What is this series? The Flight Instructor ACS replaced the PTS a little over a year ago, and the change was significant. This series walks through the CFI ACS task by task — breaking down every knowledge element, risk management item, and skill demonstration so you know exactly what to expect on the practical test.
Each episode focuses on a single task (or a related group of tasks) and comes with a downloadable ACS Companion PDF that maps every element back to the Aviation Instructor’s Handbook and the relevant FAA source material.
How the CFI ACS Works
The Flight Instructor ACS is structured like every other Airman Certification Standards document — areas of operation containing tasks, and each task broken into knowledge elements, risk management elements, and skill elements. But the CFI ACS is a little different. It uses two sets of knowledge codes: FI codes for the Fundamentals of Instruction (Area of Operation 1) and AI codes for the technical subject areas. That’s because there are two written exams — the FOI and the FIA (Flight Instructor Airplane) — that qualify you to take the practical test.
The testing rules are also important to understand. For each task the examiner selects, you must demonstrate proficiency in at least one knowledge element, at least one risk management element, and all skill elements. Any questions you missed on the FOI written are also fair game during the oral. And per the 8900.1, the examiner can pull questions from the underlying private or commercial ACS as well.
One more note on Area of Operation 1: the evaluator must select Task E (Professional Environment), Task F (Risk Management), and at least one other task for an initial CFI applicant. That means you’ll cover a minimum of three of the six FOI tasks — not all of them. But you need to know all of them because you don’t get to pick which “other task” the examiner selects.
Episodes
- EP 1 Effects of Human Behavior & Communication AOO I · Task A Definitions of human behavior, the instructor-learner relationship, motivation, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, defense mechanisms, learner emotional reactions, teaching the adult learner, and effective communication — all demonstrated through a single scenario.
- EP 2 The Learning Process AOO I · Task B Definitions of learning, behaviorism vs. cognitive theory, perceptions and insights, Thorndike’s laws of learning, domains of learning, scenario-based training, memory, errors, and transfer of learning — all demonstrated through a single returning-pilot scenario.
- EP 3 The Teaching Process AOO I · Task C The four-step teaching process, essential teaching skills, training objectives, organization of material, teaching methods (lecture, discussion, demonstration-performance, drill and practice), instructional aids, integrated flight instruction, problem-based learning, lesson plans, and why this task is effectively required on every checkride.
- EP 4 Assessment, Critique & Evaluation AOO I · Task D Coming soon
- EP 5 Professional Environment AOO I · Task E Coming soon
- EP 6 Risk Management AOO I · Task F Coming soon
VSL ACE Guide
The ACE Guide is the FAA reference system used throughout this series. Every ACS element links directly to the source material in the Aviation Instructor’s Handbook, the Airplane Flying Handbook, and dozens of other FAA documents — all in one searchable PDF.
Get the ACE Guide →