I’m Officially A Flight Instructor!

It’s been a long few months, but I’m so happy to announce that I’m officially a flight instructor! You guys have seen me teach for years by writing articles on Boldmethod, and now I have a CFI certificate to support much of that work moving forward.

I can say with 100% certainty that getting my CFI certificate was the most arduous training I’ve even been through. For the past five months, I’ve written well over 500 pages of outlines and lesson plans, all in preparation for one of the toughest checkrides out there. Ground school was just as busy, with about 6 hours of class per week and plenty of assignments to keep us busy.

Personal motivation is what really kept me going. That said, I couldn’t have done it alone. I had an awesome instructor and training partner. Aaron and Chris kept training efficient and detailed, but always fun. Whether it be Aaron (my CFI) trying as hard as he could to make the worst possible “student pilot approaches,” or Chris working through dozens of outlines with me, this semester was busy.

In the end, becoming a CFI is where much of your “real” aviation knowledge begins to develop. No longer are you just using your own knowledge for decision making – Your job becomes training safe, qualified, and confident pilots. Keeping them safe is a huge responsibility. No CFI wants to lead there students astray, so your knowledge base becomes infinitely more thorough.

Moving forward, I can’t wait to start instructing my first students. I don’t know if that will be next school year at UND, or possibly some in Hawaii this summer. A CFI certificate opens up a huge new world of opportunities, and I can’t wait to see what that looks like.

Time for a break right? NOPE! Ground training for Mokulele Airlines starts in about a week and a half, and I’ve got plenty of Cessna Caravan checklists and limitations to memorize before I get there.

-Swayne