(818) 290-8249 · Open 9 AM–9 PM, 7 Days a Week · ★★★★★ 4.9 · 500+ Reviews · Van Nuys Airport
Since May 31, 2024, the airplane flight instructor practical test has been conducted under the Flight Instructor for Airplane Category Airman Certification Standards, FAA-S-ACS-25. To pass, you must teach, not just fly: explain every task clearly, connect it to risk management, and fly the maneuvers from the right seat to commercial standards while instructing. This guide breaks down the ACS, the eligibility rules in 14 CFR 61.183, and a proven preparation plan.
FAA-S-ACS-25 took effect May 31, 2024, replacing the flight instructor practical test standards, FAA-S-8081-6D.
From Fundamentals of Instructing to Postflight Procedures, with class-specific tasks for single-engine and multi-engine.
For initial applicants, the evaluator must select Tasks E and F of Fundamentals of Instructing plus at least one more.
14 CFR 61.183(i) requires an instructor endorsement on spin training for airplane CFI applicants.
Most initial applicants take the Fundamentals of Instructing (FOI) and Flight Instructor Airplane (FIA) tests.
Flight instructor certificates issued on or after December 1, 2024 have no expiration date; recency rules apply instead.
Before you can take the practical test, you must meet the eligibility rules in 14 CFR 61.183. You must be at least 18 years old, read, speak, write and understand English, and hold a commercial pilot or airline transport pilot certificate with an aircraft category and class rating appropriate to the flight instructor rating you seek. For an airplane single-engine instructor rating, the regulation also requires an instrument rating or privileges on your pilot certificate. That is why most people come to CFI training right after finishing their commercial pilot certificate and instrument rating.
You must also receive and log ground and flight training on the areas of 61.185 and 61.187, pass the required knowledge tests, and, for an airplane rating, receive a logbook endorsement under 61.183(i) that you are competent and possess instructional proficiency in stall awareness, spin entry, spins and spin recovery procedures.
Question counts above come from the FAA's airman knowledge testing matrix. Under 61.183(e), you do not need to take the FOI test if you already hold a flight or ground instructor certificate issued under Part 61, hold a current qualifying state teaching certificate, or are employed as a teacher at an accredited college or university. Under 14 CFR 61.39, knowledge test results must be dated within the 24 calendar months before your practical test.
The Airman Certification Standards define exactly what the examiner will evaluate. Each task lists knowledge, risk management and skill elements, and each element has a code that connects back to the knowledge test. The CFI ACS has 14 Areas of Operation:
The examiner does not test every task. Each area has a note describing what must be selected. For Fundamentals of Instructing, the ACS states that the evaluator must select Task E, Task F and at least one other task for initial flight instructor applicants. In practice, expect a long, detailed oral exam followed by a flight where you teach maneuvers from the right seat while flying them accurately.
Coverage of the new standard in FLYING Magazine highlighted several changes from the old PTS: added emphasis on risk management and fundamentals of instructing, slow flight performed with the stall warning active, and acceptance of electronic tools like EFBs and ADS-B during testing.
The CFI oral is famously long because the examiner is evaluating whether you can teach a brand-new student. Expect to present lessons, answer questions as if a student asked them, and explain regulations in plain English. Your job is to be clear, accurate and organized, and to correct misconceptions the way a good instructor would.
On the flight portion, you will demonstrate maneuvers, teach them while flying, and analyze errors the examiner deliberately makes while acting as your student. You need to fly to the standards of the commercial certificate while talking through the maneuver, and you need to recognize a student's error, explain why it happened and how to correct it.
Right-seat proficiency takes practice. Sight pictures change, your hands switch, and landings feel different. Plan to fly every task from the right seat many times before your checkride. The commercial maneuvers you already know, such as chandelles, lazy eights, steep spirals and eights on pylons, return here, along with stall demonstrations you may not have flown since private pilot training.
The examiner will also watch how you manage the flight as an instructor: positive exchange of flight controls, clearing turns, collision avoidance, and stepping in at the right moment when a "student" mistake becomes unsafe. Calm, safe intervention is a core instructor skill.
Under a final rule effective December 1, 2024, flight instructor certificates issued on or after that date no longer expire. Instead, 14 CFR 61.197 requires instructors to establish recent experience at least once every 24 calendar months using one of several methods, such as an endorsement pass rate record, a flight instructor refresher course (FIRC), or serving as an instructor in the FAA WINGS program. If recent experience lapses, 61.199 allows reinstatement through a FIRC completed within three calendar months, or a practical test.
Your new certificate is also the start of a career. Instructors must sign the logbook of each person they train and keep endorsement records for at least 3 years under 14 CFR 61.189. Many new CFIs go on to add the instrument instructor rating (CFII) and the multi-engine instructor rating (MEI), building the hours toward an airline career.
Our flight instructor training prepares you to teach in one of the most complex airspace environments in the country, a valuable experience for any future instructor. You can practice right-seat maneuvers in our trainers, including the Cessna 162 Skycatcher, Piper PA-28 Warrior and Diamond DA20, work with the complex Piper Arrow, or prepare for the multi-engine instructor rating in the Piper Seminole. Teaching instrument procedures? Our Redbird MCX full-motion FAA-approved simulator is available too.
If you are still on the way to commercial, see our Airline Pilot Program, which takes you from zero to airline-ready training for $84,000 (regularly $89,000, with a $5,000 promotion), with financing available. We're open 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days a week.
Call us to plan your CFI training at Van Nuys Airport, from knowledge tests to your checkride.
Real students, real first flights, real ratings — straight from Google and Yelp.
The fastest way to know if the left seat is for you is to stand on the flight line. Book a free consultation — or reach us whichever way you like.
Tour the school, meet your instructors, sit in the cockpit, and leave with a personal training plan and exact pricing. Your Discovery Flight fee is credited toward training when you enroll within 24 hours.
One minute, a few details, fast answers from a real person on our team.
