Cfi Checkride Options

[talldude]

I'm up for my CFI checkride here in a few weeks guys.
For those of you who are CFI's or were, can you give me any advice or rules of thumb for successfully completing my checkride and become a good instructor?

For those of you who are students and really enjoy your flight instructor, can you tell me exactly what you like about your instructor. What makes learning to fly with them so fun and enjoyable?

If you don't like your instructor or had to switch instructors, tell me why, what happended?

[milehigheric]

First of all good luck. Instructing is a great way to get to the top, although you do have to remember you are now the instructor, you cannot just look a blind eye to the student and have your eyes set on your logbook.

Be yourself!!!

I love my instructor (in a non weird way)..... he is funny, well he trys to be. He knows what he is teaching and talks to you more as a mate than a source of income. As a future instructor all i can say is be yourself, you can always tell the ones who are trying to act because they always slip up somewhere. If being yourself is not suitable for instructing then it is probably best to search for another way up...

Be assertive, make the student sweat during stall training, always be in there left ear on the landing etc. I love that quality about my instructor!! Sometimes i feel like just saying shut up i know, but that constant noise in my ear is there for a reason and brings out the best in my flying. Although i must say i liked the feeling on my first solo when the cockpit was so quite lol.

I had a problem with an instructor in the beginning. Bassicaly i felt he was just sitting there the whole time, only speaking when he needed. I prefer an instructor who is always as i said in my ear, constantly giving guidance when needed. A simple thing like me saying 'request airways before the taxi' is brought up as soon as i let the button go and i learn from mistakes. Every pilot makes mistakes, but it is the instructors responsibility to ensure the student knows they made a mistake, no matter how small and give them advice on how to improve...

Anyway good luck, be sure to let us know how the checkride goes...

[rjb4000]

Every pilot makes mistakes, but it is the instructors responsibility to ensure the student knows they made a mistake, no matter how small and give them advice on how to improve...

This doesn't always mean telling the student what they are doing wrong at every possible moment. Learning is much more effective when completed by example. For example, taking off with an improperly set directional gyro and flying headings way off from those assigned will probably embarrass the student into always remembering to set it where a simple reminder from the CFI will just be another little "stupid thing you forgot to do." Point being, be a leader in the cockpit and choose those methods of learning which will ensure that your student will be as safe as s(he) can be.

[c150student]

I agree with rjb in the letting students make mistakes. Obviously, just keep an eye on whats happening, so you are prepared for the consequences of their mistakes.

I've had quite a few instructors to date, and they were all different. My current instructor is my favourite, but that may be partly because hes been around for the longest. Hes great fun to fly with, and for that reason, I dont mind not flying solo, because at least I can have a laugh with him. Be yourself, be funny, hum, whistle and sing, joke around, but always keep on the job. Be patient-your students arent as experienced as you are, so where you may feel a correction is necessary, unless it actually is, let them keep flying. They'll get the hang of it eventually.

I sometimes think what I'd do and how I'll be like if/when/if I became/become an instructor. I think I would try to be all of the things above, if I could. Concerning what Eric said earlier about keeping on talking whilst performing a manouver...ask the student what they want. For instance, with one of my old instructors, steep turns were so difficult because he kept telling me what to do...but because there is alot to do, it became confusing. For instance, lookout, back pressure, balance, heading, bank angle. He'd repeat them again and again, which distracted me and didnt let me check these things at my own pace (which wasnt that much slower, but even being a little bit slower gave 'lag'.). So, to start with, tell them in their ear what to do, but after they've done the manouver a few times, ask them 'do you want to have a go without me saying anything, unless I need to?'. I had trouble with steep turns and underperformed that lesson. That instructor left before my next lesson, leaving me with my current one.

The same thing goes for landing. Even my current instructor reminds me 'back pressure' (which, although I dont find offensive, I find a bit silly, as I've landed 4 times on my own and never stuck the nose into the ground before the mains....I think I know to flare!). Unless the aircraft is pointing at the ground, after they've landed a few times (how many is to your discretion and judgement, based on the individual in question and their flying), just let them land solo, but with you in the plane. In preparation for my solo, before my 16th birhtday, my instructor said he was just coming along for the ride. If I asked 'we've extended downwind because we were instructed to by ATC, meaning we're far out from the airport. Should I delay the lowering of the flaps and descent?' he'd reply 'I dont know. Should you?'. This was good, because it allowed my judgement of pilot in command to improve.

Be sensitive to students with mic fright. Speaking from personal experience, mic fright got me bad, especially at the beginning of training. I'd used to be scared calling downwind, and I'd dread the initial call. If I were a flight instructor now, dealing with a student like I was (again, speaking from personal experiences) I'd advise the student to purchase a VHF scanner to listen to the airport frequency (so long as they lived near enough) so they could hear some of the pilots and air traffic controllers *ummm* *errrr* *ahhhh* and generally slip up on what they were saying, reading things back wrong etc, to show they dont shoot you out the sky if you get it wrong. Not to allow complacency, but to allow them to become more confident. If necessary, have a 1-2-1 with them, with you as the ATCer and them as the pilot, and go over the things they may hear, and let them practise their RTF.

Show your love for flying, if its still their after the commercial rating and all that. Let them see this is what they want to be doing. If you're not enjoying it, neither will they, probably. Be happy that when you're flying, you're not sitting in a ground-bound office, typing away on a computer for a big company where noone cares about their job. Remember, you may be training a natural pilot, set to become one of the best, so let your enthusiasm spread to them.

Well, I have more to say, but thats enough for now. If you want more, I'm sure I can find more somewhere hehe. Good luck with your CFI exam, hope you pass, and really hope you enjoy your new job, and hope your students enjoy learning from you.

