The civil aviation rules do not define what a CFI does, or even what a CFI is. But we can rely on the opinions of those experienced in the role as to what makes a good one.
They think an effective CFI is:
A good CFI also has to:
– and through it all…
With such a huge and varied number of personal and professional traits, it’s a wonder anyone wants to be a CFI, let alone be able to make a good job of it. But there are plenty of pilots who want to be chief flying instructors because of the same personal qualities that attracted them to aviation in the first place – the desire to excel.
Despite the daunting number of attributes needed to be effective, most full-time flying instructors know at least one CFI who does possess those qualities.
This material is designed to assist CFIs newly appointed to an aero club or flight training organisation – or those about to be, or those who want to be – with the special responsibilities associated with the position.
If a CFI has a critical role, then supervision is it.
A chief flying instructor is responsible for the supervision of all instructor and student activities, to ensure their safety. That is, having oversight of the:
and
Please note that supervision is about contact, and the CAA does not believe it can be done satisfactorily, if it’s done remotely.
For the first six months, or first 100 hours of their instructing career, whichever is the longer time, the C-cat must be directly supervised. While a senior instructor may be tasked with that job, the CFI has oversight of that supervision.
Supervising is a separate skill from instructing, and from being able to fly well. Done properly, it involves a written ‘supervising instructing’ plan that includes the day-by-day activities of the C-cat, as well as their longer-term goals. The supervising instructor is always accessible to the C-cat to answer queries and help resolve issues.
A CFI should be continually encouraging their instructors to employ the techniques they’ve learned in their instructional techniques course. That should be supported by the organisation’s own clearly laid-out instructor manual, with sign-offs for teaching competency.
Organisations wanting systematic management of how newly minted instructors grow into certain privileges, might have a graded scale of instructing activities. For instance, cross-country trips might be graded A to C, according to the experience or training required to fly them. Or the C-cat may, for a while, be confined to pre-circuit lessons, or restricted in their use of the low-flying area.
After that six-month/100-hour period is over, the CFI can use other, less obvious, forms of supervision. For instance, having a coffee with the C-cat, and monitoring their non-flying behaviour in other ways, or asking local air traffic controllers their opinion.
Regularly review the flying practice and teaching ability of junior instructors. Use a risk-based approach as to whether they require more, or less, supervision. The CFI also oversees the transition of a C-cat to a B-cat.
While a B-cat doesn’t require supervision, as they’re usually providing it, a freshly appointed B-cat is still on a steep learning curve. They deserve the support of a senior instructor, as they grow into their new B-cat responsibilities.
Jon Mauchline, CFI, Whanganui Aero Club
Being a CFI is about setting the standard for the organisation you represent. What you do and the way you do things will be considered the benchmark standard. And there are always people watching who might imitate your example, whether they’re your other instructors, club pilots, or students. As CFI, you are the quality assurance for your organisation.
I found many things that can’t really be taught. It’s an unusual dynamic, being a new, relatively inexperienced B-cat instructor now in an environment full of high-hours, long-standing aero club pilots, and having to gain their respect.
Also challenging is flying with private owners who might have ‘their’ way of doing things which aren’t totally correct. You have to determine the correct balance between safe and textbook, and how to pick your battles. There’s no perfect way to get around these things, except to be patient, know where to draw the line, and remember that, as a professional instructor, you still know a lot that can help these people be better pilots.
But it’s a two-way street – listen to the experienced pilots’ stories, and glean from their different experiences to help you develop. Experience is not just about hours in the logbook and many of these pilots have a lot to offer.
No two new CFIs will have the same experiences stepping into their new role, but there’ll also be no challenges that someone hasn’t already had. Try connecting with other CFIs and be willing to ask for advice. There’s a lot of experience in the industry – make use of it to help your transition into the job easier.
