Freddie wrote me to ask:

Hi Paul. I have waited my entire life to finally get to this point where I am able to make flight teaching my one and only. My wife has taught high school for 25 years, and that helps a great deal so now I can devote my heart, soul and mind into becoming a CFI. I will not go any further up in the career ladder. My heart is set on the intimacy of teaching. So my question is, where would be a good start for me? Where would I be needed most? Ex: Hometown? Or when I finish will I be able to teach in one or multiple airports? Thank you.

Well first off, BRAVO!  That is awesome, and I am excited for you and the career choice that you have chosen.  I wish there were a lot more pilots and people like you who value general aviation flight instruction.

One of the interesting aspects about becoming a CFI is that once you are an instructor you automatically become a small business owner.  And as in any business, you now have products to sell.  The products are 1) Aviation and 2) Yourself.  As the owner of this business you also have complete control over the development of this business.  You can decide, How many clients do you want?  What flight training market do you want to develop? and Which sales region do you want to establish your business in?

As I travel around and talk to people, it seems the area hurting the most for good quality instructors is the smaller local hometown airports.  Instructors at these airports seem to be the ones most likely to be lost to either regional airlines, corporate outfits or larger flight schools at bigger airports.  A smaller airport also has a harder time providing enough demand to keep a instructor on the field “full time”, especially if the airport is located where flying weather is very seasonal. Because of these factors, these airports are the ones most hurt by pilot shortages and lower regional airline experience requirements.

My advice to you would be to grow your business at a local “hometown” flight school.  I mean, really take control of it from top to bottom.  Work hard to create new pilots and grow your business by word-of-mouth.  A good first step would be to create a PP ground school program, advertise it heavily locally (your investment) and bring in as many new student pilots to the airport.  A ground school is a cheap and easy way for people to try out aviation.  Try and get as many of your ground school students to flight train with you as well.  Once these students have passed the private pilot rides. Simply repeat and recycle this process again.  You’ll soon have more primary and secondary clients.  You’ll also have about as much flying and business than you can stand.

I know I’m simplifying things quite a bit but I’ve had some great success using this method.  It works really well enticing a lot of non-pilots out to the airport and keeping me busy for months until I was ready to start the next ground school.

I know I’ve mentioned this book before, but I really can’t say enough about, “The Savvy Flight Instructor” by Gregory Brown, if you want to learn how to approach flight instruction as a business endeavor.  So many pilots simply look at flight instruction as a career stepping stone and not as the business of selling and promoting aviation.

I wish you all the best in becomming a CFI.  If you have any questions about flight training or aviation, you know where to ask and as always…

Fly Safe!

I have been really amazed at the timing of some of the questions I have been receiving from readers lately.  The last two questions that have been asked of me have been questions I have asked myself within the past week.  This morning’s question is a perfect example:

Paul, I’ve been teaching this gal with ADD…how do I keep her focused on a task? I’ve all but stood on my head. Thanks

I currently have a primary student who I have been working with for both the ground and flight portion of a private pilot course who has ADHD.  While every student can present unique and individual challenges, a student that has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder takes careful planning to keep the student clearly focused on the daily lesson’s objectives.  The key is to treat this condition as a strength and to use that to your and the student’s benefit.  Pilot training is perfectly suited to people with ADD because it is a very hands-on type of activity.  The struggle is usually with the theory and knowledge ground portion of the course.

Here are some suggestions to help keep such a student involved and participating.  This is not meant to be exhaustive or to stereotype students who have this condition.  It will vary student to student.  These are just some of the things I have done (or do) with some of my students who have ADD:

