The CFI Ride

[brianjohn]

Ok guys. I'm sure this has been discussed ad nauseum on this board, but I haven't taken the time to look.
I've got the CFI ride next tuesday.
Any last minute, er, last week advice?
I know teaching is so much of explaining the "why's ?" of doing things.
For example, please help me clear this up: Why EXACTLY do we standardize and adhere to certain airspeeds and flap configurations on downwind, base, and final?
Any other often overlooked/ underrated details and why they are done? Please add to the list. This is mostly for the current CFI's...
What are some of the common "why do we do this?" questions asked by your students?
Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[JediNein]

"Ya gotta have a procedure for everything."
--A. Jacobs, CFI, CFII, MEI, ASC, Retired Boeing Test Pilot, and overall nice guy

How can we repeat anything if we don't know how we did it?

Can you teach a crosswind takeoff and landing? Can you explain the difference between the wing-low method and the other one? Do you know what that other one is? Do you know what *YOUR* preference is?

How about the magnetic compass and its quirks? (those were two of the questions on my CFI ride)

Got the definition of learning down pat?

Got plans for a relaxing evening the day BEFORE the checkride?

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Fly SAFE!
Jedi Nein

 

[350DRIVER]

Any last minute, er, last week advice?

The best advice is to just relax and look over all your stuff in the CFI PTS and spend some time in the FAR/AIM... I am sure you will do well if your CFI has signed you off and he has given you the green light to take the ride. Just like a prize fight, relax and rely on all of your hard work that you have put in to get to this point. Don't question your abilities, you would not have the endorsement to take the ride if you were not prepared to the utmost.

Why EXACTLY do we standardize and adhere to certain airspeeds and flap configurations on downwind, base, and final?

Because it makes us do things exactly the same way each and every time one flies and allows no margin for error or for us to second guess the "why" or "if" factors... It is a "habit" and the more times we do things in a "set" and "standardized" manner then the more confident the "student" or "we" will feel about his or her skills and abilities.... The main reason we do things in this manner is because "safety" is always considered to be of the utmost of importance and we can minimize risk and vulnerabilities this way... The more you advance in your career the more "standardized" it will get and you will have a better understanding of this.

Any other often overlooked/ underrated details and why they are done? Please add to the list. This is mostly for the current CFI's...

Just be "confident" and "relax".... You will do fine, you seem like a very good CFI applicant from reading your post.


good luck

3 5 0

 

[Cardinal]

Why EXACTLY do we standardize and adhere to certain airspeeds and flap configurations on downwind, base, and final?

To reduce the number of variables the student has to deal with is a good argument. The aircraft will have about as much energy at the same place every time. The student is more likely to remember to make configuration changes if he does them every time. It slows the airplane down so both you and he can ponder and discuss what's happening to the airplane. Ponder the reasons why you can fly a turning, constant deceleration approach to a spot landing, but the student can't, it's all buried in that thought process.

Some decent reading in here:
http://forums.flightinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2181
http://forums.flightinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1380
http://forums.flightinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4938

 

[HU-16]

Definetly relax the night before and get a good nights sleep. Do something to completely forget about flying for awhile. Also, lookout for the examiner taking the controls and then flying as if he didn't have a clue what he was doing. My guy was real subtle about it, so it took me a minute to figure out what he was doing. He was just checking how far I would let something go before stepping in. Sneaky little #@$@#$. He pulled it out after 90% of the flight was over and I was pretty relaxed and confident. Good luck, you should do fine.

 

[generaltso]

1) try to find someone who has gone up with examiner you are going up with

2) dumb it down. When answering the dudes questions, don't launch in to complex stuff. It is hard to pretend like the examiner is just a zero hour student, but you have to. Break everything down very, very simply. It will make it easier for the student to understand.

3) Be very, very, organized. I used about 5% of the materials I brought on my checkride, but whenever he asked me a question I could immediately go to the binder and dig up the proper info and use it as a guide. I had all these really neat formated lesson plans, never used them on the checkride or after with any of my students... oh well!

In the end I can say relax. Remember the examiner does not want to fail you. You have to give him/her a good reason for failing you. To be honest my CFI oral was just a B.S. session where me and the examiner exchanged ideas about flying. He would ask me a question, I would answer it, we would discuss it and he would give me some tips. It was like 4 hours of B.S.ing. By the time we were done we were such good friends the flying was just a formality hehehehe

 

[SPBRIAN]

The best piece of advice I was given. Do not stop talking/teaching until he signs the piece of paper. Treat him as a zero hour student who can't be over-filled with information. Talk until you can't talk anymore or he tells you to shut up and fly the airplane. This helps on any checkride, from private to your ATP. The best advice I ever recieved from a CFI was to talk your way through each and every single maneuver. Not only does it help to reinforce the learning of the material, but it also shows a higher level of learning and understanding of the maneuver. Plus the examiner can be slightly more leniant on you if he shows that you have a good understanding of the maneuver, besides just being able to demonstrate it. Also it can shorten the checkrides by having your examiner get sick of listening to you talking to yourself.

