CFI Training Requirements

What could be more rewarding than sharing your love of aviation with aspiring pilots? Paragon Flight offers training to help you meet all the requirements to become a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) and earn a living while exercising your passion, honing your skills, and earning flight hours for future plans.

Enter the Work Force as a Commercial Pilot

Find a job as soon as you earn your credentials as a flight instructor. The demand for Certified Flight Instructors, Instrument Instructors, and Multi-Engine Instructors is high, and you can accumulate flight time while making your way in the industry.
Sharing your passion and knowledge with others is also a very fulfilling experience. With every student, you’ll get to share in the feelings of excitement and accomplishment as they develop new skills and earn additional credentials.

How can you become a Certified Flight Instructor?

Before teaching others, you have to have the skill yourself. Whether you want to teach others how to fly a single-engine aircraft as a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI), train pilots in how to use navigation and communication tools and systems as an instrument Certified Flight Instructor (CFII), or train pilots to fly multi-engine aircraft as a Certified Multi-Engine Instructor (MEI), you must have the credentials in question.
Another credential you’ll need to have is a commercial license. Without it, you can’t legally accept compensation for your work as a pilot in any capacity.
Take a look at the following list for a breakdown of all the steps needed to qualify as a Certified Flight Instructor:

• Valid Commercial Pilot License or Airline Transport Pilot Certificate
• Category and Class Rating for the Flight Instructor credentials sought
• FAA 3rd Class Medical Certificate, minimum
• 18 years of age, minimum
• Literate and fluent in the English language
• 15 hours held as PIC in the category and class of aircraft parallel to the flight instructor credentials sought
• Instructionally proficient and endorsed in stall awareness, spin entry, and spin recovery
• Passed the FAA written exam
• Passed verbal and practical check-ride exams

Get There Faster with P3 at Paragon Flight

The P3 Program at Paragon Flight, or the Professional Pilot Program, allows pilots to progress from no experience to commercial licenses for single-engine and multi-engine training and flight instructor certification in 38 short weeks.
The schedule is as follows:

• WEEKS 0-10 – Private Pilot License (PPL) – foundational course for all aviation training, permits pilots to fly single-engine aircraft in VFR conditions
• WEEKS 11-18 – Instructor Flight Rating (IFR) – trains pilots to fly in IFR conditions using navigational and communication tools and systems
• WEEKS 19-30 – Commercial License, Single Engine and Multi-Engine (CSEL/CMEL) – permits pilots to accept compensation for single-engine and multi-engine aircraft services
• WEEKS 31-38 – Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) – trains pilots to share their knowledge and skills with others.

Upon completion of the P3 Program, you’ll be ready to work as a flight instructor, and Paragon Flight prefers applications from program graduates since we know how well you’ve been trained.
Click here or call any of our locations to learn how Paragon Flight will help you meet the training requirements to work as a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI). To contact us by phone, reach out at 239-274-3170 for the Fort Myers, FL, location; (941) 900-3131 for the Punta Gorda, FL, location; or (706) 903-9337 for the LaGrange, GA facility.