Question: I’m a private pilot, and I plan on getting my CFI ticket. The flight school I am training at is suggesting I start by getting an Advanced Ground Instructor rating. I am wondering if it is worth the cost—what’s the value of the AGI ticket when I’ll have ground teaching privileges when I become a flight instructor?
Answer: Earning the Advanced Ground Instructor certificate is an excellent way to begin your teaching career because it’s an inexpensive way to start legally working as an instructor. You don’t even have to have a commercial pilot certificate to qualify for the AGI.
To acquire the AGI, you will need to pass a 100-question computer-based exam and the 50-question Fundamentals of Instruction test. The FOI covers your knowledge about the learning process and is not aviation specific. There are ground study guides to help you pass both tests. Once you have the AGI, you can provide ground instruction for the sport, private, recreational, and commercial certificates.
You might be able to set yourself up as an aviation tutor and help pilot applicants prepare for their checkrides. Or you might even be able to get a job as an assistant teacher in a ground school taught at the FBO or even a K-12 class.
Ground instructor certificates do not expire, unlike flight instructor certificates, which must be renewed every 24 calendar months. To keep the AGI ticket active, you must either have served as an instructor in the preceding 12-month period or receive an endorsement from a flight instructor or a ground instructor that certifies your proficiency in teaching the material.
Once you become a CFI, the AGI is a requirement for the FAA’s Gold Seal. The Gold Seal recognizes instructors with at least an 80 percent first-time student pass rate. Having this credential can help you be more marketable.
Ask us anything you’ve ever wanted to know about aviation. Our experts in general aviation, flight training, aircraft, avionics, and more may attempt to answer in a future article. Email your questions to editorial@flyingmag.com.
