I had a wonderful and memorable experience at CFI Academy. Let me tell in details.
First off, I got my commercial and CFI certificates! I enrolled in the class starting on 4/4/2022, got my commercial pilot's certificate on 4/28 and CFI certificate on 5/16. In between I went home for about 10 days due to scheduling issues. This is lightning speed considering that it took my 14 months to get my PPL and 12 months to get my IFR. I was very happy that I passed my CFI check ride in one sitting.
I was a little frustrated with my PPL and IFR progress and was looking for an accelerated CFI program. I have three criteria in my selection process.
1. The school has to be located where weather is generally not an issue. I was fed up with the Chicago weather which makes it only possible to fly once or twice a week, if you are lucky.
2. There are a large amount of reviews for the program. There will be good and bad reviews for any business, but a large amount of reviews signify a program that has been in business for a long time.
3. The school has a dedicated DPE. Scheduling with a DPE can be very frustrating. Any additional appointment due to weather/maintenance/failed check ride, etc. could easily drag the entire process out for a month or more.
I selected the CFI Academy because they seem to meet all three criteria. There are many other accelerated CFI programs across the nation, and they all at least miss one or two of my criteria. My experience at the CFI Academy validated my choice.
1. The CFI Academy is located in the central valley region south of Sacramento. The weather was generally very aviation friendly. Winds at the surface and aloft were generally very mild, and sky is generally clear. We were able to fly very often, some times twice a day. I found that to be very helpful in honing my skills. Of course, there were rainy/windy days, but overall much better than Chicago.
2. And yes, the CFI Academy has been in business for a long time, and they do have a ton of positive reviews, and a few bad ones. They have a system worked out to mass produce CFIs.
3. The CFI Academy has very good relationship with some DPEs. This was very helpful. I actually failed my first try at commercial check ride, but I was able to be scheduled for three days later and passed.
Beyond my original three criteria, I found myself getting a lot more than I expected. Here are a few.
1. Prince, the owner and chief instructor! Oh, man, Prince is one of the two most amazing aviators I have ever met. He is also an A&P. His vast aviation knowledge and experience aside, he has a way to teach complex concepts in layman's terms. It was truly something else to meet Prince.
2. Amazing classmates. The CFI Academy attracts students with some most amazing qualifications, such as 737 pilot, test pilot, etc. I lived on campus, and we talked about aviation all the time. Check ride tips and stories were swapped among the students. The friendship and camaraderie was precious.
3. Since Prince is an A&P and he has a shop, we got to look at planes under the hood. In one occasion, we took apart a replaced magnetic compass and experimented with its components, like middle schoolers in a science class. Well, that got my ANDS thing forever fixed.
4. Lodi (pronounced Low-die, not lowdee), to my surprise, is actually a larger wine producing area than Napa. This area was dotted with vineyards and wine tasting rooms, and I found wine sold in Chicago Costco was produced in Lodi. On weekends, I biked around this wine country, and it was very enjoyable.
5. I liked the on-campus dorm a lot. There is a kitchen, two full bathrooms, laundry, a courtesy car (with over 250k miles), and a bike. The room I got was decent. I could just walk down the hall way from my room to the class room.
6. Weekend parties. Prince often shows up on the weekends with beer and/or BBQ, and we just sit around outside and hangout, a good time.
For folks who consider attending the academy, my advice is
1. Be ready to work hard. Teaching session runs from 9am to 1:30pm-ish, and you are expected to participate. Then there is homework reading and flying. And then there is preparing lesson plans and practice teaching the lessons. When check rides are scheduled, there is more work putting everything together. We often worked until late into the night.
2. Practice public speaking, such as joining the Toastmaster Club. CFI is about teaching, and you will have to be able to speak confidently.
3. Get the FOI and FIA exams done before attending the Academy. It would be hard worrying about these written exams while dealing with the torrent of work thrown at you every day.
4.Be patient. The way things are done at the Academy is kind of ad hoc, but they do get things done.
All in all, I am very happy with my experience, and more importantly, I now have much better airmanship than when I entered the Academy. Time and money well spent. read more