• Use the “Demonstration-Performance Method” The Aviation Instructors Handbook taught us about the 3 teaching methods.  Don’t even bother with lecture or guided discussion.  Get them hands-on as much as possible and keep your demonstration portion short…very short.  They will learn during while performing what you quickly demonstrated.
• Do not recommend a home study course. If you do, make it a home study course they do at the airport under your supervision.
• During ground training, use visual aids as much and often as possible. Even if it is simple hand drawings and model airplanes.  Students with ADD tend to benefit from the use of visual aids.
• Provide daily challenges. This will vary student to student but you’ll have to work harder to motivate ADD students to participate.  “See if you can get a 95% on this chapter’s test.”
• For younger students, provide constant supervision. If you leave them alone to study while you work on updating your logbook (or blog) they will not be studying when you return and might appear frustrated that they are not learning the concepts.
• Stop the discussion and ask questions.  To keep this student involved in the lesson and tuned in, it will be necessary to ask questions often.  Not just to rephrase what has been discussed but for you to ask questions in a truly meaningful way so that the student has to think and prepare an answer.  If they know a question is coming, they are less likely to drift off.
• Don’t let the student give a “rote” answer. Sometimes a rote answer is easy for a ADD student to respond with but they don’t really understand the concept.  Grill them a little deeper to make sure they understand what is going on.
• Provide real world examples.  For example, when it comes to weather, print out current weather reports and forecasts and have them read back the current and forecasted weather.
• Focus on correlation. From the example above you can use that lesson to correlate the time zone lesson with the aviation weather chapter.
• Be prepared for “accelerated” training. You can (and should) introduce advanced concepts early.  Let this student work the radios, even if it is just the second lesson.  ADD students will tend to catch on to concepts very early and will enjoy the challenge.
• Let the student fly as much as possible. While they are flying, even if it is just enroute to the practice area, provide a challenge.  “See if you can keep the altitude within 50 feet out to the practice area.”
• Keep the briefs short. I would conduct pre-briefs and post-briefs just like any other student but much shorter.  Get to the point and get flying.
• Make sure they understand “fitness for flight.” I’ve had a student call me and say, “I didn’t take my medicine.  It won’t be a good day for ground school”  That is fine with me.  No reason to waste my time or theirs when no new material will be absorbed.
• Stress the use of checklists and procedures guides. You can pre-brief how to do a slow flight maneuver but make them write out the procedures and then reference that procedure guide in the airplane.

Again, this list is in no way exhaustive.   Every student’s needs and ADD severity will be highly unique.  The idea is simply to keep them interested. The other side of this coin is of course, your student may not be cut out for flying.  When it comes down to it, flying an aircraft does require intense concentration for long periods of time and that might prove to be too difficult for some severe cases.  As instructors, we like to think that we can teach ANYBODY to fly but we have to understand learning to fly comes with  limitations…the student has to be prepared and able (mentally, emotionally and physically) to learn.

I know this must be a difficult position for you and I hope that you can implement some of my ideas to help.  I am very interested in learning how this goes.

As always…

Fly Safe.

Here is a flight training question from Frank:

Recently forced to retire from an airline career due to age 60; had 22 years of military flying before that, including appx 1500 hours of instuctor time in various military aircraft.
Do you know if the FAA has changed their rules to allow the military instructor time to count toward a CFI rating? Am going to pick up the CFI, but it would be nice to cut the program down some if the FAA gives credit for the instruction time.

Hi Frank, great question.

The federal regulations dealing with flight instructor certification are listed in subpart H of 14 CFR 61.  When you read through the requirements for becoming a flight instructor, the only flight experience requirement listed is that you have 15 hours of PIC in the category and class you are going to instruct in.  The other requirements to becomming a CFI, according to 14 CFR 61.183 are:

• 18 years of age (you meet that one!)
• Read and write English (check)
• Commercial or ATP pilot (not a problem)
• Instrument Rating (you have it)
• Logbook endorsement for a written test on the fundamentals of instruction.
• Pass the aforementioned written test (the only way out of this written test is if you are already a flight or ground instructor, have a teaching certificate or you are employed as a teacher at an accredited college or university).
• Logbook endorsement saying you are competent and have instructional proficiency in stalls awareness and spins (entry and recovery)
• Logbook endorsement for the practical test
• Pass the required practical test

The other regulation that may apply here (because you are an ex-military pilot) is FAR 61.73 which allows you to take your military certificates and apply for the FAA equivalent of those certificates.  However, that is limited to the commercial pilot certificate, instrument rating and any other category and class ratings you may have as a military pilot.  There is nothing mentioned in this regulation about applying military flight instructor experience to apply for a FAA flight instructor certificate.  I can only guess at the FAA’s reasoning behind this, but I would think it has to do with the vast differences in the training mindset and cultural environment between military and civilian flight training.

I think your making a great decision to become a flight instructor.  General aviation needs flight instructors, especially those with experience and wisdom that a lifetime of career flying brings.  With a little bit of searching, you can find a job that pays pretty well too.  Granted not as much as you were making at the airlines but you won’t go hungry.

Thanks again for your question and….

Fly Safe.