A good CFI keeps an eye on how flying theory is being covered by their instructors. They also monitor the progress of trainee pilots in this crucial area. The appropriateness of lesson sequencing also requires CFI oversight. Where does a particular lesson belong logically, given the student’s progress so far?
The chief flying instructor also ensures briefings and instruction are of a high standard. A good CFI keeps an eye on how flying theory is being covered by their instructors. Something as simple as regularly sitting in on briefings can reveal a great deal. For instance, is it evident that an instructor doesn’t really understand why they’re teaching a particular manoeuvre? If they don’t, they can unwittingly communicate to the trainee pilot that it’s unimportant. So the CFI, in questioning the instructor as to the ‘why’ of a lesson, can improve their understanding, and future teaching practice.
The occasional surprise flight with an instructor and their student allows the CFI to know if the instructor is consistent in their approach. It can also help the CFI and instructor with issues like the dreaded ‘student plateau’ where the student, much to the perplexity of their instructor, fails to make progress beyond a certain step. Such a situation could destroy the student’s confidence and motivation, let alone what it does to the instructor, particularly a new one.
A ride-along will allow the CFI to know if, for instance, the instructor is overwhelming the student with too much information or underwhelming them with too little. Does the instructor treat the student with respect? How about students from overseas, or those returning to flying after a break? Or someone skilled and qualified elsewhere in the aviation system – an airline captain, for instance, who’s getting re-current in a Cessna 172?
CFIs want to be sure those situations are being treated with diplomacy, and the student has had their needs appropriately assessed. Or is the instructor taking their student into flying territory the instructor is actually not altogether capable of? Or has an overly enthusiastic instructor thought of a random ‘neat idea’ and is teaching that, without approval, and outside standard operating procedures?
Are you regularly ‘backseating’ – that is, sitting quietly at the back of briefings, flights, and debriefings? This is especially important for supervising instructors.
Another way to check student progress and instructing standards, is to regularly dip into student training records. Is the instructor following the training programme and keeping documentation current?
The CFI should also become familiar with the different ways in which people learn, and make their instructors aware of these different learning styles (Vark-learn.com). For instance, some people learn more easily and quickly if they can see/watch what’s needed (visual learners), some learn better if they can listen to what’s needed (aural learners) and some learn best if they receive hands-on instruction (kinesthetic learners). The traditional read-write way of learning is just one among this group, and instructors should not assume that everyone learns best through read-write instruction.
Additionally, about 15 percent of the population (and it’s thought to be higher in aviation) process information in an alternative way to the mainstream. Some people have dyslexia and are challenged by reading the written word. On the other hand, people on the autism spectrum often prefer written instructions. Students with dyscalculia struggle with numbers. An instructor – and CFI – who are aware of these different ways of processing information, and are willing to cater to them in their student training programme, will have more success than ones who have ‘tunnel vision’ when it comes to how a student is best taught.
Joe Calder, CFI, Otago Aero Club
Being a CFI is not an easy role, but I’ve found it very rewarding. You’re the chief cook, bottlewasher, and marketing manager of your organisation, and most people in the organisation will expect you to perform these roles competently.
It’s also very important you’re a good role model for your fellow instructors, especially to new C-cats. How you act and what you say will affect how they teach – even when they get up to B-cat level.
I’ve always had an open-door policy with my other instructors, so they know they can come and talk to me, with no judgement, at any time.
Always be prepared to deal with those private owners who sometimes think they know more than you do.
But my main advice to a new CFI is to never stop learning – not just about flying, but about how to better your organisation or yourself. Maintain a good high standard and do your best to leave the organisation in a better place than when you first started out.
Finally, never be afraid to reach out to fellow CFIs for advice or help.
In terms of instructors’ own needs, their currency and assessments are to be kept updated, and records on these also kept up-to-date. Instructors can be checked more often than once a year. It doesn’t even have to be a formal check or test, more of a training session, but it keeps instructors interested and motivated. It’s the CFI’s responsibility to create the sort of work environment where even those instructors whose ultimate goal is a job with the airlines are kept inspired about teaching.
