Hardest Rating/License

777forever · October 7th, 2006, 00:50

Which rating/license do you believe was the most difficult to earn? From what I've heard from talking to other pilots its split between CFI and Instrument.

Maximillian_Jenius · October 7th, 2006, 01:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by 777forever

Which rating/license do you believe was the most difficult to earn? From what I've heard from talking to other pilots its split between CFI and Instrument.

I've also heard the same. But tell jtrain it's the commerical ride just for kicks!

bLizZuE · October 7th, 2006, 01:51

I'm about to finish my instrument, and it sure seems like its going to be the most difficult! I'll let you know when I take my CFI checkride in 5 months

deserteaglle · October 7th, 2006, 01:53

/n00b answer/

I have just heard that the instrument is one that you really don't want to skimp on, but I've also heard that a lot of pink slips are handed out on CFi rides. I'd like to see some figures too, just to know how often exactly each is failed, and then to hear some non-noobs comment on why it happens. When you think about it, you don't want to be flying in the clouds without really knowing what you're doing and you don't want bad CFI's teaching people their bad habits. They both seem pretty important to me, though I'm not sure which is considered tougher.

/n00b answer/

MusketeerMan · October 7th, 2006, 02:32

I'm going to say the CFI is the hardest...I'll let you know in a few weeks. I actually felt the instrument wasn't that difficult. I was expecting the worst, so I overprepared for it and it paid off. The instructor rating has so much information and knowledge that you better know.

Captain_Bob · October 7th, 2006, 05:11

Ok... I'm gonna go out on a limb here...

The Private.

Pure and simple... you are taking someone from a 2 dimensional way of thinking and placing them into a 3 dimensional world. The concepts are totally different. Think of everything you learned the for the first time ever as a PPL. Take off's, Landings, XW landings, No power landings, engine failures, stalls, crabing, turns around a point, learning where the wind is coming from, constant rate climbs and descents, standard rate turns, tracking and identifying VOR's, VFR Cross Country Planning, Visual Checkpoints, Lost Procedures, Triangulating your position, Class A, B, C, D etc. airspace, Notams, Weather, Talking to Ground, Tower, Approach, Clearance... Steep turns, Short & Soft field landings and take offs, Dead Reckoning, Uncontrolled field ops, Slow Flight, Night XC's and landings, Taxi-ing, pattern work, etc.

These are the very foundations of all of the other ratings. By the time we hit the other ratings we have been at least exposed to these items... but we had to learn it all from scratch in the beginning. For example... Tracking and identifying VOR's was simply an introduction into instrument flying. Manuevers, visual checkpoints, etc... we fine tune these skills in the commercial. CFI... we take everything we've learned... learn why we learned it and how to find answers to questions we never knew to ask... and put it all together.

Yeah... the other ratings may require more study time and knowledge... but the basic "stick & rudder" skills that we had to learn for the very first time that are the foundation of everything we do from that point on... well... to me... that's the hardest.

Bob

TaterSalad · October 7th, 2006, 06:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain_Bob

Ok... I'm gonna go out on a limb here...

The Private.

Pure and simple... you are taking someone from a 2 dimensional way of thinking and placing them into a 3 dimensional world. The concepts are totally different. Think of everything you learned the for the first time ever as a PPL. Take off's, Landings, XW landings, No power landings, engine failures, stalls, crabing, turns around a point, learning where the wind is coming from, constant rate climbs and descents, standard rate turns, tracking and identifying VOR's, VFR Cross Country Planning, Visual Checkpoints, Lost Procedures, Triangulating your position, Class A, B, C, D etc. airspace, Notams, Weather, Talking to Ground, Tower, Approach, Clearance... Steep turns, Short & Soft field landings and take offs, Dead Reckoning, Uncontrolled field ops, Slow Flight, Night XC's and landings, Taxi-ing, pattern work, etc.

These are the very foundations of all of the other ratings. By the time we hit the other ratings we have been at least exposed to these items... but we had to learn it all from scratch in the beginning. For example... Tracking and identifying VOR's was simply an introduction into instrument flying. Manuevers, visual checkpoints, etc... we fine tune these skills in the commercial. CFI... we take everything we've learned... learn why we learned it and how to find answers to questions we never knew to ask... and put it all together.

Yeah... the other ratings may require more study time and knowledge... but the basic "stick & rudder" skills that we had to learn for the very first time that are the foundation of everything we do from that point on... well... to me... that's the hardest.

