CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 7, Issue 4 - 6

AS A NEW INSTRUCTOR, RECOGNIZE WHEN YOU KNOW YOUR STUFF. KNOW WHAT
YOU KNOW-BE HONEST IF YOU DON'T BUT STAND YOUR GROUND WHEN YOU DO.

Airlines have been increasingly hiring pilots
in record numbers, and a signiﬁcant number of
those pilots have been coming from the ranks of
certiﬁcated ﬂight instructors (CFIs). As CFIs
with enough hours to qualify for minimum
hiring levels are scooped up by airlines, those
left to train new pilots tend to have limited time
and experience in the instructor's seat. This
presents challenges and opportunities for the
CFIs and their students.
There is a common perception that experience
automatically makes someone a better teacher.
While this is true to an extent, in some cases,
being "wet behind the ears" can have both
beneﬁts and challenges when it comes to being
a new CFI.
A new CFI has the basic training the FAA
requires relating to the teaching process and
how to instruct other pilots for ratings or

certificates, but in reality he or she has not
actually practiced it. The first few students
really are the proverbial guinea pigs on whom
they test and hone their skills as they improve
their teaching methodology.

tests. They may also be more current in aircraft
commonly used in ﬂight training and more
proﬁcient at maneuvers than a part-time CFI
who normally ﬂies a Cessna Citation but took on
a student on the side just to help out a friend.

Does this mean that if you are a new instructor
you are going to do a bad job for your customers?
Not at all. In fact, I have seen some "senior"
instructors provide inferior instruction
compared to a "newbie." In two recent cases,
I am conﬁdent that the applicants I saw on
practical tests probably would have passed
if they had worked with a newly certiﬁcated
instructor instead of working with their old
part-time CFI who had obviously not read the
Airplane Flying Handbook or a practical test
standard within the last decade.

Some of the challenges and opportunities that
new CFIs face are not always spelled out as they
go through their training and start with their
ﬁrst students, so as an instructor and examiner
who has made it a few thousand hours into
the instruction game, I have some advice for
"newbie" instructors.

New instructors are current on training
requirements and expectations for practical

YOU WILL HAVE CUSTOMERS WHO
THINK THEY KNOW MORE THAN YOU
As a new instructor, your hours may be low.
This doesn't mean you don't know what you are
talking about. Part of becoming an instructor is
learning things that the average pilot does not
know. In particular, regulatory requirements

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 7, Issue 4

https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol14issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol14issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol14issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol14issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol13issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol13issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol13issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol13issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol12issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol12issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol12issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol12issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol11issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol11issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol11issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol11issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol10issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol10issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol10issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol10issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/flashcards_2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol9issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol9issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol9issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol9issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol8issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol8issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol8issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol8issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol7issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol7issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol7issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol7issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol6issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol6issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol6issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol6issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol5issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol5issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol5issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol5issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol4issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol4issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/flashcards_201310
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol4issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol4issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol3issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol3issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol3issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol2issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol2issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol2issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol2issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_201011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_201009
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com