How are the instructors at your organisation encouraged and supported? How many have been offered extra and interesting responsibilities? How many are given the opportunity to extend their flying skills – some extra training at the time they complete their flight instructor renewals, for instance?
It’s up to the CFI to ensure students can properly fulfil the requirements of a flight test when they’re put up for one. That means booking the flight examiner only when the instructor truly believes the student is ready and competent, and isn’t likely to just ‘scrape through on the day’. It’s part of the CFI’s responsibility to that trainee pilot’s future passengers to make sure they really understand what good flying involves. Experienced flight examiners say it’s disturbing that either, or both, instructor and student are sometimes pressured to book a flight test when they know it’s really too soon.
Instruction in basic aircraft maintenance is part of any student’s tuition. The proper use of the technical log is particularly important, as is checking it, as part of a thorough preflight. By questioning the student, the CFI will get a good idea of their understanding of its significance.
A CFI who has a good relationship with their maintenance provider could get students (and instructors) to visit when the aircraft is in maintenance – for instance, cowlings are off, and maybe the flight controls have been removed, or during an engine change.
Chief flying Instructors are not always on site. They may be flying, or sick, or on holiday. Well-documented processes will allow a senior instructor to slip into the role of acting CFI and the organisation to continue without hiccups. Also, students are often taught by more than one instructor. A system where information about the student’s training, progress, and timetable I s standardised will make that information easily accessible to everyone, especially relief instructors.
To be of any use, logbook notes call for transparency. All interventions, even informal ones, are to be recorded. For instance, if the CFI watches how a C-cat instructs the student in the cockpit, the instructor notes in the student’s logbook ‘CFI observed lesson’. Signatures in logbooks show legal accountability, so are signed only if the logbook entries are correct.
Regular spot checks of logbooks are necessary to make sure they’re correctly completed, totalled, and summarised, especially before flight tests.
Flight test fails and remedial training are to be recorded in both the logbook and training records. The CAA recommends that all student pilots, and instructors if necessary, receive a tutorial on how to correctly fill out a logbook.
Training records elaborate on logbook entries, with more space for a fuller description of ground and flight training. They facilitate continuity in the training programme for both the student and instructor. In particular, they support communication between a regular and relieving instructor.
If your training organisation is certificated under Part 141, it’s necessary to have a safety management system (SMS). That’s a formal set of processes to identify hazards and deal with their associated risks. A chief flying instructor has to understand their organisation’s obligations under an SMS. See www.caa.govt.nz/sms for more, including links to the rules and advisory circular. If you’re operating under Part 61 only, consider the benefits of also having an SMS.
The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 assigns responsibilities to organisations and certain individuals, calling them a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking, or PCBU. The Act shifts the focus from monitoring and recording health and safety incidents, to proactively identifying and managing risks. It’s very much like a safety management system in this respect. Be aware of your responsibilities and the communication required under the Act.
Contrary to what some people believe, it’s not the responsibility of the maintenance provider to make sure each aircraft has an up-to-date technical log. That duty – and the one to ensure there’s a current and complete tech log in each aircraft cockpit – falls to the aircraft’s operator. In a small organisation, the CFI may well be the operator’s representative. Whoever is deemed responsible, the CFI must have oversight. The CFI also knows when the aircraft is coming up for inspections and other regular maintenance. The CFI has to be thoroughly familiar with the rules associated with:
Many CFIs rely on the training organisation’s maintenance provider for this technical know-how, but it’s important that a CFI comes to terms with maintenance basics. They could begin by attending a CAA airworthiness and maintenance workshop.
Build a good relationship with your maintenance provider. Visit them from time to time for a chat, especially when an aircraft is in pieces. Most engineers are happy to explain what they’re doing and why.
