What is “a good CFI”?

Lesson #3: Quiz Your Students

Do you want your students to pass their checkrides? Of course you do (and if you said “I don’t care” see Lesson #1 in this series). I think most CFIs want their students to pass their checkrides, but you need to ask yourself – what are you doing as a CFI to help them pass their checkrides? If you’re not quizzing them on the vast quantity of material then you need to do so. And if you are quizzing your students, you need to make sure you’re being thorough when you do it.

Based on my experiences, I realized that there are some CFIs out there that don’t adequately prepare their students for their checkrides. Most of the time, all it takes is an extended ground lesson and a flight; both conducted under the label of “stage checks” or “mock-checkrides”.  The goal is to identify areas of strengths & weaknesses and to bridge any knowledge & skillset gaps before the actual checkride. You should also schedule/conduct these mock-checkrides at least a week before the checkride so the student has ample time to address the areas for improvement; it’ll help keep the stress levels down, too.

I feel very strongly about quizzing students to ensure preparation, which is why I began drafting the Stage Check Questions & Answers. I didn’t create those with the intention of selling them. I created them to make sure students were more than prepared for their checkrides, particularly during the oral portion. I recognized that lot of students have never experienced the types of pressures associated with a checkride. Even for me, someone who spent well over a decade as a management consultant, felt the pressure. The subject matter was all new material for me and I had no idea what to expect. So, as a CFI, I started compiling a list of questions and initially focused on the more challenging subjects. One page of questions turned into five, then ten… I kept adding to it over time and eventually I had a robust and thorough collection of stage check questions that I used to guide the mock-checkrides for students at my flight school.

Conducting mock-checkrides allows students to experience this line of questioning before the big day. It helps build confidence; the unknown becomes the known and the fear of the impending checkride is lessened. After I started conducting these mock-checkrides, the pass rate at the flight school I worked at increased dramatically. The general consensus amongst the students after their checkrides was, and I’m paraphrasing, “Matt’s stage check helped a lot. He was thorough, and it was extremely helpful. I was overprepared for the checkride as a result.” That’s what you want to hear. When you hear them say they were overprepared that means they know and understand the material. Isn’t that the ultimate goal of flight training? Isn’t that what the FAA wants in pilots?

All that said, take the time to quiz your students to ensure they are prepared for their first solo, cross-country solo, and their checkrides. Be honest with them about their strengths and areas for improvement; provide the constructive feedback so they can make changes and address any problem areas before it really counts. They’ll thank you for it.

So as this series progresses, continually ask yourself – what kind of CFI do you want to be?

I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I enjoy writing them. If you have any questions or feedback please send The Flight Attitude a message via our contact form: https://www.theflightattitude.com/contact-us/