-Brian

 

[prodigal]

pts, pts, pts

Know your PTS inside out and backwards. This is a common oversight by most candidates for ALL checkrides, but is particularly important for the CFI initial.
As you've probably heard, the oral is the bear on this one. It will not be (or at least should not be) a question and answer session as other checkride orals are. Rather you are expected to take the bull by the horns and actually teach, "show instructional knowledge."
Next be aware that you are really dealing with 3 different PTS: the CFI, the Pvt. pilot, and the commercial. You must know PTS standards of completion for all 3. Eg., will your steep turns be taught to a pvt. (most probable) level, or to comm?
At the beginning of all the PTS you are given a list of reference materials such as 14CFR, FAA-H-8083-3 (aka Airplane Flying Handbook), AC61-65D, (if you don't have a copy download it and know it), AIM, etc. Know what all these references are and have them for the oral.
This checkride is a lot about the "process" of teaching. In your CFI PTS, each AO will state which tasks the examiner will select. Know these COLD. Know the others also, but really nail the ones listed.
Be organized. Practice your presentation of some lesson plans out loud to your wife or girlfriend, drawing diagrams, etc. AO II, Task C&D (aerodymanics) are excellent ones to practice on because there's a lot of good meaty stuff there to talk about.
In short, your knowledge should be up to snuff by now (especially since your CFI signed you off), just be sharp on the process of actually teaching and knowing the PTS.
Oh, and you have to know the single greatest hazard of instructing . . . namely, starving to death.
Relax and be confident. Let us know how it went.
Best of luck!

 

[bobbysamd]

CFI practical advice

Plenty of good comments above.

I would just add that you should already be eating, living and breathing the FOI. The FOI is not some gobbledegook that you learn for your initial CFI and forget. The FOI is your teacher training. It is a way of life for flight instructors. Absorb it, and you will be way ahead in learning your new profession.

It is beyond important to bear in mind that the FAA publications are its last word on how it wants something to be flown, done, and taught. Look at the PTS for Private, Commercial and CFI. Inventory the FAA publications listed in each, make sure you have every one of them, be familiar with them, and bring them to the practical. Do not denigrate the FAA pubs in any way - I learned that the hard way for my first instructor practical. In other words, don't tell the examiner that you like Kershner better than the Flight Training Handbook.

I never heard it asked of a CFI student why flaps are extended at a certain point, why we adhere to certain airspeeds at certain points in the landing profile, except for 1.3Vso on final, 1.4Vso on base, etc. 1.3Vso is obvious - bring the airplane in too hot and you will float, etc. I agree with the above answer - that flight profiles and SOPs are established so that we do things the same way every time. In so doing, the airplane becomes stable and predictable. Obviously, you set your final landing configuration as soon as possible on final to stabilize the airplane so you can make a stabilized approach.

Be prepared to explain common student errors in procedures you teach, and how you correct those errors.

If you can, look at the briefing room, office, etc., where you will take your oral. You can then figure out the best way to organize your materials and if you will have a chalkboard, dry erase board, etc. available.

Finally, as someone else mentioned, do not stop teaching until the examiner either tells you to stop teaching and/or hands you your Temporary.

Hope this helps. Best of luck with your practical. Please put up a followup post telling us what was asked and how it went.

 

[brianjohn]

Thanks for all the help and encouragement.
Here's another "why?" moment: Why Exactly are there cowl flaps and a cylinder head temp gauge on some airplanes, but not on others? I mean, why does my 172RG have them, but my 150's and 172 Skyhawks don't?

 

[Pilotadjuster]

CFI Ride

All good comments.

Another--on the flight, if you screw up a maneuver, explain what you did (don't cover it up) and explain your mistake while you prepare to do it again. Saved my ride when I did that on my Pylon 8's demo; had it in my head from my a/c checkout the day prior not to go below 500' AGL from another instructor who worked with the examiner. I tried to keep above what I thought was 500' AGL and they just weren't working. Thought to hell with it as I explained what was going on, went lower and passed.

Turns out 500' AGL wasn't close to what the other instructor told me; should have looked closer on the sectional myself (I had never flown in that area before the day before my checkride).

Don't stop talking until he/she signs your temporary! As long as you are talking, you haven't failed! At least that's how I put it.

Another point to say again; don't dig a hole for yourself and explain something in too much detail; ie if they ask you to explain the function of flaps, you needn't go into what might happen if there is a malfunction and one goes down and the other stays up (ouch).

Good luck, get a good night's sleep beforehand and you'll do fine. Remember your present instructor would not have signed you off if he/she didn't think you were qualified and ready!