The CFI may be expected to understand their organisation’s business processes. Proper financial planning has a significant effect on safety. For example, organisations should not be surprised when an engine has to be overhauled. If a CFI suspects they don’t have the financial skills required, they could employ someone else to do the bookwork. But they still have to retain oversight.
Making the most of time is especially important in aviation because it is so weather-dependent. Remember that rushing, and time constraints, are often factors in accidents.
Here are some time tips.
Delegate – give instructors extra roles and responsibilities to encourage them, develop their skills, demonstrate trust in them, and reduce CFI workload.
Communicate effectively – state objectives clearly, provide a time frame, maintain written or electronic records, and welcome input and feedback. As a CFI, ‘courageous conversations’ are often needed. Consider what’s in the best interests of, firstly, the public, but also your organisation, and then determine your need to communicate ‘courageously’.
Collaborate effectively – value and celebrate others’ ideas, work to build rapport. One experienced training manager makes a habit of sending a personal note, by mail, to employees to congratulate them for good work. Such acknowledgement creates ‘buy-in’, which ultimately helps the CFI.
Think critically – to solve a problem:
Asking for feedback is the best way to make sure messages to instructors and students have been correctly understood. The CFI also gets an idea of the quality of their own communication. The CFI is responsible for opening up the lines of communication, not the instructor. That means the CFI actively searches for opportunities to do that.
Any mission statement, reflecting the purpose, goals, and values of the organisation, calls for plain language, and a concrete meaning. If it’s to be taken seriously, the CFI has to be able to relay, in a meaningful way, to new students, staff, and committee or board members, what the mission statement means.
One of the most delicate relationships a CFI will have to negotiate is that with board or committee members. Ideally governance decisions don’t tip over into the day-to-day management of an organisation, but the line is often blurred. The same people may serve in both areas, or move from one area to another.
The CFI of an aero club may maintain close relationships with some people on the aero club committee – they may have trained together and have known each other for years. A CFI might find themselves being pulled in every direction by strong-minded committee or board members. How does a 21-year old B-cat CFI deal with a 65-year old long-time committee member used to doing things a certain way? Or some of your students might be on the committee or board running your organisation. Clear boundaries need to be communicated and mutually respected.
It helps if there are very clear lines, written down and understood by both parties, about where the boundaries are between governance and management. It’s true that the CFI is the committee’s employee, and that the committee may have ultimate control of the money. But the CFI might have to make clear from the outset that his or her decisions are made in the interests of flight safety, the organisation’s interests, and according to the rules.
A small non-certificated flying organisation flies on the licence of its instructors, so the CFI has to be comfortable with what’s being done, and the way aircraft are being used. On the other hand, some CFIs can be overly controlling, and that makes them the problem. People who take on the role of a chief flying instructor have to be very self-aware, and willing to examine their role in any conflict.
Celine Bennison, CFI, South Canterbury Aero Club
As a CFI of an aero club, you wear multiple hats. You’re not only a senior flight instructor, but also a leader, manager, role model, safety advisor, friend, maintenance co-ordinator, colleague, mentor, supervisor and so much more! The catch is that most of these skills aren’t taught in your B-category instructor training so it can be a daunting position to step in to.
As you’re likely to find only one CFI per organisation, it can feel isolating at times. If this is the case, reach out to other CFIs at organisations of a similar size.
In my opinion, an important role of the CFI (outside of ensuring compliance, delivering quality instruction and maintaining high standards) is to establish a safe, professional and encouraging culture. If this has been done successfully, relationships with students, members, staff and external stakeholders will generally thrive.
My advice for a new or intending CFI is to ask for help when needed, surround yourself with a supportive team, and keep an open mind – there’s always room to learn.
The chief flying instructor has to be effective in managing conflict, and that involves certain personal qualities. They have to be able to consider criticism without getting defensive. The self-aware CFI encourages and accepts feedback, and works to fix the troubling issue. Quickly follow problems up, and review how the chosen solution has fixed them, if it has.
