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2 Answers

CFI Checkride – Manual Flight Plan / Log vs Computer-Generated

Asked by: 1855 views Flight Instructor

CFI checkride soon- should I prepare a "hand-spun" flight log for a notional XC as part of my lesson plan? Alternatively, could I present a commercially-produced, wx-optimized computer-generated flight log? For context (and for the peanut gallery) I'm a career USAF C-130 Navigator so I have no trouble explaining the concepts of air navigation, just simply wondering if there's "value added" in arts/crafts show-and-tell for the DPE while we all know 99.69% of pilots today use skyvector/AOPA/FF to generate their flight log/fuel plan. Thanks in advance dudes/dudettes.   

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2 Answers



  1. Kris Kortokrax on Aug 15, 2019

    To answer your question, we have to take a look at the Private ACS and Flight Instructor PTS.

    The Private ACS contains a task titled Cross Country Flight Planning. It uses terms such as prepare and create. This suggests to me that the applicant needs to plan the flight, rather than entering the departure & destination into a computer and pressing Enter.

    The Flight Instructor PTS also contains a task dealing with Flight Planning. The objective is “To determine that the applicant exhibits instructional knowledge of the elements of navigation and flight planning by describing:” a list of items.

    The intent during a Flight Instructor test is not for you to be able to produce a charted course, navlog and flight plan, but to teach an aspiring pilot how to do it (or if you will, the steps followed by the computer to generate the end product).

    Many people (not you in particular) approach the Flight Instructor practical test as a Commercial practical test flown from the right seat. It is not.

    The oral should proceed along the lines of (for example) the DPE giving a scenario, such as “I am a Junior in high school who aspires to be an airline pilot.” and then asking the applicant to teach the subject of Flight Planning & Navigation (or whatever other task the DPE selects).

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  2. Gary S. on Aug 15, 2019

    Sounds pretty good, Kris. Personally, if it were me, I wouldn’t mind asking the examiner beforehand what he likes to see. Above all what he’ll be looking for is an applicant’s ability to teach a beginner. It’s the teaching ability that’s important here.

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