Free ACS study guide

CFI ACS Guide

Flight Instructor ACS guide for lesson planning, fundamentals of instruction, risk management, endorsements, and teaching from the right seat.

Use this guide to turn knowledge into teachable, organized lessons.

The CFI checkride is a teaching test

A strong CFI applicant can explain, demonstrate, evaluate, and correct. The examiner is looking for safe instructional judgment, not just private or commercial proficiency.

Teach from objectives, standards, common errors, and risk controls.
Use the fundamentals of instruction without sounding memorized.
Know endorsements, limitations, and student pilot supervision responsibilities.

Lesson plans should be useful in the cockpit

A good lesson plan is not a binder decoration. It should help you brief the maneuver, predict errors, manage risk, and evaluate whether learning happened.

Include objective, completion standards, equipment, and common errors.
Add scenario questions that force student decision-making.
Prepare correction language for likely mistakes.

Right-seat readiness

Teaching from the right seat changes sight picture, control feel, and workload. Practice demonstrations, error recovery, and concise coaching until they are natural.

Demonstrate first, then let the student try with clear guardrails.
Keep interventions calm and early.
Debrief what happened, why it happened, and what to do next.

Keep studying

Private Pilot ACS

A plain-English guide to the Private Pilot Airplane ACS, including task areas, risk management, checkride readiness, and what to bring to each lesson.

Instrument ACS

Study guide for the Instrument Rating ACS, with emphasis on IFR decision-making, approach briefings, weather, lost communications, and proficiency.

Commercial ACS

Commercial Pilot ACS guide covering professionalism, performance planning, complex risk decisions, and checkride maneuver expectations.