Ultimate Issue: First Few Hours of Being a CFI Are the Hardest

Here are 12 suggestions to help make your journey as flight instructor a smooth one for both you and your learners.

Meg Godlewski

Friday, July 12, 2024 at 08:57 AM ET

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It’s important to know how to do a go-around. [Credit: iStock]

Key Takeaways:

New CFIs should adopt a structured and standards-based approach, utilizing a syllabus, introducing FAA certification standards (ACS) early, and teaching critical skills like checklists, weather briefing, and aircraft performance from the outset.
Focus on empowering the learner by minimizing instructor intervention on controls, allowing for mistakes as part of the learning process, providing precise feedback, and managing schedules to ensure consistent training.
Commit to continuous professional development by engaging in ground school instruction, refining teaching methodologies, and actively maintaining personal flying proficiency and currency.

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Congratulations! You earned your flight instructor rating, and now it’s your turn to teach someone else how to fly. But just because you now carry the title of CFI doesn’t mean you know all there is about teaching flying.

I am coming up on 21 years as a CFI, and there are stumbling blocks I’ve seen freshly minted CFIs trip over. Here are 12 suggestions to help make your journey as an educator a smooth one for both you and your learners: