Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

8 Answers

What are the pros and cons of as CFII initial

Asked by: 7205 views ,
General Aviation

Dear follow pilots, Can anybody tell me what are the pros and cons of obtaining the CFII as the initial instructor rating instead of the CFI rating first? Thanks in advance for your time.

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

8 Answers



  1. Mark Kolber on Sep 15, 2013

    Con: not being able to teach anything other than ground school.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. Lion on Sep 15, 2013

    Thanks mark…so what you are saying CFII = IGI?

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  3. Mark Kolber on Sep 15, 2013

    Kinda. Once upon a time, the FAA permitted CFIs with only a CFI-I to teach instruments in an aircraft without also having a CFI-A, so long as the CFII had the appropriate aircraft rating on his or her commercial certificate. There was actually some controversy about this withing the FAA.

    Finally, in 2009, the FAA did a small change to 61.195 which was followed shortly by this Chief Counsel letter: http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/agc/pol_adjudication/agc200/interpretations/data/interps/2010/grayson-2%20-%20(2010)%20legal%20interpretation.pdf

    Whether you want to consider it as equal to an instrument ground instructor or not, the bottom line is that, without the appropriate aircraft rating on the CFI certificate, one can’t provide “flight training.”

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  4. Matthew Waugh on Sep 15, 2013

    The pro is that it’s arguably an easier check ride, which if you’re doing your initial with the FAA is seen as an advantage.
    Mark points out the con, but if you’re going to go straight on and do you CFI then no harm, no foul.
    A lot of the instructor mills do it in that order.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  5. Lion on Sep 16, 2013

    Thanks Matthew…your comment was very helpfull..so it is easier and better to do the cfii first if I will continue and add-on the cfi (this is my plan)….but this lead me to another question..why do you think it is easier to do the cfii checkride first compared to the cfi checkride…isn’t the initial checkride, be it cfii or cfi, is harder than the add-on…your feedback will be highly appreciated…

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  6. Matthew Waugh on Sep 16, 2013

    I think the perception is that the list of Tasks required for the CFI-I is shorter and they are easier to perform than the maneuvers for the CFI.
    There’s the alternative view that ready for a check ride is ready for a check ride regardless of who conducting the check. But a number of people/organizations think it’s the way to go.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  7. Mark Kolber on Sep 17, 2013

    I’ve heard it’s a combination of what Mat says and, maybe more importantly, a perception that since the applicant already has a CFI certificate, the practical test for the addition of an aircraft rating is easier than the one given when the original CFI ride involves an aircraft rating.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  8. ccwebb on Sep 17, 2013

    I like to use the CFI-I as the inital because the applicant can save A LOT of money if they have access to a Flight Training Device.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.