CFI Archives | FLYING Magazine

FlightSimExpo attendees at an exhibit in 2024.

Gamification of Training: From Virtual Cockpit to Real-World Flying

Flight simulators like MSFS and X-Plane can be powerful and structured tools for aviation education.

Cessnas parked on a flight school ramp [Credit: Meg Godlewski]

Same Model, Different Plane: Navigating the Quirks of a Flight School Fleet

Tips for student pilots and CFIs on being prepared to fly every aircraft available.

Many pilots are training at a school that embraces Performing the Duties of Pilot in Command in lieu of solo flight. [Credit: Meg Godlewski]

There’s Great Value in Solo Flight

Is the FAA’s PDPIC rule undermining the pilot alone-time experiences?

A Navion waits out the weather. [Credit: Glenn Hirsch/AVweb]

Seasonal Starts: Timing Your Flight Training for Success

Starting your pilot certificate at the wrong point in the year can lead to frustration and weather limitations.

Does Lost Student Pilot Logbook Mean Lost Hours?

Understanding how flight time counts, even with a new instructor.

Pilot Training With a Passenger: What You Need to Know

Bringing a back-seat observer along on a dual instructional lesson can enhance the experience.

The Piper Cherokee that crashed September 28, 2022, in Pennsylvania was largely destroyed in a postcrash fire. [Credit: NTSB]

Illegal CFI Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter After Fatal Crash

Man whose certificates were revoked for ‘lack of demonstrated competence’ continued to instruct, leading to a 2022 accident that killed a student pilot.

An instructor and a student preflight a Cessna 152 before a lesson. [Credit: Richard Steiger]

What to Expect Your First Five Hours as a Student Pilot

Here are some tips for managing expectations when you begin flight training.

How the CFI addresses the struggling learner separates the professional CFIs and experience builders from the time builders. [Pixabay]

Even Instructors Must Stay in the Learner’s Seat

Experienced CFIs also benefit from ongoing improvement and proficiency flights.

Pilots who learn tests by rote may get a pocketful of certificates but often don't acquire the skills, judgement, and confidence they need to build experience. [Adobe Stock]

Perils of Flying by Rote: Why Judgment Trumps Memorization

Even experienced pilots can fall into the trap of habitual repetitive actions in the cockpit.