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Tango49
25th Sep 2007, 21:38
Can anyone help me come up with a well-constructed CFI's job description? I'm particularly interested in the extra responsibilities and accountabilities over those of an FI (me!), as written in an actual in-use JD.
Thanks for your help :ok:
T49

Dr Eckener
4th Oct 2007, 09:53
1. Do all the work of an FI
2. Fly with students who are causing grief for the FI's
3. Work longer hours than an FI
4. Do all the adhoc stuff on top of the above for little extra pay
5. Pretend you are happy with your lot
6. Walk around telling everyone why you did not take the airline job you were offered

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Whopity
4th Oct 2007, 11:30
In an approved FTO the CFIs role is defined in App1a to JAR-FCL 1.055 CHIEF FLYING INSTRUCTOR (CFI)
15 The CFI shall be responsible for the supervision of flight and synthetic flight instructors and for the standardisation of all flight instruction and synthetic flight instruction. The CFI shall:
(a) hold the highest professional pilot licence related to the flying training courses conducted;
(b) hold the rating(s) related to the flying training courses conducted;
(c) hold a flight instructor rating for at least one of the types of aeroplane used on the course; and
(d) have completed 1 000 hours pilot-in-command flight time of which a minimum of 500 hours shall be on flying instructional duties related to the flying courses conducted of which 200 hours may be instrument ground time.however in a non approved Facility or Flying Club there is no definition of a CFI so it can be whatever the management or holder wish to make it

FlyingForFun
4th Oct 2007, 18:33
It varies so much from one school to another, I don't think there's such thing as a generic job description.

At my current school (an approved FTO), the CFI does all the 170A flights for CPL and IR students if he's available. He frequently flies with students who need a little more brushing up after their 170A. He keeps up to speed with the progress of every student, and gets involved in their training when necessary. He sometimes does other work which takes him away from the school, such as examining for other schools.

In my previous school (a RF), the CFI was very rarely around, and I reported to the flying school Manager on a daily basis (who was not an instructor). The CFI did a checkout with me when I first started working at the school, but apart from that he was flying or managing the AOC side of the company far more than the school. About the only time we saw him in the school was when he was teaching his 17-year-old son to fly (although he delegated that to other instructors soon after his son went solo). Although he is a great bloke, and a very good pilot, his involvement in the school was really summed up by his son, who said "If my dad's the CFI, how come he's so out of touch that he didn't realise I was supposed to do the Air Law exam before I went solo?"

Two different extremes, and although neither of them are formal job descriptions they should give you an idea of the range of duties.

FFF
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Tango49
4th Oct 2007, 22:24
Thanks chaps for your replies - very useful so far!
Gives me some food for thought - the ideas are what I generally expected, and I appreciate your candid views Dr E, although I have a fATPL, I was never offered the airline job so I guess I'll keep working miracles for the time being!
I suppose I was mostly concerned about understanding the accountabilities a CFI may have to the outside authorities and what skills and experience those authorities would expect a potential CFI incumbent to have to be able to carry out their duties effectively. And I'm only considering at an FTO that provides PPL and NPPL training, not e.g. CPL/ME/IR level.
Any other views?
Thanks,
T49