barriers to communication, and strategies for adapting to different learning styles. Familiarize yourself with how these principles apply to teaching in aviation.

Refine Your Flying Skills: Although instructor training emphasizes teaching, you still need to demonstrate precision in flying. Ensure your basic maneuvers and procedures are smooth, consistent, and meet or exceed certification standards.

Start Thinking Like a Teacher: Begin practicing how you would explain maneuvers, systems, and procedures to someone with less experience. Break down complex tasks into simple, digestible steps and focus on clarity.

Study Strategies for Success

Use Multiple Resources: Supplement your primary training materials with resources such as FAA handbooks, online videos, and study groups. Diverse perspectives can enhance your understanding of complex topics.

Practice Teaching: Teach friends, family, or peers what you’re learning. Explaining material out loud will help you identify gaps in your knowledge and improve your delivery.

Simulate the Training Environment: If possible, use virtual reality or simulator software to practice presenting lessons and explaining concepts in a realistic setting.

Seek Feedback: Regularly ask for feedback from instructors or fellow trainees. Use their insights to refine your teaching approach and address any weaknesses.

Amateurs train until they get it right. Professionals train until they don’t get it wrong.

Learning from Mistakes as an Instructor-in-Training

Acknowledge Mistakes: Mistakes are inevitable, especially when transitioning into the role of an instructor. Acknowledge them, analyze what went wrong, and use them as opportunities to improve.

Reflect on Lessons Learned: Review your performance after each lesson or flight. Identify what went well, what didn’t, and how you can adjust your approach for future sessions.

Seek Feedback: Regularly ask for input from mentors, peers, or your students. Constructive feedback helps you refine your instructional techniques and avoid repeating mistakes.

Embrace Growth: Every mistake is a learning experience. Use them to build your skills and confidence, both as a pilot and as an instructor.

Focus on Progress: Remember that becoming a skilled instructor is a process. Celebrate small victories, and don’t let setbacks discourage you from striving for improvement.

What Do I Do When Asked a Question I Can’t Answer?

Be Honest: It’s better to admit you don’t know something than to provide incorrect information. Honesty preserves your credibility and sets a professional example for your students.

Research the Answer: If you encounter a question you can’t answer, take the time to look it up. Use reliable sources like FAA handbooks, advisory circulars, or approved training materials. Follow up with the correct information promptly.

Avoid Guessing: Speculating or providing incomplete answers can confuse your students and undermine their trust in you. Instead, say, “I’ll confirm that and get back to you,” and ensure you do.

Set the Example: Demonstrating how to find accurate answers teaches your students the importance of using resources effectively, a critical skill for pilots.

Partial answers get partial credit. Wrong answers lose credibility.

Preparing to Teach

Lesson Plans

One tool you must have is a collection of lesson plans. You don’t have to write them yourself, but you must have them.

Contents of a Lesson Plan

Purpose of Lesson Plans: Lesson plans serve as a structured framework to guide your teaching. They ensure lessons are comprehensive, consistent, and aligned with training objectives. Well-organized lesson plans help you cover required topics efficiently while allowing flexibility to adapt to individual student needs.

Components of a Lesson Plan: A good lesson plan includes clear objectives, an outline of the material to be covered, key teaching points, and potential student errors. Include time estimates for each section and consider using visual aids or diagrams to reinforce key concepts.

Adapting Lesson Plans: While a structured plan is essential, no two students learn the same way or at the same pace. Adjust your approach to match the student’s progress and understanding. Avoid rigidly sticking to a script when a student needs more clarification or practice in specific areas.

Organization: Lesson plans created by CFI applicants are most commonly modeled after the objectives in the CFI PTS. This format is acceptable for practical test purposes. Afterward, you’ll need to teach learners to prepare for their practical tests (e.g., Private Pilot ACS objectives). Adapt your lesson plan accordingly.

The ACS is a testing aid, not a teaching aid.

