A CFI bailing before the end of your training is not a small thing, as it brings a whole set of consequences that need to be handled smartly and carefully.
Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon to see CFIs leave because they got a better job opportunity, moved to a different area, or for personal reasons. To avoid being caught off guard, it’s important to know beforehand what to expect and how to continue effectively with your training to limit serious setbacks.
Since you can’t predict the future, the best strategy is to be prepared in case it happens to you. The first thing to do is to ask your school or CFI, when enrolling, how they handle CFI turnover. If they can come up with a precise procedure or policy, it means they have a system in place.
Having a safety net with extra funds to cope with additional costs is a good way to prevent you from having to pause or stop training. This is something that should be considered before starting training, as financial difficulty is one of the most common reasons why students never reach the finish line of their certification.
Then, keep track of your training by documenting your lessons and taking notes on your progress. Ensure your CFI completes the relevant sections of your syllabus, and if you don’t have access to it, take pictures during the debriefing at the end of each session. Also, check that your logbook entries are accurate and up to date, including your endorsements. Documenting your training not only helps in case of a CFI change, but also improves its overall efficiency.
When the day comes that your CFI quits on you, if there is no one already assigned to take over, find a replacement that is a good fit for you as soon as possible. This is crucial to avoid any prolonged gap in your training, but also to improve your chances of a smoother transition.
If you are close to certification, try to negotiate with your departing CFI to finish your training even if it means reorganizing your schedule to fit theirs. No matter how good the transition is, a new CFI will have to reassess all the required areas before signing you off. While it doesn’t mean restarting from scratch, it usually requires spending at least a few extra hours to evaluate your knowledge and skills.
A key element for a successful transition is to have your former CFI communicate with the new one about your progress, what has been covered, and what is satisfactory or needs work. It’s also important to share the methodology or syllabus used to maintain continuity in your training and to provide the new CFI with a better understanding of the whole picture.
Once you start with a new CFI, keep in mind this is a different person with probably a different approach, teaching style, and techniques. Sometimes, it may sound like you got everything wrong, and that can be difficult to adapt to. Even if it feels like a setback, it can also be an excellent experience to improve your flying skills or expand your knowledge.
Your mindset and willingness to accept the changes are going to play an important role in your progress. Everything new you learn can be useful in your future as a pilot, so don’t let the frustration take away your motivation.
As long as you continue progressing, you are on track. Since there are parts of your training you will have to redo, demonstrate, or revisit, use them as preparation for a checkride or to perfect your skills.
While it’s usually preferable to avoid switching your primary CFI when working toward a certificate or rating, you cannot control when your CFI leaves. Preparation, finances, documentation, and a positive mindset can substantially reduce the challenges and setbacks.
Make sure all your instructors document all training in detail, including ground training. The regulations require a lot of specific items (both flight maneuvers and knowledge areas) for the various certificates and ratings. I can’t sign off an inherited trainee unless every one is logged. That may mean having to repeat things previously covered but not documented. This is especially true of ground training, which must be logged with date, location, hours, and items covered, where I often see nothing logged by previous instructors, or a lack of detail about what was covered.
For example, an instrument flight training session should include “straight & level, turns, climbs, descents, unusual attitude recoveries,” not just “hood time” or the like, even for training for Private or Commercial (see 61.109/61.129 for details). Or “VOR orientation, interception and tracking,” not just “VOR” or “radio nav.” Or if you’re doing a XC flight, log ground training for “XC flight planning — route selection, charts, weather sources/reports/forecasts, personal minimums, fuel planning and requirements, alternate planning,” not just “XC planning” or, worse, no ground training entry at all for that XC flight. It’s OK to use multiple lines for a single entry if there isn’t enough room in that little remarks block.
Yes, this takes more time and effort on the instructor’s part, but I’ve seen DPE’s go through a logbook with a list of the items required in the regulation during the eligibility check before commencing a practical test. And so I have to do the same when inheriting a trainee from another instructor.
One point missed in this article is to ask your CFI what are their future goals in aviation. Most new CFI’s, which are common in most flight schools, 61 and 141, are there only to build flight time (the proverbial 1500 hour goal) and then go on to the airlines. I was giving a check ride to an applicant who had gone through seven instructors before he completed his flight training. One of the CFIs during a training flight session, shouted out, “That’s it”. He indicated during the training flight he had his 1500 hours and they returned to the airport and the instructor simply walked away. This is the major problem with young, new instructors. I always recommend asking the instructor what their future goals are in aviation. I also advised new student pilots (not “learners” we are all students of aviation and their certificate says “Student Pilot’) to look for older instructors who have a passion for instructing and who will take their students all the way through their training. Look for instructors who want and can teach you how to fly, not just check a box and build time so they can go on to one of those jobs that requires more flight time. Instructors flying just to build time is a major issue in flight training today and is showing up in the increase number of failures on check rides. They are not there to teach one how to fly but to build time and then go on to another job. Finally, flight schools should require instructors to stay with their assigned students until finished before leaving for a higher paying job. That is what I teach as aviation curtsy.
Yes, 100% 👍🏻
I did exactly this when I started my flight training. I found an older CFI who had retired from IBM and was instructing as a post-retirement ‘fun’ gig. Things were going well… until he decided to retire from working entirely and move to another country.
My second CFI was arguably a time-builder. But he was also an A&P. He taught me a lot about the mechanical side of flying that was lacking with my first CFI. When he ‘timed out’ and found his corporate gig he made sure to find a replacement CFI, fill him in on my progress, and get us going so I wouldn’t be left hanging.
The third CFI was just there for the last few lessons but I was still well prepared and passed my check-ride.
Overall, learning from several viewpoints worked out well for me. And they all took care to insure no interruption in my training.
Congratulations to all student pilots reading this article. You have just learned your first and maybe your most important lesson in aviation. That is that nothing is certain in aviation except uncertainty. Not at the student level. Not at the corporate level. Not at the airline level, or any other level. Any aviation job can be gone overnight without notice. Yes, there have been a few pilots who have retired semi wealthy with family and health still intact. But don’t count on it. You could be at the top of the seniority list today and jobless tomorrow. If aviation is your passion in life and nothing else will do, I say go for it. If not, then you are in for many disappointments.
The article has a defensive, almost defeatist tone, starting with the way the problem is framed. A CFI is described as “bailing,” creating “serious setbacks,” and later as someone who “quits on you.” Students are warned about extra cost, lost time, and even having to stop training.
But instructor turnover is part of the system.
Many young CFIs spend a couple of years teaching while building experience toward the next level. The real issue is not that an instructor moves on. It is whether the school has the records, structure, and continuity to keep the student moving.
A student may even benefit from a fresh set of eyes. A new instructor may spot a weak area, explain something differently or bring experience the first instructor did not have. That does not mean starting over.
Good training should survive a change of instructors. The records should show where the student stands, what has been completed, and what remains.
The instructor is part of the training system. So is the handoff.