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Archive for the ‘Instructing’ Category

Melody asks an (increasingly common!) question about Sport Pilot upgrades for instructors:

I was told by an examiner that I could get a CFI Sport Pilot rating, then add on a CFI-SE Airplane. Is this accurate?

Whenever you’re looking into adding on a rating – any rating, whether it’s adding multi-engine privileges to a private ticket, or seaplane privileges to your commercial – the first stop should be the appropriate Practical Test Standards guide. However, in this case, I pulled up the latest CFI Airplane PTS (FAA-S-8081-6C, 1.4 MB) from the FAA’s website and flipped to page 1-xi, the Additional Rating Task Table.

Of course, it says nothing about Sport Pilot, which I suppose is not that surprising; the last revision to the PTS was 2006, when Sport Pilot was still in its infancy. What’s most likely, then, is that even if you held a CFI-SP rating, you’d need to meet the aeronautical experience and certificate requirements (ie Commercial) for a normal CFI Airplane rating. At first glance, it seems like it makes more sense to just go the “standard” route and work directly on meeting the requirements to become a CFI.

Rather than spend all day trying to find the answer on Google, I called up the AOPA hotline (1-800-872-2672) to see what they knew. The person I spoke with had the same thoughts – the full CFI requirements are necessary as there is no PTS additional rating information – although he very wisely pointed out that as a CFI-SP you would be earning money and logging time, while if you were simply working towards the CFI requirements there would be no income aiding the process.

Hope you can decide on a good path, and fly safe!

Also, if any readers have first-hand information on the topic, please let us know!

This is great follow-up question to a previous post, “Can you use a q-route below FL180?”. The question came to me after posting a link to that post on my Twitter profile.

So what the heck is a Q-route?

Well.  There are primarily three types of airways:

1) VOR Federal airways – This is the airway system that most pilots are most familar with.  This includes your typical low alitudes “V” airways and the high-altitude “J” routes.

2)  Colored Federal Airways – There are still 49 of these airways still in existence.  LF and MF and they can be found mostly in Alaska.  They are designated by their color names Amber, Blue, Green or Red and then either a one or two digit number, i.e. “A 7″

3) RNAV airways – This is the latest and greatest route system found in our nation’s airspace.  The foundation of the RNAV route system started in 2000 with industry operators requesting the FAA to increase the use of RNAV to help navigate the nation’s airspace.  The advantages of the RNAV system?  Reduced mileage, reduction of conflicts between routes, and additional routes within the same airspace.

There are two types of RNAV routes:

1) Q-routes (high) are available for use by RNAV equipped aircraft between 18,000 feet MSL and FL 450 inclusive. Q-routes are depicted on Enroute High Altitude Charts.

A typical Q-route

1) T-routes (low) are available for use by RNAV equipped aircraft from 1,200 feet above the surface (or in some instances higher) up to but not including 18,000 feet MSL. T-routes are depicted on Enroute Low Altitude Charts.

A typical t-route

So now a good follow-up question would be, “Can you file and use a Q-route below FL180?”  and you see, we the staff at askacfi.com have thought ahead and already answered that one for you and you can read the answer to that question here.

Mike writes in asking:

I am an out of work, corporate pilot who has let his CFI expire . I am applying for a job that requires a valid CFI license. I have not instructed for some time. In your opinion, what is the most cost effective and painless approach to re-instating my license?

Hi Mike.  There are two ways to get your CFI reinstanted:

1) You can call your local Designated pilot examiner (DP) and say that you need to do a CFI reinstatement ride.  They will charge you a fee for the ride, but that is probably the fastest way.  You don’t need to have a sign off from another flight instructor.

2) The other thing to do would be to call your local Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) directly and tell them that you need your CFI certificate reinstated and that you would like to schedule a flight check.  The nice thing about riding with the FAA is that the ride (minus the airplane costs…which you provide) is free.

Mike wrote back asking a good follow-up question:

I haven’t been in a small Cessna in some time. My recent career has been in large transport planes. Do you recommend any type of refresher and is it possible to fail the reinstatement you mentioned.

