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What you will Achieve from this Program

When you complete this program, you will obtain a Flight Instructor Rating issued by Transport Canada, as well as a Certificate of Qualification—Flight Instructor by Coastal Pacific Aviation.

The holder of a Flight Instructor Rating may conduct dual flight instruction for issuance of Recreational Pilot Permits, Private Pilot Licences, Night Ratings, VFR OTT Ratings, and Commercial Pilot Licences. Additionally, provided they meet the experience and qualifications requirements established by Transport Canada, Flight Instructor may conduct dual flight instruction for the issuance of Instrument Ratings, Multi-engine Class Ratings, Seaplane Ratings, and Ultra-light Pilot Permits.

The authorities of the holder of a Flight Instructor Rating also include the following:

releasing and supervising solo training flights;
recommending students for Recreational Pilot, Private Pilot, and Commercial Pilot Flight Tests;
when meeting the experience and qualifications requirements established by Transport Canada, recommending Multi-engine Class Rating Students and Instrument Rating Students for Flight Tests;
and recommending students for Night Rating and VFR OTT endorsements.

Overview of Pilot Training

Flight Instructor students must undergo to examination—one is a flight test typically conducted by a Transport Canada Civil Aviation Inspector, and the second is a written examination. There are many components in the instructor training process, but the two primary areas of focus are Preparatory Ground Briefings (PGIs), and Air Instruction (AI). PGIs are provided by Flight Instructors to students as a one-on-one briefing completed on the ground prior to departure when students are learning a new exercise—e.g., slow flight, stalls, precautionary landing, etc. Air Instruction refers to the strategic sequence of demonstration and student practice used in the air to teach students the various exercises. For the 25-plus exercises taught to student pilots, Flight Instructors student must develop and practice their PGI and Air Instruction delivery—typically composed of rehearsed scripts and action sequences.

Ground training for Flight Instructor students can begin after successfully completing the Commercial Pilot Licence written examination, but air training cannot begin until after the Commercial Pilot Licence has been issued by Transport Canada.

Requirements for Entrance (Prerequisites) and Completion

In accordance with CAR 421.69, the prerequisites for beginning the Flight Instructor Rating Program are as follows:

Flight Training—prior to commencing flight training, students shall have completed their Commercial Pilot Licence.

Groundschool—prior to commencing groundschool, students shall have successfully completed the written examination requirements for the Commercial Pilot Licence.

In accordance with the requirements established by StudentAid BC Policy Manual, entrance into this program requires the completion of Grade 12(or equivalent) or candidates must qualify as a mature student (age 19 and not having attended school full-time for 52 weeks).

Transport Canada's Minimum Requirements for Completion

Knowledge Requirements—Ground School Instruction

An applicant shall have completed a minimum of 25 hours of Instructor Rating ground school instruction which shall include:

practical application of the basic principles of learning and techniques of instruction;
preparation and use of lesson plans;
procedures for planning and presenting preparatory ground instruction, pre-flight briefings, in-flight instruction, and post-flight debriefings;
theory of flight required to teach the air exercises;
aircraft flight manuals and aircraft operating limits;
presentation of pilot decision-making concepts; and
the use of the Transport Canada Flight Instructor Guide, Flight Training Manual, Canadian Aviation Regulations, Part IV, and the appropriate Flight Test schedules and guides.

Knowledge Requirements—Written Examination

All applicants shall have obtained a minimum of 70% in the written examination Flight Instructor Rating—Aeroplane Class 4 (AIRAF), which includes the following subjects:

Air Law—Part IV of the CARs—Personnel Licensing and Training, including general rules for recency requirements, administration of licences and ratings, personal log requirements; rules for written examination and flight test administration, permits, licences and rating privileges and qualification requirements, medical administrative requirements, and regulations pertaining to flight training administration and operations;
Fundamentals of Instructing—learning factors, factors that affect learning, preparation, presentation, critique, evaluation methods, techniques and methods of flight instruction, flight instruction (air exercises), integrating human factors into instruction, and communication;
Aeronautics—General Knowledge—threat and error management, aircraft flight manuals and aircraft operating limits, and flight test standards.

Experience Requirements

An applicant shall complete a minimum of 30 hours of dual flight instruction on overall pilot proficiency and the presentation of all exercises set forth in the Flight Instructor Guide and shall include a minimum of 5 hours of training in the teaching of instrument flight skills. A maximum 5 of the 30 hours may be conducted on an approved aeroplane simulator or flight training device.

Skill Requirements

An applicant shall successfully complete a flight test in accordance with Flight Instructor Flight Test Guide.

Estimated Training Costs

The following are the minimum estimated cost for students based on Transport Canada's minimum requirements. Please keep in mind that the below pricing can change from student to student based on different factors. The prices also subject to change without notice—this permits the school to respond timely to significant fluctuations in aviation fuel costs.

AIR INSTRUCTION

Aircraft Type: Cessna 172-P Model

Aircraft Hourly Rate $179/hr

Flight Instructor Hourly Rate $80/hr

30 Hours Dual Instruction $7,770

Sub-Total $7,770

GROUND SCHOOL & ADMINISTRATION

45 Hours Ground Instruction $3,600

Books and Supplies (Approximate) $125

Flight Tests & Transport Canada Fees $330

(Flight Tests & TC fees are NOT paid directly to CPA)

Sub-Total $4,055

ESTIMATED TOTAL COSTS

Air Instruction and Student Practice $7,770

Ground School and Administration $4,055

TOTAL ESTIMATED COST $11,825 CAD

Important Considerations for the estimated costs of Pilot Training

It is important to note that the training costs for pilot training is difficult to predict owing to the fact that the training frequency among student vary, as does the skill level of students with regard to both flight training and written examination preparation.

If a student has difficulty in preparing for written examination, the effect of this is likely to be simply delayed completion—delayed completion does add to expenses—food and housing while being a student, for example—but this is much less than the costs of having to add more practice flights to the air training.

The more significant cost variable therefore pertains to the flying skill levels of students—students must meet the flying standards of Canadian Commercial Pilots as established by Transport Canada, and as outlined in the Commercial Pilot Licence Flight Test Guide.

Important Considerations for International Students

For International Students, our admissions process requires that you send a non-refundable $350 administrative fee, payable to Coastal Pacific Aviation, which will be used to fund administrative and courier costs, including the preparation and issue of the Letter of Acceptance. You will use Letter of Acceptance when you begin your application for a Study Permit and Visa. For all sorts of additional information importance to International Students, please see the International Students’ Page of this website.

Opportunities for Continued Employment at CPA

Employment as a Flight Instructor at Coastal Pacific Aviation following the successful completion of this program is not guaranteed. However, operational experience at CPA is important for reasons of safety and efficiency, and priority is therefore given to hiring instructional staff from our pool of graduates from this program, especially students who have additionally graduated from our Private Pilot and Commercial Pilot Programs. Provided graduates have demonstrated compatible conduct and operational effectiveness during their training, there is a high likelihood for continued employment with CPA. The final decision regarding graduate employment rests with the Chief Flight Instructor. For additional information on employment opportunities, see the following link: Join Us!

“This program has been approved by the Private Training Institutions Branch (PTIB) of the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills & Training”.

Instructor Rating Program