Bob

And to add to all that, you've never taken a checkride before and have no clue what to expect. And in most cases, that translates to more checkride anxiety than in later checkrides.

Soar · October 7th, 2006, 08:26

I don't know. For me, my first checkride was the easiest because my instructor told me not to worry, the examiner is just gonna ride with you for a flight to see if you do ok. So I didn't know I was supposed to be nervous.

meritflyer · October 7th, 2006, 09:07

Instrument ride.

ajf005 · October 7th, 2006, 10:12

The hardest checkride by far was for my CFI. As for training though Id have to say private just because there is so much to learn and you're starting off with no knowledge.

moxiepilot · October 7th, 2006, 10:42

To earn: CFI
To learn: instrument

flyboy04 · October 7th, 2006, 10:50

I think the hardest stuff should be over after Instrument, after that nothing is really new. Remember if you bust your balls now, you wont have to bust them later, thats what an instructor of mine told me, and i found it to be very true, by the time my CFI oral came around, it was like a big overview of everything id learned in the past, took a 6 hour oral which seemed like it mostly me talking, however i dont think it will be the same for anyone.

deserteaglle · October 7th, 2006, 12:15

As far as private checkrides go I was pretty nervous about even though my instructor told me it really wasn't a big deal. I was nervous anyway though and it was a piece of cake after all the studying I did while I was worrying.

My plan now is to study so hard for my instrument that the checkride is as easy as the private which I was way over-prepared for by the time it came around. But there is ALOT of material.

Dazzler · October 7th, 2006, 12:27

Instrument.

kellwolf · October 7th, 2006, 16:38

Hardest from the studying aspect, the application aspect and the checkride (both flight and oral portions) was by FAR my initial CFI, which I did as the CFI-I with the FSDO. If I could heap anymore difficulty on myself without adding another engine, I don't know how I could.

JaceTheAce · October 7th, 2006, 16:44

Instrument Rating.

AngelFuree · October 7th, 2006, 16:50

I'll have to say CFI...Instrument is a new environment, but you pick up on it easily. Besides, it's a lot of fun. CFI, however...the training isn't exactly fun, and the checkrides aren't the best either...I'm glad I have my CFI done already

TFaudree_ERAU · October 7th, 2006, 17:05

Tailwheel

Seriously, I hated the CFI ride, and it was with a DE. I've heard that the FAA is very eager to hand out the pinks on the first crack at the CFI. Instrument for me was a piece of cake, but I did stumble on lost comm procedures. The flight itself was easy, because I had run over 1000 different scenarios in Flight Sim.

mastermags · October 7th, 2006, 21:33

I would say hands-down the CFI, followed by the private for me. I thought the instrument was relatively easy, but many people will disagree with me.

jtrain609 · October 8th, 2006, 01:56

Initial CFI is easily the hardest rating you'll ever do. The private is probably the strangest rating to do, because as Bob outlined very well, you're learning something completely foreign. But as far as needing pefect execution combined with an amount of knowledge that only Jesus Himself should be privy to, the CFI ride takes the cake.

Captain_Bob · October 8th, 2006, 02:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtrain609

But as far as needing pefect execution combined with an amount of knowledge that only Jesus Himself should be privy to, the CFI ride takes the cake.

LOL!

I can roll with that...

desertdog71 · October 8th, 2006, 03:38

I will let you know on the 24th.

All I can say is that as you move up the ladder in ratings the expectations are cranked up a little more each time. Based on the amount of preparation I am having to do. The CFI Initial is the one I am preparing for the most, and also the one causing me the most insomnia.

CapnJim · October 8th, 2006, 10:18

I'ma go with C to da Bob on this one: the Private is the most difficult. Steepest learning curve. The drill-and-kill for the CFI is rigorous, no question, but it's just old-fashioned hard work, not no-clue-what-the-hecks-goung-on-oh-crap-now-I'm-soloing.

Bandit_Driver · October 8th, 2006, 11:14

The CFI initial with the FAA is the hardest ride you will probably take. It is the most indepth oral and checkride I have every taken. They usually run between 4-6 hours.

When taken the private ride I though it was hard simply because everything was new and it was my first checkride, so I had no idea what to expect. In retrospect it is a simple ride to check basic skills and knowledge. Most CFI's are hard on their students during training and mock checkride than any DE is during the private ride.

Coney · October 8th, 2006, 11:19

As for training, the private pilot certificate was the hardest for me. But as for the practical test, I believe the CFI initial was far and away the most difficult.