Quality CFIs

[Paul Hamilton]

I have the Jeppesen Sport Pilot training syllabus along with all the others.

As good of a job as Jeppesen does with their textbooks and training materials in general, their Sport Pilot syllabus is pretty hard to figure out for the starting CFIS. It looks like a 141 type syllabus. I think it would scare the sport pilot applicent. Do you actually use the Jeppesen private pilot syllabus for your students or just make them buy it?

It least they do have a flight portion with tollarances and scenarios but each lesson has to much paperwork and boxes for me. It looks like a private pilot modified for sport like most of the rest.

Ryan, I do not see that Jeppesen has anything for tail wheel ground or flight school.

[zaitcev]

(Jepp's SP syllabus) looks like a 141 type syllabus. I think it would scare the sport pilot applicent.

I wonder if this is generally true. I was looking into SP cert because I did not want to be at the mercy of the medical regime, not because I thought that flying an LSA was easier than flying a 172.

[Helen]

Helen, the credentials associated with your instructors are quite impressive. In most professional organizations there is a self governing body to insure minimum standards, quality, ethics are maintained. Who is the governing body for Flight Instructors? (NAFI, SAFE, other?) I would definitely buy instruction from a Master Flight Instructor, but is there another 'credential' a student should look for when shopping for quality instruction? How should I differentiate the good from the bad, especially since most times my search is online looking at a resume.

NAFI is the largest trade organization of flight instructors. While there are many great flight instructors out there who are not Master Flight Instructors, any instructor who holds a NAFI MCFI accreditation is a successful instructor with at least 1000 hours of dual given, several recent passes in the past two years, and is active in the greater aviation community.

NAFI is in the process of setting up an on-line database where students will be able to search for NAFI Master Instructors in their area.

As for interviewing other non-MCFIs, you can take a look at the criteria NAFI sets forth on their web site to become a MCFI. That's a pretty good start. First and foremost is recent successful passes and other instruction. Second is involvement in the greater aviation community.

When I interview an instructor I look for a proven record of passes, stick-and-rudder skills, size (they need to fit in an LSA), aviation community involvement, preparedness (you'd be amazed at the number of people who walk into my school for an interview not even having looked up what and LSA is), and a great personality.

Helen