It is possible to fail the reinstatement ride, especially if you haven’t instructed in a while. Most FAA examiners and DPs will be looking for your teaching ability, not necessarily your rote knowledge about a certain subject area. They will be looking for how you communicate and

educate. Being able to fly and demonstrate the maneuvers correctly from the right seat is also important.

It may not be the cheapest method, but if you want to gain some instructing proficiency I’d recommend taking a CFI refresher / renewal course.

AOPA, Jeppesen, Gleim all offer online CFI renewals. You could also attend a weekend CFI clinic in your area. I personally like the online series developed by AOPA and the ASF (Air Safety Foundation). If you successfully pass this course, it will take the place of the oral portion on the checkride.

From Mark, we have another question about Sport Pilot:

Does a current Private Pilot have to get a Sport Pilot rating as part of the requirements of being a CFI-SP Sport Pilot flight instructor?

Mark, the FAA has a table (pdf; it’s hard to track down!) that lists all the requirements for various SP certificates. CFI – Sport Pilot lines that are relevant to your question are here:

Training requirements:

• 150 Hours – Total
• Additional flight training requirements for each category and class.
• Sport Pilot certificate or higher
• Category and class privileges or rating

Testing requirements:

• CFI Recommendation - Knowledge test – Practical Test

So, you have to have at least 150 hours total time, and hold at least a sport pilot certificate with the appropriate category & class for the type of aircraft you will be teaching in. Aside from that, you’ll need to get a CFI endorsement and pass the knowledge & practical tests.

Scott writes:

I have the following certificates/ratings: ATP MEL, commercial helicopter, instrument helicopter, private SEL, and CFI helicopter. I am wanting to add a commercial or ATP to my SEL certificate, followed by my airplane CFI and MEI. 1st question: When I take my commercial checkride, does it have to be in a complex aircraft? 2nd question: I understand getting my ASEL CFI would be considered an add on. It is not clear to me what the requirements are for an add on. Any insight? Thanks.

Scott, the first place to look is the current ATP Practical Test Standards, FAA-S-8081-5F (pdf). There is no aircraft type requirement listed, and one of the CFIs I work with did her initial ATP checkride in a Skyhawk with fixed prop and gear. If you take a Commercial checkride, it must be done in a complex aircraft. The Commercial PTS, FAA-S-8081-12B (pdf) requires that if you add an ASEL rating to your Rotorcraft – Helicopter, you must do almost the entire checkride.

As far as the Instructor, Airplane addition goes, again we have to go to the CFI PTS, FAA-S-8081-6C (pdf) on page 36 of the pdf:

Adding an ASEL instructor rating to a RH instructor certificate.

For the addon checkride, most of the tasks have you refer to the notes under each area of operation. I won’t break it down task by task, but hopefully this will help you get started on the right path towards your new ratings.

Joshua is wondering if he’s gotten the right information about CFI requirements:

I recently obtained my multi-engine commercial license in a DA-42 Twin Star. Since I did my commercial in a complex aircraft, do I have to train in a complex single for my initial CFI? I am being told that I do, but it does not make sense since I already have a complex endorsement.

Joshua, you don’t technically have to train in a single-engine aircraft, but the Flight Instructor Practical Test Standards (pdf) require that you take at least part of the checkride in a complex aircraft: “A complex airplane must be furnished for the performance of takeoff and landing maneuvers, and appropriate emergency procedures.”

The only specific flight time requirement for any flight instructor certificate—and this comes right out of FAR 61.183(j)—is that you log 15 PIC hours in the category and class your CFI will be valid for. So, you don’t have to receive instruction in a complex airplane, but you do need to take your checkride in one.

We have been receiving a lot of Sport pilot and LSA-related questions lately. Ken has two more:

“If I get my PPL, can I count my hours in a non-LSA aircraft toward a SP CFI?”

And, a more general question, “Is there some common reason why schools and FBOs seem very cold to the suggestion of having an LSA craft in their fleet?”