Get an answer back to that committee or board member, staff member, or student’s parents as soon as possible. Then review how the situation arose and what can be done to make sure it’s not repeated.
Managing relationships between the students, instructors, and committee or board members is made easier by a ‘just culture’. Part of that is people being able to report problems without being targeted for it.
The CFI must manage poor performance by both staff and students. Each will require different skills and objectives.
Mentoring is not the same as instructing. An instructor teaches a skill. A mentor builds a relationship and trust, and is available for advice and guidance. That starts with their own willingness to positively coach and counsel others in the organisation.
The CFI’s instructors know they can have a chat over a cuppa. Junior instructors know they can ask their seniors for help without feeling humiliated, or considered a nuisance. A CFI, keen to establish free-flowing communication in their organisation, takes an interest in their instructors’ and students’ lives, not just in their flying. And a self-aware CFI also appreciates that they, too, need a trusted mentor from time to time, and that it’s not a weakness to seek advice and support. A good CFI works to eliminate any ‘instructors-as-gods’ mentality.
If the organisation has a chief executive officer, normally that person would deal with the aftermath of an accident, or similar crisis. But often that job falls to the CFI. Experienced chief flying instructors say dealing capably with what happens, and what is expected, in the first few hours after an accident, really only comes from experience. But they say it certainly helps to be prepared, with a flight following system, and an overdue/emergency action plan ready to go, and regularly practised by all staff.
Ideally, an emergency response plan will have:
The CFI carries this emergency response plan with them. But keeping a copy in the office, and with each key staff member, means that in the CFI’s absence, the plan can still be implemented as it’s intended to be.
Experienced CFIs say possibly the most difficult task in the immediate aftermath of an emergency, perhaps when there is no real information, is dealing with distressed families. It’s important that a staff member with natural empathy be appointed to liaise with them. While that person’s role is to stay in regular contact with the family, if there’s been a death, it’s not the job of anyone at the training organisation to tell the family – that’s for the police.
Another tough job is dealing with the media. Because of social media, reporters can know about an accident before a CFI does.
The worst thing to do is lock the doors and draw the curtains. Giving reporters no information may lead them to getting comment from anyone, possibly making things worse.
That’s why it’s wise to have a generic media statement – with just a few details needing to be filled out – ready to go.
While being polite to reporters, it’s crucial the spokesperson does not speculate on possible causes of the accident.
The CAA regards CFIs as experienced flight instructors who have agreed to take a leadership role in the training of student pilots. While an additional aviation document is not required to be a CFI, they’re still exercising the privileges of their CPL and flight instructor rating.
The CFI has to have a good working knowledge of the rules and a willingness to abide by and respect them.
Section 13(3) of the Civil Aviation Act 2023 requires that flight instructor activities be carried out safely and in accordance with the relevant prescribed safety and security standards and practices. Instructors are also responsible under s13(3) for the safety of the students.
Under the rules, flight instructors have specific responsibilities for student pilots, in particular, the monitoring of solo flights, under rule 61.105(b). For instance, a student pilot must have received dual instruction with an A- or B-cat instructor within the five hours immediately prior to any solo (61.105(a)(7)).
Advisory Circular AC61-2 Pilot licences and ratings – student pilots sets out the CAA’s expectations in terms of monitoring student pilots’ solo flights, as follows.
A CFI is not infallible. Especially at the beginning, you’re going to need help, mentoring, and advice. For some of you, the hard part will be admitting you do. Then it’s easy.
There’s a plethora of resources in the CAA – key personnel including the aviation safety advisors, and licensing and standards staff (licensing@caa.govt.nz), safety education material such as this guidance, and the website.
Remember these as well:
As for mentoring, or just kicking ideas around, don’t be afraid to ask (they’ll be flattered you value their counsel) other CFIs, including former ones, flight examiners, your A-cat, or the company or club president or owner.