Structuring a Lesson

Ground Lessons: Start every lesson with a clear objective that explains what the student will learn and why it’s important. Use a logical progression, beginning with a review of prior knowledge before introducing new material. Ensure your explanations are concise and focus on the essential concepts. Encourage questions and use scenarios to relate the material to real-world situations.

Flight Lessons: Flight lessons should begin with a preflight briefing that sets expectations for what will be practiced in the air. Discuss the objectives, procedures, and any safety considerations for the lesson. During the flight, observe the student’s performance while providing timely feedback and corrections as needed.

Debriefing: After the flight, conduct a thorough debriefing to review what went well and areas needing improvement. Reinforce key learning points and connect the student’s performance to the lesson objectives. This ensures the student leaves with a clear understanding of what they accomplished and what to focus on next.

Tips for Presenting

KISS (Keep it simple, stupid”)
Speak in complete sentences that make sense (it’s harder than it seems when “thinking on your feet”)
Words matter (use the correct ones, e.g., abstract versus concrete)
Avoid upward inflections (statements that sound more like questions)
Abbreviations are not allowed (remember the differences in experience)
Acronyms:
- You may use them but don’t lead with them
- Show them only after the presentation as a memory aid

Things Instructors in Training Don’t Get to Say

“I think …”
“Basically, … “
“I didn’t know I was supposed to teach that.”
“That’s the way my instructor had me do it.”

Preparing for Flight Training Lessons

Examiner Roleplay: The CFI (“student”) may simulate errors during maneuvers. Identify and correct these errors with clear, concise instructions. If unsure whether they are roleplaying, ask for clarification.

Demonstration Stalls: When you get to the demonstration stalls, you should demonstrate them as if you were teaching a student how to recognize and recover if they should inadvertently occur. You are not teaching the student how to perform them for recreational or testing purposes.

General Flight Training Considerations

Know Standards: Understand certification requirements and common errors.
Maintain Instructor Role: Regardless of the evaluator’s role, your role remains as an instructor.
Explain Actions: Always clarify the “why” behind your actions or corrections.
Avoid Rushing: Give adequate time for explanations, maneuver setup, and practice.
Follow Checklists: Never neglect checklists; model proper habits for students.
Prioritize Safety: Just because it’s legal doesn’t make it safe. Teach and act conservatively.

The Flight Instructor Practical Test

Purpose of the Checkride: The flight instructor practical test evaluates your ability to teach and communicate effectively while maintaining high aviation safety and proficiency standards. The goal is to demonstrate that you can instruct others in accordance with FAA standards.

What to Expect: The examiner may simulate being a student, including making deliberate errors or asking questions that challenge your ability to explain and instruct. Stay professional, patient, and focused throughout the test.

Practice and Preparation: Rehearse your lesson plans multiple times before the test. Practice presenting to peers or mentors and ask for feedback. Familiarize yourself with the examiner’s expectations by reviewing the Airman Certification Standards (ACS) for flight instructors.

Engaging the Examiner: Treat the examiner as if they were a real student. Make eye contact, use clear language, and encourage questions. Be prepared to adapt if the examiner simulates misunderstandings or asks for clarification.

What Examiners Look For

Clear Communication: Examiners want to see that you can explain concepts and maneuvers effectively. Avoid jargon and ensure your explanations are easy to understand.

Depth of Knowledge: You must demonstrate a thorough understanding of the material, including regulations, maneuvers, and instructional methods. Be prepared to answer detailed questions and explain the “why” behind procedures.

Adaptability: Examiners will assess your ability to adapt to changing scenarios, such as a student making errors or needing further clarification. Stay calm and flexible in your approach.

Professionalism: Your demeanor throughout the test should reflect the responsibility and professionalism expected of a flight instructor. This includes maintaining a focus on safety, punctuality, and respect for the process.

Safety and Risk Management: Examiners place a strong emphasis on your ability to incorporate risk management into lessons. Ensure that safety is a recurring theme in your explanations, demonstrations, and corrections.