Become a Flight Instructor

FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR CERTIFICATE (FIC)

A Flight Instructor (FI) course typically takes between five to six weeks (full-time). FI course training can take place at any of our partner bases, either full-time or part-time, and typically with a maximum of two students per FI Instructor. The course covers two key elements:

Ground School – 125 hours
Learning not only about the courses that you will end up instructing – i.e. the LAPL/PPL(A) course – but also techniques for getting the best out of your students. The ground school encompasses a teaching and learning core course along with exercises where you will be expected to deliver lessons to your instructor.

Flight Training – 30 hours
Putting into practice the theory you have learned, your FI Instructor will pretend to be your student exposing you to the likely situations and mistakes that you will have to deal with as a future Instructor. Under the expert guidance of our FI Instructor, you will also gain first-hand experience of potentially unsafe situations that trainee pilots can put themselves into, and how to deal with them. At the end of the course, you will demonstrate your ability to teach to a Flight Instructor Examiner.

Course Requirements

Prior to starting a Flight Instructor Certificate (FIC) course with us, you must:

• Hold a valid EASA CPL (or an EASA PPL with 200 hours flight time of which 150 hours as PIC)
• Have completed at least CPL-level theoretical knowledge examinations,
• Pass a pre-entry flight test within six months of starting the course, and
• Meet the other requirements defined in EASA Part-FCL 915.FI

FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR REFRESHER AND RENEWAL TRAINING

An SFI certificate is issued with a validity of 3 years. However, a revalidation can be completed within the last 12 months of the expiry date. Therefore, the new expiry date of a further 3 years will be calculated from the current expiry date of the SFI certificate when completed within the revalidation period.

Revalidation
To revalidate an SFI certificate applicants are required to complete at least two out of the following three requirements, before the expiry date of the SFI certificate:

• Have completed at least 50 hours as instructors or examiners in FSTDs, of which at least 15 hours in the period of 12 months immediately preceding the expiry date of the SFI certificate
• Have completed instructor refresher training as an SFI at an approved ATO
• Have passed the relevant sections of the AoC

Additionally, applicants shall have completed, on an FFS, the proficiency checks for the issue of the specific aircraft type ratings representing the types for which privileges are held For at least each alternate revalidation of an SFI certificate, the applicant is required to pass the relevant sections of the AoC If an SFI holds a certificate in more than one type of aircraft within the same category, the assessment of competence taken on one of those types shall revalidate the SFI certificate for the other types held within the same category of aircraft

Renewal
To renew an expired SFI certificate, applicants are required to complete the following requirements within12 months immediately preceding the submission of their application:

• Have completed instructor refresher training as an SFI at an ATO
• Have passed an SFI AoC
• Have completed, on an FSTD, the skill test for the issue of the specific aircraft type ratings representing the types for which privileges are to be renewed

Please refer to ‘FCL.940.SFI – Revalidation and renewal’ in Easy Access Rules for further guidance.
Source: CAA