CFI And CFII Training

The initial CFI is not a flying course with a teaching component bolted on. It is a teaching qualification that happens to be assessed in an aircraft. You will spend far more hours at a table than in the air — that is why the estimate is 25 hours of ground against 10 of flight — and the checkride is famously long, mostly oral, and mostly about whether you can explain a subject to somebody who does not know it yet.

The parts that catch people out are the fundamentals of instruction, teaching from the right seat, and being able to talk continuously while flying accurately. We drill all three.

The initial CFI calls for spin training and a spin endorsement, flown in an aircraft approved for spins. Ask us early and we will name the provider we send candidates to, so you can book it alongside your ground work rather than at the end.

Bring the endorsement back and it slots straight into your training here — it is a normal part of the plan, and we build your schedule around it.

We are always glad to talk through instructing here when capacity comes up.

Either way we will be straightforward with you about what instructing is really like — the hours, the money, the weather, and what teaching does for your own flying.

Both figures exclude the examiner’s fee. They are planning estimates rather than guaranteed package prices, and the ground hours in particular vary enormously: how long the initial CFI takes depends on how comfortable you are explaining things out loud. Prices last updated August 13, 2026.

Denis Vyatkin, who owns the school and oversees the instructor certificates, and Sergio, who teaches most primary students.