[Becky_KSTS]

Good luck Tall, I know you will ace the ride. I have had a few instructors over the course of learning to fly. The one's I remember best were thorough, loved to fly and patient. My last instructor was hard on me, but I had a lot of fear to overcome. He was patient, encouraging but very stern. We would talk about my fears and the more I learned the less afraid I became. Stalls will never be my favorite maneuver but at least I know the plane won't fall out of the sky.

Students need to feel that you are confident. I had one instructor (substitute) once that I didn't feel had the kind of confidence my regular instructor had. We got out over the practice area and as I was entering a power off stall and waiting for the FULL break, he stopped me and told me that it was not necessary to carry the stall to the full break. When I told my regular instructor, he was very firm in sticking with the full break not a partial one. I didn't go up with the sub instructor again. I don't like stalls either, but I needed to get over the fear of them and taking them to the full break while observing how the aircraft can handle the recovery boosted my confidence level.

Keep us posted!

[cessnapilot72]

I’ve had three instructors over the few years of my training. One of them taught me to fly airplanes. One of them taught me to be a better pilot. One of them is teaching me to be a safe pilot. I don’t think that any one of the three could have possibly done all three of those things.

I searched far and wide for instructors that I could actually get along with. Not put up with, but get along with. It’s never taken very long to find. Most of these guys are very nice, very competent, and very intelligent. But their teaching methods will vary. It’s not to say that one teaching method is better than another, but you’ll learn different things from each method of teaching.

My first instructor was…well… basic. He taught me stuff I needed to know. And then some. Nothing special, but he did a good job. My second instructor built on that knowledge through my instrument training. He made me learn from mistakes, both my own, and others’ so that I didn’t have to repeat them. I learned how to fly an airplane on instruments, and got a re-vamping of my PPL training to boot. My current instructor told me from the first time we flew that he knew I could fly an airplane. Teaching me to fly was not going to be his focus. But there is so much that I’ve learned about being a SAFE pilot. Not just a GOOD pilot, but a SAFE pilot. It took me a while to understand the difference. I still have a lot to learn.

My rookie advice, not being a CFI myself, but being a user of a few different instructors, is to be flexible. Be friendly, but know where to draw the line between friend and instructor. Know that people come in with different moods, and you will have to adapt to it. It’s frustrating, as I’m sure you remember, when you just can’t seem to nail that short field landing in the 200 feet of your specified point, over and over and over. Try to encourage and teach in the same sentences. There has to be some level of motivation in order to keep them interested.

If you’re this far along, and you know it’s what you want to do, there is little doubt that you’ll do just fine. They say it’s one of the toughest check-rides you’ll ever take, but also one of the most rewarding.

[Eric86GT]

Are you taking your ride at the FSDO or with a DPE? Know the FOI by heart and be able to answer any question about it. Make sure you have a good lesson plan format which has all the items listed in the aviation instructor's handbook (FAA-H-8083-9). The examiner will probably give you a lesson to plan beforehand and you will be expected to teach it. Be able to go through your lesson effectively. Practice teaching the lesson, preferably to somebody that doesn't know anything about aviation. If you can't find anybody to teach to, just practice by yourself.

Know all of the maneuvers for private pilot and commercial pilot applicants and each maneuver's practical test standards. Be able to explain in detail how to teach and/or perform each maneuver in detail. Know what is required for student pilots, private and commercial pilot applicants; e.g. experience, eligibility, etc. Know AC 61-65E. Be able to reference an answer if you need to or if they ask. I also made a binder full of lesson plans for each maneuver in case the examiner had me teach something I hadn't planned on teaching.

In the air, just relax. Think to yourself that you're going up to fly on a pleasure flight with a friend. You know the maneuvers. Just be able to teach them. If you don't perform a maneuver perfectly explain why. In any case, in the air or on the ground, don't BS the examiner.

After you pass your ride and get your first students you will learn more on those first flights than you have preparing for your CFI ride. Be true to your students, don't BS them and don't take advantage of them. Like the rest have said, allow them to make mistakes (within reason and keeping safety in mind). Make them work, don't do too much for them and they will learn better than if you were to hold their hands all the time.

All in all be prepared. Don't wait until the last minute. You will know the day before if you are prepared or not and cramming the night before won't be of much help. Get a good night's sleep and show up alert and ready to take this checkride.

[talldude]

Thanks for all advice and stories, I know the next fews years should be very interesting when I begin instructing. I have had seven prime instructors throughout my aviation career so far, glider pilot, private pilot, instrument pilot, commercial pilot, multi engine, CFI, and one other guy I don't even want to mention just because that guy was a **I have a dirty mouth**tard. I will never fly with him again, especially UNDER THE HOOD!

Anyways I'm learning at a Part 141 university, I will have 3 "stage checks" same thing as checkrides.
The first one is to determine whether or not I'm ready to tackle the last stage checks. If I need practice then I get extra practice before beginning the last stage checks. So far that's not going to be a problem, my instructor says I'm right on track and I have a good wide knowledge base. The second one will be huge, a 3-4 hr long oral, OMG! Finally the last one will be short and sweet, conducted with an FAA guy.

Finally when I'm done, passed all my stage checks, well lets hope a DUI is not involved.

[Eric86GT]

Anyways I'm learning at a Part 141 university, I will have 3 "stage checks" same thing as checkrides.
The first one is to determine whether or not I'm ready to tackle the last stage checks. If I need practice then I get extra practice before beginning the last stage checks. So far that's not going to be a problem, my instructor says I'm right on track and I have a good wide knowledge base. The second one will be huge, a 3-4 hr long oral, OMG! Finally the last one will be short and sweet, conducted with an FAA guy.

Finally when I'm done, passed all my stage checks, well lets hope a DUI is not involved.

Judging by your location, UND?