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The CFII checkride adds an instrument rating to your flight instructor certificate so you can train instrument students and give instrument proficiency checks. For airplanes, it is still tested under the Flight Instructor Instrument Practical Test Standards, FAA-S-8081-9E. Passing comes down to three skills: teaching instrument concepts clearly, flying approaches precisely from the right seat, and catching your "student's" errors before they become dangerous.
The FAA's standards page lists no airplane flight instructor instrument ACS, so FAA-S-8081-9E remains the test standard.
Current CFIs typically take only the Flight Instructor Instrument Airplane (FII) test; FOI is not required again.
Under 14 CFR 61.195(c), you need an instrument rating on your instructor certificate to give training toward an instrument rating.
The PTS requires at least one nonprecision approach flown without the attitude and heading indicators.
Intercepting and tracking navigation systems and holding are both mandatory tasks.
You must present a preflight lesson on a maneuver and then teach in flight while analyzing errors.
A flight instructor certificate with only an airplane single-engine rating lets you teach private and commercial students, but not instrument students. Under 14 CFR 61.195(c), a flight instructor may conduct instrument training for the issuance of an instrument rating only if the instructor holds an instrument rating appropriate to the aircraft on the flight instructor certificate. Adding the CFII rating opens up a large share of instructing work: instrument rating students, instrument proficiency checks under 61.57(d), and the instrument portions of commercial and airline-track training.
For career pilots, that means more teaching opportunities and more varied flying while building hours toward the airlines. It also makes you a far sharper instrument pilot yourself. Teaching approaches, holds and partial-panel flying forces you to understand them at a deeper level than you did as a student.
The instrument instructor rating is governed by the same subpart H rules as the initial CFI. Under 14 CFR 61.183, you must hold a commercial or airline transport pilot certificate and an instrument rating appropriate to the flight instructor rating sought. You must receive and log training on the areas of operation listed in 14 CFR 61.187(b)(7) for an instrument rating, receive the required endorsements, and pass the knowledge test.
The FAA's airman knowledge testing matrix lists the Flight Instructor Instrument Airplane test (FII) at 50 questions with a 2.5-hour time limit. Because you already hold a flight instructor certificate, 61.183(e) exempts you from the Fundamentals of Instructing knowledge test. Many pilots add the CFII soon after their initial CFI, while their teaching skills and the instrument knowledge from their instrument rating and commercial training are fresh.
The Flight Instructor Instrument PTS for airplane and helicopter lists ten areas of operation. Knowing which tasks are mandatory tells you where to focus:
Always read the current PTS yourself before the test, including the table that shows which tasks apply based on the certificates you already hold. Your examiner will follow it.
CFII applicants usually fly well. Where they struggle is teaching and flying at the same time from the right seat, with the examiner playing a student who makes mistakes. These tips focus on that challenge:
The ground portion of a CFII checkride usually opens with technical subjects: how the instruments work, how they fail and how you would teach a student to recognize each failure. Expect questions on gyroscopic instruments, pitot-static errors, navigation systems and aeromedical factors such as spatial disorientation. You will then present your preflight lesson on a maneuver, often an approach, a hold or unusual attitude recovery.
In the air, the examiner will usually ask you to demonstrate and then teach. Expect simulated failures, a partial-panel approach, holding and at least one missed approach. Keep teaching while you fly. Silence in the right seat is not instruction. Bring your logbook with the required endorsements, your knowledge test report and your IACRA application details, and confirm that the airplane's equipment and inspections meet IFR requirements before the day.
Many applicants also pair this rating with a multi-engine rating and later the multi-engine instructor rating. Under 14 CFR 61.195(c)(2), instrument training in a multiengine airplane carries additional instructor qualifications, so plan your ratings in the right order.
Training out of Van Nuys means real IFR work in busy Southern California airspace, with marine layer days that give students genuine instrument conditions. Our fleet includes the Cessna 162 Skycatcher, Piper PA-28 Warrior and Diamond DA20 trainers, the complex Piper Arrow, the twin-engine Piper Seminole and the Cirrus SR22 Turbo with its glass cockpit and CAPS parachute. Our Redbird MCX full-motion simulator lets you rehearse approaches and teaching scripts in a controlled setting.
If you are planning the whole journey, our Airline Pilot Program is $84,000 (regularly $89,000, with a $5,000 promotion), with financing through Stratus Financial for up to 15 years and in-house plans. We are open 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days a week, at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal.
Call us to plan your CFII training, simulator sessions and checkride preparation at Van Nuys Airport.
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