A  Flight Instructor certificate allows you to teach others to fly, including training students for their Private and Commercial certificates, endorsing them for solo flight, recommending them for knowledge and practical tests, and conducting flight reviews for other pilots.

 

Adding the Instrument Flight Instructor rating extends those privileges to instrument training, so you can teach instrument rating students and help pilots stay current or regain proficiency through instrument proficiency checks. 

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Flight instructor training is about learning how to teach flying, not just how to fly. You’ll study the fundamentals of instructing, including how people learn, how to build effective lesson plans, and how to evaluate and correct student performance. In the airplane, you’ll refine every maneuver to a high standard and practice explaining and demonstrating each one from the right seat, often with your instructor playing the role of a student making typical mistakes. Along the way, you’ll prepare for two FAA knowledge tests, complete extensive ground and flight training, and finish with a checkride that evaluates both your flying skills and your ability to teach. Most students find that the training makes them sharper, more disciplined pilots in the process.