Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

2 Answers

Preparing for CFI checkride, what lesson plans

Asked by: 14731 views ,
Flight Instructor

I am starting for my initial CFI (writtens done). 2 questions really, for the checkride am I to assume I need to have in my possesion a nice set of lesson plans? I am guessing 'yes obviously'. So then the next real question, is it better to create my own or better to buy a well known existing set (like the Ed Quinlan book "Flight Instructors Lesson Plan Handbook")? I can see both ways, create my own so I have been through every step in great detail, but then again why reinvent the wheel when I am sure Ed's is better and based on years of experience?

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.

2 Answers



  1. Matthew Waugh on Jan 06, 2011

    You should have a detailed set of lesson plans. The examiner/inspector will expect to see them, AND, if you get asked to “teach” a lesson it helps with exam jitters to have it all laid out before you.
     
    It is far and above better to create your own, especially from the “base material” – that is the resources listed in the Practical Test Standards. You will have a strong grasp of the material the way the FAA sees it. You’ll be very prepared for the exam.
     
    It is VERY time consuming. I mean a lot of time. A hybrid approach where you use a set of commercial plans and the reference material and build your own is a good second choice. But – if using the commercial plans works for you, you take the time to study them so you know them well, that would work (I know people who have gone that route).
     
    One caveat – try and find out what the opinion is of your examiner/inspector. I have heard stories of people who don’t like seeing the commercial plans when taking the test, and when you take the CFI practical you need all the brownie points you can get!

    +2 Votes Thumb up 2 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. John A Lindholm on Jan 08, 2011

    Good luck on pursuing your CFI…..  After you get it, and you have some Commercial students, have them do their CFI lesson plans while they take their CP training.  Have your post-PP students fly all of their XC time 50/50 in right/left seat and do a lot of the Commercial PTS stuff when flying that time off… especially the landing/take-off requirements.  As a new CFI, you can’t sign off another CFI applicant for the checkride, but you can give them considerable help to achieve their goal with minimum cost by structuring their post-PPC training properly.
    I’ve had many CFI students take their FAA  checkride with no additional flying time after they passed their CPC ride.

    +1 Votes Thumb up 1 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.