Teaching from the right seat

After the initial flight instructor certificate CFII - instrument airplane - we continue to the additional and most important instructor rating - the airplane single engine - or in other words, the CFI.

Now I'm flying the PA-28R, Piper Arrow, a complex old aircraft.
Very maneuverable and nice to fly, we are working now in this airplane on teaching take-offs and landings, power-off 180s, chandelles, lazy eights, steep spirals, stalls, emergencies and so on. It's not as simple as just flying it, you now have to explain what you are doing every step, and detect errors, analyze them and suggest corrections. Exciting though, you feel finally the end of the training is close now, and you can start seeing the light in the end of the tunnel, the first aviation job knocking on the door.

Pretty short, 10 days of ground and flight training, we now wait for the FAA checkride, hopefully the last paid training flight! Once it's done, we'll look for a job and start to slowly get back our investment, and get some experience in the crazy flight environment of central florida.

have a great weekend!

One more to the team - CFII !

On the picture above, nothing to do with this post, it's simple the AIW, my loved airplane that I miss so much since my private pilot days...

So let's go to the news:
Finally, after 9 months and 28 days of flight training, today I received my first flight instructor certificate - the CFII! For an unknown reason, the flight was awesome, really smooth, I flew it really good, almost no mistakes, it was one of my best flights ever! Interesting fact is my flying recency was ZERO, last time i flew before the checkride was 3 and a half weeks before, on the part 141 end-of-course flight. Since then just microsoft flight simulator and Garmin G1000 simulator.

So I will tell how it was.... after engine start, i was told to load a flight plan from KDAB to KTLH via some published airways, directly into the G1000 without using a low-enroute-chart. After that, the examiner taxied and took off, then at about 500ft AGL he passed me the controls. I flew manually until out of charlie airspace, and then we squawked 1200 and started to intercept my first cross country leg. After established in my navigation, the examiner announced and AHRS failure and dimmed my PFD. I did the checklist, used backup instruments and request for "ATC" (in this case it was him) to cancel my flight to Tallahasse and head back to the nearest airport, in the case it was Flagler (KXFL). On the way to Flagler, i was cleared to hold as published and expect the RNAV (GPS) 11 approach, what I did partial panel. After an incredible low approach at around 600 ft over the field, we went missed and started to head to HANAV, the initial approach fix to join the 16 DME arc for the ILS 7L approach at Daytona Beach, heading back home. From there was pretty simple, he tried to distract me asking me to check METAR's on the G1000 right before I intercept the arc and things like that, but besides that was fantastic!
We finished with a 12kt crosswind landing, this one now not perfect, but reasonable.... Still, was a great flight.

Now I wish it was finished and I could start working, but so far I need to do my CFI add-on, all in the Piper Arrow, a complex plane I never flew before. Supposed to be a short and easy course, hopefully.

Have a great week everyone, and let's celebrate!