CFI Hardship

[slpilot]

To all you CFI's out there, Im working on getting mine right now. I was wondering what the hardest part of your training was while working on your CFI ticket. Thanks.

[Clocks]

The hardest thing for me was re-learning everything I had previously learned. When I was a private I learned all the stuff specific to that rating, and sort of put it in the back of my mind as I worked on my intrument, and then put that stuff in the back of my mind when I was working on my commercial. Then suddenly you start training for the CFI and all of that knowledge is required, and expected.

It was almost 5 years from the time I started my PPL training until I started working on my CFI (I did it all during college). What I think would have benefited me (before my CFI training) would have been a week or so of solid review every 6 months or so to help keep the information reasonably fresh in my mind.

[moxiepilot]

Originally Posted by slpilot

To all you CFI's out there, Im working on getting mine right now. I was wondering what the hardest part of your training was while working on your CFI ticket. Thanks.

Not necessarily the hardest, but the most time consuming was to make my own syllabus and lesson plans.

Given what is required for the ratings, you really can go about getting the student the knowledge and experience any way you think works.

I'm on my 5th revision of my private pilot syllabus, 3rd for instrument. The changes have come from 2 years of teaching finding out what works and what doesn't

[mhcasey]

Teaching FOI to the chief instructor who was asleep about 90% of the time.

Also, trimming down my aerodynamics/aircraft design lecture. Thanks to Tgrayson, Midlife, etc., I think my original lecture notes ended up taking a few hours to get through (not really a bad thing imo, but I didn't want to add a few extra hours onto my cfi oral if I could avoid it).

[barnstormer09]

Trying to talk through maneuvers. I finally had to make flash cards, because I could never remember stuff like entry, when to use the steepest/shallowest bank, when to climb/descend, what airspeed to use, ect. After I started my CFI I came to the realization that I must have just bs'ed my way through 2 years of flight training.

The only other part I thought was difficult was learning to land our complex trainer without shredding the nosegear with my ineptitude. Never could get a feel for the dang thing.

[SoCalAprch]

The hardest part for me was just the stress leading up to it. Everyone will make such a huge deal about how hard it is and blah blah blah. Just study alot and practice and you will be fine. Be confient and professional and prove to the Examiner that you are a good guy who he wouldn't mind sending his family up with and you will get it. I screwed alot of stuff up in the oral but he liked me and knew that no one can know everything about everything and I got my ticket. I thought i was going to fail from the moment I started going through some of my lesson plans. But he said I did well and we went flying.

[Crockrocket94]

And while you should be extrememly knowledgable in all areas, keep in mind if you do not know the answer to something in the oral it is not the end.

Read the PTS in the beginning and it will say "Instructional Knowledge".

Capable of using the approptiate reference to provide the application or correlation level of knowledge...

[exleardriver]

you'll be surprised how often you decide to change how you teach/present new material over the years, particularly if you become a 'career' instructor. in 15 years, i have changed many things, simply proving that there's 'more than one way to skin a cat'. 60ish signoffs and work as a training captain/check airman in the past with all but a couple that didn't pass their first attempt tells me i've always been doing most things correctly. i always like reading that some of you are actively evaluating your own methods as well and making changes as deemed necessary.props to you newer guys doing it as well. it's not only a sign of professionalism, but a sign that you care. these students are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers..and they're in your care.