I bit the bullet today

aftCG

aftCG

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Apr 3, 2018
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Tacoma, WA
I called a DPE today. I let my CFII lapse a number of years ago and have talked about getting it back ever since. Funny how that never takes care of itself.

Any of you who have ever taken a check ride get it. It takes the coolest cucumber and turns him into a stress ball.

Well I just yanked the band aid off. No going back.

I picked up the CFI oral guide on the way home, down loaded the PTS. The examiner just pointed me to the table on which I'll be tested.

Study mode: On
 
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Been thinking about doing this as well. Let us know how it goes please. Any shortcuts expected or are you preparing for a full blown CFI initial checkride?
 
Someone told me to go for a new instructor checkride, for a rating that you haven't previously held and that that ride will renew your other instructor certificates. I was told the floatplane instructor was a fun one and would leave you with that plus all of your others........anyone else ever hear of that?
 
That is true. It also suffices for a flight review. My foggy memory says that was not always true?
 
You can reinstate an expired instructor certificate by doing another rating, if that's an option for you. Floats are not a separate CFI rating (your CFI will say "Airplane Single Engine" and land or sea just depends on what is on your pilot certificate), but a multiengine instructor rating would do this. I already had a multiengine instructor rating, so that didn't help. If you want to add instrument, that requires a written test, of course.

I did it in the Citabria, which worked really well because I was way more familiar with the airplane than the DPE was. She was very thorough, and everything went very smoothly. It helped that I practiced a lot, particularly 180 degree power off spot landings. In all, I became a much better Citabria pilot than I was before!

A CFI reinstatement does suffice for a flight review, which is a relatively new change.
 
Yeah, as stated above, there is no seaplane instructor rating. I got that wrong on my initial CFI oral when I said it would allow me to teach in single engine land planes.
If you're an instructor and get a sea plane rating then you're a sea plane instructor. Seems odd but that's how I learned it.
I'm already a CFII and while I hold a multi engine rating I would rather not rent a twin ($$$) and instructor to accomplish that end.
I did consider glider instructor but haven't pursued it.

The II ride was the easiest but I'm not instrument current and my plane is strictly VFR.
 
So I was a CFII/MEI, which new certificate/rating would renew my old certificates? Glider? That would be fun but airplanes without engines are a little frightening to me! They're only a bit better than a parachute in my mind! lol
 
One of my (as of yet) non pilot sons was looking at a row of gliders recently and he echoed my long standing but unspoken opinion: "seems like that would be stressful".

The CFI PTS has a table for reinstatement. Thank The Maker there is no FOI discussion. I had been including it in my study and it was causing me some concern. No complex plane required at the discretion of the examiner.
 
donv said:
I did it in the Citabria, which worked really well because I was way more familiar with the airplane than the DPE was. She was very thorough, and everything went very smoothly. It helped that I practiced a lot, particularly 180 degree power off spot landings. In all, I became a much better Citabria pilot than I was before!

A CFI reinstatement does suffice for a flight review, which is a relatively new change.
Click to expand...

I may ask if he'll let me do it in the Citabria. Depends on how much he weighs I guess. I've spent some time practicing 180 degree power off approaches in the plane already. Found it doesn't glide as well as I expected it to.
 
If you are going to do it in the Citabria, I would suggest getting as much practice from the back seat as possible. It does change things a bit-- just get any pilot you know and put them in the front seat, and go fly.

I also bought an inexpensive retractable pointer on Amazon which is really helpful when instructing in the back seat-- sometimes you just need to point at things to get something across.

Finally, the Citabria makes teaching weight and balance really easy, since the balance part is so important and changes easily with one or two people.

I would think any DPE would allow you to do in the Citabria, unless they really aren't comfortable with tailwheel airplanes or something. I believe the CFI PTS is pretty clear on this.

Also, if you haven't had a current CFI for a while, I would spend some time with someone who has been instructing-- there are quite a few things which have changed in the 10 years since I last had a current CFI. TSA, IACRA, all that sort of stuff...
 
Me too - FOI was "freedom of information". Did not know all that was from Maslo. I cannot remember whether it was three levels of learning or four.

One serious thing that has changed for the worse - a DPE can no longer show you stuff. Another is the "stabilized approach" - meaningless in a Cub; very important in a 757. A DPE will want to see a stabilized approach in a J-3, with airspeed pegged at 60. They can no longer tell you that - you have to know beforehand.
 
Ah... In the Army (also back in the late 70's / early 80's) it was "Principles of Instruction" (POI). That was my confusion. So, yeah, I feel dumb for not figuring it out, but as the Law of Primacy tells us, I remember it the way I was first taught it... LOL
 
See,
JimParker256 said:
Ah... In the Army (also back in the late 70's / early 80's) it was "Principles of Instruction" (POI). That was my confusion. So, yeah, I feel dumb for not figuring it out, but as the Law of Primacy tells us, I remember it the way I was first taught it... LOL
Click to expand...
See, it works
 
After I became a CFI I took a year to get a California credential. They had sixteen levels of learning. I don't remember any of them. I don't even remember the original three.
 
One other tip about instructing in the back seat of the Citabria-- I, anyway, can run the trim with some success using my foot. It's not perfect, but it's better than being completely out of trim all the time. And on the checkride, better than asking the DPE to move it.
 
My buddy Kurt and I have tried flying from the back seat with mixed success. Being high-waisted I sit low in the seat so proper height adjustment with pillows is important.
 
Bob Turner said:
Me too - FOI was "freedom of information". Did not know all that was from Maslo. I cannot remember whether it was three levels of learning or four.

One serious thing that has changed for the worse - a DPE can no longer show you stuff. Another is the "stabilized approach" - meaningless in a Cub; very important in a 757. A DPE will want to see a stabilized approach in a J-3, with airspeed pegged at 60. They can no longer tell you that - you have to know beforehand.
Click to expand...
They can't tell you what airspeed you need for the stabilized approach? Or what exactly? I'm a little confused as to what you mean that they won't do.
 
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