Flight Instructor Renewal

[bluesky3]

Whats the best/easiest way to renew a flight instructor certificate? Can you take a weekend course offered by the FAA or do you have to take an online course by Jepp or Gleim? Thanks in advance!

 

[UPS Capt]

There's a great button on this website called "search". You'll be amazed how many times this subject has been discussed.

 

[bobbysamd]

CFI Renewal

I second UPS Captain. Having said that, why don't you simply work up an 8710, take it and your records to FSDO, and ask to be renewed based on activity? No refresher needed and it's free.

Hope that helps.

 

[SkywayFO]

Well if the FSDO won't do it like Bobby suggested try www.americanfliers.net . It is $100 for life, and $35 to do the paperwork for you every 2 years. It is easy and cheap comparied to Jepp and Gliem. I just take my laptop with me on the road, so it is more convient than a weekend course for me.

 

[rogerroger]

use the gleim

i just renewed mine last month. the reason i used the gleim was that there is no set time requirement for the chapters. u just can go right to the test. with american flyers u have to actually be in each chapter for something like 1hour before you can take the test. that can mean a long time to get it all done. so if you are not actually looking to learn anything and just want to get it done, the gleim is far worth it. more expensive, but i finished in a few 2-3 hour sessions.

 

[T/SF34/A]

ASF Weekender

I posted on this same subject about three months ago. I was not sure which direction to go...online or in person. Because I sit in front of a computer for at least ten hours a day, I opted to try the ASF Refresher. Cost was 180.00, although my credit card statment showed me billed for 163.00...AOPA discount maybe?

I am more of an interaction person, rather than sit in front of a computer and read about stuff I already know. Not that I'm all knowing...But anyway, there was at least 70 people who attended with vast experience ranges...500 hour CFI thru 15000 hour 767 Captains...plus everything in between. You like to talk aviation I would recommend going to one of these. It's very interactive.

It's a two day course, and if you're lucky, the course will be held close by your home, home base, etc. You get a 10 minute break every hour to go bs. Course material includes everything the feds say is required so basic flight instruction, pilot decision making, weather, CFIT, regs, FOI, etc...If you're interested go to the aviation safety foundation website; There's a link to it off the AOPA website. There's information there regarding schedules, the instructors, cost and hotels.

I would recommend attending if you see that one of the weekend instructors is going to be Art Flior. Very interesting individual with lots of cool aviation releated presentations, pictures and other stuff.

Any questions pm me and I'll be happy to answer.

/A

Whoa, forgot to mention that they talk you thru the 8710 process and submit it for you. Do not even need your logbook, just your CFI ticket and some forms of id. At the end of the course you get a certificate of graduation which serves as your temp until your brand new plastic one arrives, which took a month and a half for me.

 

[avbug]

For less than a penny you can print a new certificate on your home computer. No class, no muss, no fuss, and it will probably look more professional than the traditional paper issue.

With the new plastic ones' it's not so easy. My suggestion is to use a black magic marker on your driver's license. Just write flight instructor at the top, and circle the expiration date. It's close enough.

 

[bluesky3]

Thanks for the replies. Just wanted to get an idea what route other people had gone.

UPScapt,
Why do you even waste you time being a smart-a#$. How often on these boards are questions repeated....it's just part of the deal. Just like you don't want to take the time posting something helpful, I don't feel like wasting my time going through hundreds of other posts. Other people probably feel the same way you do about asking repeated questions, but they either help out or move on to another topic and don't waste their time. Still love ya though.

 

[UPS Capt]

it's just part of the deal. Just like you don't want to take the time posting something helpful

Actually, I've posted many helpful responses during my times on this board. I'm just a little tired of seeing the same old tired questions that have been answered ad nauseam simply because someone is just too lazy to use the "search" feature.

If it's not current news (meaning within the last couple hours) then it's probably been discussed, dissected, answered and lying within the search engine database.

My original post was not my attempt to be a smarta$$ but obviously you took it that way. Frankly though, I could honestly care less how you took it nor how you perceive me.

 

[Pilotadjuster]

renewal

Kinda my fault he answered like that. I asked exactly the same question last week...

Concensus at the time seemed to favor Gleim and there were a few negatives about the AF, including staying online forever and having outdated and obsolete information in the course.