CFI Oral Exam

ADVANCE FLYING ACADEMY

CFI Oral Exam

The Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) Oral Exam is an intensive assessment of your aeronautical knowledge, instructional ability, and situational decision-making skills. Examiners will focus on your ability to teach concepts, explain regulations, and handle real-world scenarios. Here’s a complete guide to help you prepare.

CFI Oral Exam Structure

Duration: 3–6 hours.
Focus:
- Fundamentals of Instructing (FOI).
- Aeronautical knowledge.
- Regulations and endorsements.
- Instructional techniques and scenario-based problem solving.

Key Topics

1. Fundamentals of Instructing (FOI)

The FOI section focuses on your understanding of how people learn and your ability to teach effectively.

The Learning Process:
- Characteristics of learning (purposeful, result of experience, active process).
- Laws of learning: Readiness, exercise, effect, primacy, intensity, recency.
- Levels of learning: Rote, understanding, application, correlation.
- Types of practice: Deliberate, blocked, random.
Human Behavior:
- Basic human needs (Maslow’s hierarchy).
- Defense mechanisms: Repression, denial, projection, rationalization, etc.
- Student emotional reactions: Anxiety, stress, and how to manage them.
Effective Communication:
- Barriers: Lack of common experience, interference, confusion.
- Active listening and questioning techniques.
Teaching Methods:
- Lecture, guided discussion, demonstration-performance, scenario-based training.
Assessment and Critique:
- Characteristics of effective critique: Specific, objective, constructive.
- Oral quizzing techniques.

2. Aeronautical Knowledge

Principles of Flight:
- Aerodynamics of lift, drag, thrust, and weight.
- Stability (longitudinal, lateral, and directional).
- Stalls and spins: Causes and recovery.
Aircraft Systems:
- Electrical, fuel, hydraulic, and pitot-static systems.
- Propeller and engine operation.
- Gyroscopic instruments and their principles (rigidity in space, precession).
Performance:
- Weight and balance calculations.
- Takeoff and landing performance charts.
- Density altitude effects.

3. Regulations and Endorsements

Instructor Responsibilities:
- Logging training time.
- Providing proper endorsements (e.g., for solo, cross-country, checkride).
- Maintaining currency and meeting limitations.
Student Endorsements:
- Initial solo flight (61.87).
- Solo cross-country (61.93).
- Practical test preparation (61.39).
FAR Parts:
- Part 61: Certification of pilots and instructors.
- Part 91: General operating and flight rules.

4. Weather

Meteorology Basics:
- Formation of fronts, clouds, and thunderstorms.
- Effects of icing, turbulence, and wind shear.
Weather Products:
- METAR, TAF, AIRMET, SIGMET, PIREP.
- Teaching how to interpret these reports and apply them to decision-making.

5. Instructional Techniques

Scenario-Based Training:
- Teaching maneuvers in realistic contexts.
- Example: How to teach a student to handle unexpected weather during cross-country.
Teaching Maneuvers:
- Break down each maneuver (e.g., steep turns, stalls) step-by-step.
- Explain common student errors and corrections.
Lesson Planning:
- Creating lessons with clear objectives, key points, and evaluation criteria.

6. Risk Management and ADM

Aeronautical Decision Making (ADM):
- Use the DECIDE model and the PAVE checklist.
Risk Management:
- Identifying, mitigating, and teaching about operational risks.

Common Oral Exam Questions

FOI Questions:
- What are the four levels of learning? Provide an example for each.
- How do you address a student showing anxiety or fear?
Aerodynamics Questions:
- Explain the concept of adverse yaw and how to teach rudder coordination.
- What is the difference between induced drag and parasite drag?
Regulations Questions:
- When is a student required to have an endorsement for a solo flight?
- What are the responsibilities of a CFI when signing a student’s logbook?
Weather Questions:
- What are the different types of AIRMETs, and how would you explain them to a student?
- Describe how you would teach weather avoidance during a cross-country flight.
Scenario Questions:
- A student consistently over-controls the aircraft during landing. How would you address this?
- A student freezes during an emergency simulation. What would you do?

Tips for Success

Prepare Lesson Plans:
- Have a lesson plan for every maneuver and topic in the PTS/ACS.
- Include objectives, teaching points, potential errors, and assessment strategies.
Teach, Don’t Recite:
- Approach every question as if teaching a student.
- Use clear, simple explanations and ask for feedback.
Study Endorsements:
- Know the required endorsements inside out and how to log them correctly.
Be Scenario-Ready:
- Practice "what-if" situations and apply risk management principles.
Bring Resources:
- Bring your POH, FAR/AIM, and lesson plans to reference when needed.

Recommended Study Materials

Aviation Instructor’s Handbook (FAA-H-8083-9) – Core guide for FOI topics.
Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3) – For teaching flight maneuvers.
Advisory Circular AC 61-65 – Endorsements and CFI responsibilities.
Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25) – General knowledge topics.

Final Tips

Stay calm and professional; it’s okay to reference materials.
If unsure about a question, explain how you would find the answer (e.g., referencing FARs or a POH).
Focus on your teaching ability—this is as much a test of instructional skills as it is of technical knowledge.

Let me know if you'd like practice scenarios, sample lesson plans, or specific questions to review!

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