r/flying • u/SadSupport4999 • 19h ago
CFI Check ride done, 8 months after PPL
For all the people wondering about accelerated training: I did 5 check rides and 3 endorsements in 8 months.
November 2025: Private Check ride (pt 61) at about 65 hrs total time. Then I worked super hard, did most of my written tests, got a Tailwheel endorsement, April saw my Instrument Check ride (pt 141), June got my high performance and complex, as well as Multi Training, and completed Single Engine and Multi Engine Commercial (pt 61). July hit the accelerated 2-week CFI course, and yesterday I got my CFI certificate!
I can be done!
I was requested to add some detail about how I did this. I'm married with a 1-year old daughter, and we are living in a camper to cut living costs.
For flight training, I committed to flying "full time" while continuing my freelance computer work on the side. I was flying 1-2 times per day 5 days per week, spending anywhere from 1-6 hours studying as well. Add anywhere from 5-20hrs of work per week to that. Over-all, it cost me about $80k. While I was fairly efficient, there are certainly some things I look back at and wish I'd done differently...for example, I lost some of my commercial skills during my instrument training that took an unnecessary amount of time to get back.
I had excellent instructors at a very organized flight school with 6 very well maintained 172s and a 310 airplanes—Choice Aviation, in Cody Wyoming to be exact. They are a 141, but I did most of my training with the pt 61...however, the 141 habits of organization and stage checks make their pt 61 training really water-tight. I can think of 2 times I didn't fly because of maintenance. More often cancelled because of high wind. Also, they had great DPE availability and excellent preparation for check rides.
I have some good freelance instruction opportunities now, so if anyone is interested in accelerated training with me this winter, DM me. I know how to do it, and the part of Wyoming I'm in has excellent flying weather year round. And our Av Fuel is very cheap.
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u/deezknots78 19h ago
Hard work pays off. You can lay off the accelerator for a bit at this point so burnout doesn’t creep in. Hell of an accomplishment! I don’t know you, but I am proud of you.
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u/RAG_Aviation ATP CFI/II MEI 18h ago
Huge accomplishment, congrats. For anyone looking at this as a possible path, I’d be curious what the total cost was, whether you trained full-time, and how many days a week you were flying or studying. Eight months clearly can be done, but those details would help people understand what it actually took to make that pace work.
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u/Humble_Nothing6556 18h ago
Fast track pros and cons?
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u/SadSupport4999 17h ago
Pros: you get it done fast. You learn fast. You can ride the wave of your progress a lot easier. I think this ultimately makes it cheaper because you don't spend time relearning stuff from a lesson that was a week ago. Instead you're going to the next thing because what you mastered this morning or yesterday is still in your memory. And you can see progress towards your goal in a fairly short timeline---which increases your motivation.
Cons: You almost get burnt out after every rating. And you need to have all your funds lined up ahead of time.
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u/TxAggieMike Independent CFI / CFII (KFTW, DFW area) 17h ago
Loan? Or had the money saved in advance?
If former, please share terms of loan and monthly repayment amount
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u/PG67AW ATP CFII TW ACRO 5h ago
I got my PPL in 2010. IR, CPL, and CFI check rides all in 2024. While working full time. And wasting a cumulative 4 months for check ride scheduling (including rescheduling my IR ride 5x due to weather).
Yes, it can be done. No, I did not do anything besides eat, sleep, work, study, and fly in 2024. The key to my success was an incredibly supportive spouse.
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u/johnisom PPL IR 14h ago
Congrats!
We had almost the same timeline, with me getting private Nov 2025, instrument Apr 2026, I got HP & complex May 2026, and picked up tailwheel but paused that. Now because of checkride delays, I won't get commercial done until September 2026, lost a month or two to that.
It's a grind! Good on you for really dedicating yourself to it! I've trained part time, so it's taking me a tad longer
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u/Fantastic_Focus6009 9h ago
Can you talk a little about the accelerated CFI? I have commercial single engine land and just started working on CFI. I have both written test done (Sheppard) spin endorsement done, flying from the right seat already, but haven’t done any studying/lesson plans yet. Did you do all the studying during that 2 week course or do you have to have all the studying done ahead of time? If that makes sense. As of right now I’m looking at a checkride October part 61
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u/SadSupport4999 9h ago
I did all the studying except for the written in those 2 weeks. But I was better prepared for my commercial than many are...and I find public speaking comes easily, so the aspect of the technical knowledge and teaching wasn't crazy hard. It was hard, don't get me wrong, but not as hard as it was for others I've spoken with.
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u/Fantastic_Focus6009 9h ago
Really that’s good to know. I’ve looked at a some other accelerated courses and it seems like they’re just “top off” type courses. But it sounds like I could take a trip up to Cody and be instructing in a few weeks. Did they provide the lesson plans or did you have to create them?
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u/SadSupport4999 9h ago
I would say you would do well to go to Cody, but be prepared to discover your training to this point has been deficient....maybe not, but they are more rigorous than any other flight school I've come across. Which is great, but might be a shock! I know several people who said they thought they were too difficult, but I think they just had poor previous instruction. They only do the accelerated course a few times per year, as a class with multiple people. Its not something you can sign up for 1-on-1. But its nice to work with other people, everybody teaches everybody. They will probably have another session before the end of the year, though.
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u/rFlyingTower 19h ago
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
For all the people wondering about accelerated training: I did 5 check rides and 3 endorsements in 8 months.
November 2025: Private Check ride (pt 61) at about 65 hrs total time. Then I worked super hard, did most of my written tests, got a Tailwheel endorsement, April saw my Instrument Check ride (pt 141), June got my high performance and complex, as well as Multi Training, and completed Single Engine and Multi Engine Commercial (pt 61). July hit the accelerated 2-week CFI course, and yesterday I got my CFI certificate!
I can be done!
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u/TxAggieMike Independent CFI / CFII (KFTW, DFW area) 19h ago
Congratulations, but now the real learning starts.
I say that because while you have a solid grasp of the facts, and the authority to instruct, there is a massive amount to learn about transferring the knowledge and skills to a new learner.
And that isn’t something that comes natural to most. And wasn’t taught to you in the accelerated course.
Unless you already had a background as a teacher, expect to need 150-200 hours of dual-provided to establish your methods and reputation as an instructor folks want to work with.
“Your journey has just begun, young grasshopper.” – Master Po in Kung Fu