The Other Eight-Hour Rule

FAA regulates how much CFIs can fly per day.

Meg Godlewski

Tuesday, August 18, 2026 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

CFIs have to carefully watch their time to avoid breaking the eight hours of flight instruction per-day rule. [Credit: Pixabay]

Key Takeaways:

Flight instructors are limited by FAA regulations (cFAR §61.195) to a maximum of eight hours of flight training in any 24-consecutive-hour period, necessitating careful scheduling by flight schools.
CFI fatigue is a significant and dangerous issue, stemming from long hours, environmental factors, and potentially multiple jobs, which can impair safety, student learning, and lead to serious incidents.
Instructors must prioritize their own fitness for flight by monitoring for fatigue (IMSAFE checklist), staying hydrated and nourished, and gradually building endurance to maintain peak performance and professionalism.

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The instructors knew we could expect a full day of flying when we walked into the flight school in the morning and found a bottle of water and a granola bar on our desks.

This was the dispatcher’s way of letting us know the schedule was booked solid with back-to-back flights all day. What inevitably followed was the verbal warning to watch the Hobbs time carefully so you did not violate cFAR §61.195—Flight Instructor limitation and qualifications (a) Hours of training: In any 24-consecutive-hour period a flight instructor may not conduct more than eight hours of flight training.