The Certified Flight Instructor Certificate

Whether you just enjoy flying and want to share your knowledge with other people or are looking for a career in aviation and want to build flight time, instructing is an excellent way to further your aviation goals. The Certificated Flight Instructor (CFI) certificate allows the teaching of private and commercial students. There are also two “add-on” certificates available for other instructing specialties. The Instrument add-on (CFII) allows teaching of instrument students. The multi-engine add-on (MEI) gives the instructor the ability to teach students in multi-engine airplanes.

What can I do as a Flight Instructor?

- Teach private, instrument, commercial, or multi-engine students.
- Share the joy of flying with others who have the same desires.
- Build experience and log flight time without having to rent aircraft yourself.
- Conduct Flight Reviews, Instrument Proficiency Checks, or
- Give complex and high performance aircraft endorsements.
- Expand your aviation network

What will I learn during my CFI Training?

During your flight instructor training, you will learn how to teach while you fly. You will be required to show that you understand the various mandatory flight maneuvers for each type of pilot’s license, their practical use, as well as explain the theory behind them. You will learn how to do this in the simplest, most effective way, so your students will easily understand intricate concepts.

At Downtown Aviation, we tend to hire CFI’s that have trained with us in the past. It is not uncommon for us to hire from the outside, but we prefer to employ pilots that have already flown with us and have become part of our aviation family. If you’re interested in earning a CFI Certificate, we can offer an accelerated program OR a self paced program.