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How many hours are usually needed to be hired as a CFI?

Asked by: 5213 views , ,
Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor, General Aviation, Instrument Rating, Private Pilot

I have my single and multi-engine commercial instrument ratings from my time in the military and I am looking at becoming a CFI. I never instructed in the military so I'm nervous about getting into teaching without more time in civilian aviation. How many hours do most CFIs have when they start and what is a good metric to judge myself by before beginning to teach?

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1 Answers



  1. jsanderson10 on Dec 04, 2015

    To be hired as a CFI and to be competent to effectively teach are two different things. There are plenty of flight schools out there that will hire you with no dual-given, just a brand new CFI certificate, since many schools are hurting for instructors. So if you have the credentials I wouldn’t worry about finding a job.

    Until you actually start instructing it will be hard to tell that you’re ‘ready’ to instruct. The best advice I can give is have a good working knowledge of the PTS and the information you are responsible for teaching. Being an instructor is a lot like being an aviation librarian, you don’t necessarily have to have all the knowledge in your head ready to go, but you should know how to use a PTS, FAR/AIM, FAA resources, POH, performance charts, lesson plans, ect. so that when your student needs to learn something new, or has a question, you can be the person to provide them with the materials they need for success.

    A friend of mine is a military helicopter pilot who became an instructor and he mentioned how surprised he was at how much information was involved on the civilian side of aviation that he did not expect. I guess its hard to answer your question further without knowing what kind of experience you have in civilian flying. It would probably be a good idea to stop into a local flight club and find a CFI and talk with them about your experience and goals and see what they recommend. If you want to talk more in depth about it by phone or email let me know, I started as a low time instructor myself. Also here’s a good article with some food for thought..

    http://www.avweb.com/news/pelican/182039-1.html

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