We now train initial flight instructor candidates. If you hold a commercial certificate and want to teach, you can do your CFI training with us at Brennand Airport in Neenah.
The rates are the same as all of our training: $58 per hour for instruction and $135 per hour wet for the 1961 Cessna 172B. No packages required. See rates →
What the FAA Requires
Under Part 61, to earn a flight instructor certificate with an airplane single-engine rating you must:
- Age: Be at least 18 years old.
- Language: Be able to read, speak, write, and understand English.
- Certificate: Hold a commercial pilot or ATP certificate with an instrument rating.
- Knowledge Tests: Pass the Fundamentals of Instructing (FOI) and Flight Instructor Airplane (FIA) knowledge tests.
- Ground Training: Receive a logbook endorsement on the fundamentals of instructing and the aeronautical knowledge areas for the rating.
- Spin Training: Receive a logbook endorsement for spin entry, spins, and spin recovery. We do not do spin training ourselves. We will refer you to an instructor who does.
- Practical Test: Pass the oral and flight portions of the checkride.
What the Training Looks Like
CFI training is different from every certificate before it. You already know how to fly. Now you learn to teach it.
- Teaching from the right seat: You fly and explain every maneuver from the instructor’s seat, to commercial standards.
- Lesson plans: You build your own lesson plans and teach them to us on the ground and in the air.
- Fundamentals of instructing: How people learn, how to spot and correct errors, and how to evaluate a student fairly.
- Endorsements and regulations: What you will sign as an instructor and what each signature means.
- Checkride preparation: Practice teaching sessions and mock oral exams until you are ready.
You work one-on-one with the same instructor from the first lesson through the checkride.
Why Train to Teach Here
We teach because we like teaching, and that is what we want to pass on. The goal is not only to pass the checkride. It is to make you an instructor your students are glad they found.
If instructing is a step toward a flying career, we can help you plan that path too. Dan wrote up what his own CFI certificate cost if you want to see real numbers from his training.
Getting Started
Tell us where you are: certificates held, knowledge tests passed, and when you want to start. Contact us and we will put a plan together.