Ken, I’m going to answer your questions out of order, because the second one actually has a lot of depth to it. As you probably know, Sport pilots can ’self-certify’ their medical fitness—simply being healthy and possessing a valid driver’s license is enough to legally carry a passenger in a light sport aircraft. Somewhat understandably, insurance companies are not too excited about this. Where there was previously some level of oversight in the form of an FAA-approved medical examiner, there is now what you could describe as an honor system. That seems to be part of it; it would be difficult for clubs and FBOs to insure pilots who hold only a Sport certificate.

What you may not realize, however, is that Light Sport Aircraft are also self-certified, in a way. A light sport manufacturer abides by FAA regulations and requirements, but there is no FAA certification process to ensure that the aircraft are being built to those standards. It’s not as if there are LSAs falling out of the sky because of this, but there’s a reason that a Sting Sport costs significantly less than a Bonanza or a Cirrus. This is probably the biggest hurdle for FBOs, as getting hull insurance for Sport aircraft is also quite expensive. Despite these problems, there are many clubs and schools, at least in the Northwest, that do offer Sport training and rentals, but there are likely to be more restrictions.

With that out of the way, I’ll dive into (and expand, for other readers) your first question:

Can normal non-sport aircraft time count towards an SP-CFI (Sport Pilot-limited flight instructor) rating?

Simply put, yes, but it’s a little more awkward than that. First of all, the flight experience requirements depend on which type of SP-CFI you wish to become. This is about as easy as it sounds. If you don’t plan on teaching in a powered parachute, don’t read that section of FAR 61, Subpart K, which discusses the various SP-CFIs. For our purposes, we’ll assume you’re going to be flying airplanes, in which case you need to simply log at least 150 hours total flight time, 100 hours of which is to be as PIC and 50 hours of which is to be in a single-engine airplane. Of that time, only 15 hours must be in an LSA. Your logbook could contain 50 hours of glider time, 100 hours of helicopter time, or any combination of flight time that adds up to 50 hours of SEL/SES and 100 hours of PIC in a powered aircraft.

It’s easy to get lost in the FARs, as most instructors will agree. Clayton asks a question that I had myself a few months back:

I cannot find a clear explanation in the regs saying that a CFI w/asel privileges can teach sport pilot students. Everything I am seeing is referring to someone that wants an initial CFI with sport pilot ratings. I would think that an instructor that already has an ASEL certificate satisfies all the requirements for sport pilot. Am I thinking about this correctly?

Clayton, you’re right—as a CFI, you can teach Sport pilot students. The place to look is FAR § 61.193—flight instructor privileges, which states:

A person who holds a flight instructor certificate is authorized within the limitations of that person’s flight instructor certificate and ratings to give training and endorsements that are required for, and relate to:

(a) A student pilot certificate;
(b) A pilot certificate;
(c) A flight instructor certificate;
(d) A ground instructor certificate;
(e) An aircraft rating;
(f) An instrument rating;
(g) A flight review, operating privilege, or recency of experience requirement of this part;
(h) A practical test; and
(i) A knowledge test.

The key part of the regulation is that you can provide training required for a pilot certificate, not a specific certificate. Even if you only hold a Commercial rating yourself, as a CFI you can provide training towards an ATP certificate; you can likewise train a Sport pilot. The only requirement is that you’re training somebody within the categories and classes listed on your pilot certificate. You will need to become familiar with FAR § 61 subpart J. Like Private pilots, CFIs can also use their driver’s license in lieu of a medical, and operate as a CFI-SP, limited to Sport rules and regulations.

A CFI teaching Sport pilots will also need to check out FAR  § 61.419, which further explains that you’ll need a small amount of ground and flight instruction – similar to a flight review – before you can teach Sport topics. There is an endorsement for each part of the training; once you’ve been endorsed, you’re good to go.

Whether you’re an instructor or a student, you can get more Sport Pilot information at the EAA’s sportpilot.org.

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.