CFI Initial Checkride TIPS

3 Answers

1. Best Answer
   
   

   
   

   KDS on Nov 28, 2018

   Every examiner is supposed to use the same standard, but beyond that, each examiner has their own style and their own emphasis area. So, as much as I hate to say this, the best thing you can do to prepare is to talk to people who did their test with the examiner that you will be using.

   What I saw as almost universal is that every applicant would come in with a book of FAR’s with little tabs sticking out everywhere and a big thick book of hand written lesson plans. Both of those always struck me as busy work instead of anything useful, but they all seemed to have them anyway. It would have made more sense to me to have a reference on a laptop and be well versed in how to find regulations with it and buy one of those big thick books of lesson plans and go through and add your own notes to them.

   Focus much more on the oral part of the test. The flight schools and the instructors will push the flying and pay little attention to helping you prepare for the oral. You need to focus on being able to explain things in the oral. To that goal, I recommend giving ground school lessons to an empty room or better yet, find a student who would like some free ground school. The difference between thinking something through in your head and saying it aloud is great and if you’re not prepared to make a presentation aloud, you’ll sound like Daffy Duck when you open your mouth.

   During the oral, the examiner should ask for you to present a lesson on something. Most examiners will tell you what lesson they would like to receive. You’ll probably have to ask the examiner, but if you ask, they should tell you. Then prepare the best darn lesson that you can possibly do. Here is a fact that most applicants don’t see. Giving CFI Initial orals is boring as heck for an examiner if they are doing it right since you’re doing most of the talking. You can only sit through a lesson on XYZ so many times before your eyes start to roll back in your head. So, make is not only great, make it interesting. Put pictures in it. Put a video in it if you can. Have visual aids prepared in advance. See if you can find some trivial points about the subject that may actually be news to the examiner.

   When it comes to the flight portion, TEACH, TEACH, TEACH. Don’t be a pilot, be a flight instructor.

   If the first time you open your mouth while flying is the day of the test, it’s not going to sound good. So, when you’re flying with your instructor in preparation for the test, be teaching him. However, flying is expensive, so how can you develop that patter without spending a ton of money? Well, teach yourself to drive. As you’re going down the road in your vehicle, explain what you are doing, what you are looking ahead for, how you are keeping it safe. Talk to the imaginary person in the car (or your understanding passenger) about the safety aspects of what you’re doing. It’s the same thing that should happen in the airplane, but it’s a lot cheaper and gives you plenty of time to practice. Just be sure to do it out loud. If you internalize it the results won’t be the same. Don’t worry about the other drivers seeing you talking to yourself and thinking you’re crazy. Heck, maybe they will give you more room on the road that way.

   Don’t worry about left seat right seat. After a little flying in the right seat, it won’t make any difference to you.

   One more thought. When you’re doing your preflight, don’t stop to explain every little detail along the way. Move it along at your normal pace, but explain what you’re doing while you’re doing it. Here is another area where you can practice for free. Go out and do a couple preflights while talking and explaining. You might tell the examiner something like “I’ll be simulating that I’m demonstrating a normal preflight to a student and I would invite the student to ask any questions that might occur to them along the way — there would be other lessons on this subject done in different manners depending on the stage of the student, but that is what I’ll be doing here”.

   I wish you the best of luck. Being a flight instructor is an awesome responsibility and approaching it in a serious and professional manner is critical.

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   wheels_up on Nov 29, 2018

   That was more than enough! Thank you so much KDS i really appreciate it!

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   KDS on Nov 30, 2018

   Regarding getting the FAR\’s onto your laptop, there are different companies out there that sell that sort of thing. The run from one end of the spectrum to the other. Personally, I like SUMMIT AVIATION. The only thing it doesn\’t have is the updated list of airworthiness directives, but it has everything else. So, if the examiner mentions a certain advisory circular or handbook that you don\’t happen to have, you have it right there on your laptop.

   However, I\’d still drag in a dog-eared copy of the basic books and regulations.Make sure the book looks well used even if you have to soak it in the sink. Write your name on it in big bold letters so there is no thinking that you just pulled it out of the FBO library. 😉

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