Most professional track pilots earn a CFI or CFI/I license because becoming a flight instructor is a good way to build time toward a long-term career as a helicopter pilot. Becoming an instructor is a challenging career in itself; you are taking responsibility both for the safety of your student in the aircraft, as well as for your student's competency and education as a pilot. What the regulations don't list is the nerves of steel and the level of maturity that is required to give the controls of a helicopter to someone who has never flown before.
Unlike other FAA-issued licenses which never expire, the CFI/I license must be renewed every two years.
Requirements to be eligible for a CFI/I license
- You must be at least 18 years old.
- You must be able to read, write, understand, and speak English.
- You must hold either a Commercial or ATP Rotorcraft Helicopter license.
- You must hold a Instrument Rotorcraft-Helicopter rating.
- You must pass the written knowledge test for CFI helicopter.
- You must pass the written knowledge test on the Fundamentals of Instruction (FOI).
- You must pass an oral and practical test (checkride).
Aeronautical experience required for a CFI/I license:
- You must log at least 15 hours as pilot-in-command in a helicopter and receive instruction in the areas of instructing listed in Part 61.185 and 61.187.
Thanks to Ian Farmer, one of GGH's students, for many of the photographs in this section of our website. Here one of our instructors, Paul Harris, is conducting an inspection of the tail rotor with Katy Casey, a GGH Private Pilot graduate and our Director of Client Services, during a routine 6-month currency check.