Do you keep your CFI current?

[John Pennekamp]

I keep mine current not only in case I want to teach someone to fly in the future, but it's also great for picking up women in bars.

No, but seriously, it looks good on a resume, and also can get you an FAA job is you ever get sick of the airlines. All the inspector positions require current CFI credentials.

 

[flyboycpa]

You never know, later in life you may buy a plane and your son, daughter, wife, nephew, etc.. may take an interest and want to learn to fly. You would save some cash in the long run.

Not sure if having a CFI would get you lower insurance premiums.

And hell I paid way too much for mine, so the 120 bucks it costs to keep it the rest of my life is fine with me

Exactly! I have a wife that was already a Private Pilot when I met her, plus we both fly our 17-month old in my wife's Stinson and my Swift. I keep her BFR current, as well as that of many of my close buddies.

I also do only tailwheel instruction, just because that is a niche that isn't very well served. Probably 90% of the dual I've given has been tailwheel. I enjoy it, it's not a resume builder, just something fun to do.

Plus, I'll most likely teach my boy later in life to fly, whether he pursues it as a career is up to him. He'll at least have his Private-SEL come heck-or-high water!

Too hard to get, but too easy to maintain!

 

[d328pilot]

I have kept mine current and I even gave a BFR and IPC to some friends the last time I was back home.. It is too easy to renew and too stupid not to.

 

[dirkdigler]

Liabilities

I have kept mine current and I even gave a BFR and IPC to some friends the last time I was back home.. It is too easy to renew and too stupid not to.

I keep my CFI current but I do not use it. Liability risk is just too high without an insurance. I understand the spirit of being an instructor. Once an instructor, always an instructor, after all. But doing any kind of sign offs such as BFR or ICC could come back to haunt you. I would instruct only in certain environment.

 

[Alcatraz]

Yeah, I keep it current, for the same reasons above. You just never know if you would want to instruct a friend or something. I still do the Am Flyers thing that I paid for in 2002, and haven't paid a dime for since. Of course, it helps that the FSDO is a mere seven minute drive away, so I can do the paperwork really easy!

 

[Dumb Pilot]

I let mine go back in 1986 and I can't think of a good reason (or even a bad one for that matter) as to why I would have kept it active for the past 20 some years. As to teaching my kids to fly, they will become pilots over my dead body

 

[bubbers44]

I had 2000 hrs instruction given in the mid 70's and finally got an airline job. I let it expire when a flake aquaintance of mine wanted me to sign him off for an instrument rating he wasn't ready for. Now, a retired airline pilot with assets, I do not want to risk losing it all signing somebody off to fly and have a lawyer sue me because I have money and he has a problem.

 

[Helos2Galaxy]

I have been doing the AMerican Flyers lifetime program for 3 or 4 renewals and by far it is the most user friendly and interferes the least with my personal life. As an airline bubba, I probably won't use it a whole lot unless my kids want to fly. Am I proficient as a CFI, no not really but for the legality aspect of keeping it current, American Flyers is just fine. Should I ever decide to teach again, I'll take a few lessons at a flight school.

 

[d328pilot]

I enjoy it, it's not a resume builder, just something fun to do.

That sounds like a pretty good reason to me.

Its really sad that our legal system is so restrictive. Can't instruct because of liability and cant rent an airplane because the cost of insurance has made rental prices too high. Sad indeed.

 

[Visceral]

If you have given the proper training per CFRs and signed everywhere you should with the correct sign offs, the FAA can't fault you for a pilot's future misdeeds. When is the last time you've seen a probable cause of an accident or incident as "failure to receive proper training endorsement". Usually, its the old "pilot error".