Flight Instructor Certificate (CFI-S)
Earn a Sport Pilot Instructor certificate at 150 hours total time and start getting paid to fly, with no Instrument rating or Commercial certificate required. Every instructor at Sebring Flight Academy is a graduate of this program.
Why become a Sport Pilot Instructor
The Sport Pilot Instructor certificate (CFI-S) is an FAA flight instructor certificate for light sport aircraft, defined in FAR 61 Subpart K. With it, you can instruct sport pilot students, give flight reviews to sport pilots and train other sport pilot instructors. It requires 150 hours total time and 100 hours as pilot in command, with no Instrument rating or Commercial certificate required.
The traditional route to a paid flying job requires more than 250 hours and a Commercial certificate before your first paycheck. Because every aircraft in our training fleet is a light sport aircraft and we specialize in sport pilot training, Sebring Flight Academy can put you to work as an instructor more than 100 hours sooner. From there, you earn your Instrument rating and Commercial certificate while your students pay for most of your flight time.
- Instruct at 150 hours total time and 100 hours PIC
- No Instrument rating or Commercial certificate required
- Priority hiring as a CFI-S at Sebring Flight Academy
- Build time toward Commercial, CFI and ATP while being paid
Trained in-house, hired in-house
We train all our CFIs in house. Every instructor on our ramp is a graduate of the Sebring Flight Academy instructor program and teaches the Landing Doctor Code.
Prerequisites
Hold a Sport or Private Pilot certificate, reach 150 hours total time with 100 hours PIC, and pass the FAA Fundamentals of Instructing and Sport Pilot Instructor knowledge tests.
Instructor training
Learn to teach from the right seat: lesson planning, demonstration and critique, the Landing Doctor's Ground Proximity Awareness technique, and the fundamentals of instructing.
Checkride and hiring
Pass your CFI-S practical test with an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner, then join our instructor team with priority hiring for SFA graduates.
Sport Pilot Instructor requirements
| Minimum age | 18 |
| Certificate | At least a Sport Pilot certificate with the applicable category and class privileges |
| Flight time | 150 hours total time, including 100 hours as pilot in command |
| Instrument / Commercial | Not required |
| Knowledge tests | Fundamentals of Instructing (FOI) and Sport Pilot Instructor written exams |
| Practical test | Oral exam and flight test with an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner |
Requirements summarized from FAR 61 Subpart K. Confirm current requirements with your instructor. Checkride and written exam fees are additional.
From Sport Pilot Instructor to CFI, CFII and the airlines
As a Sport Pilot Instructor you begin building paid hours immediately. While instructing, most of our CFI-S graduates earn their Instrument rating and Commercial certificate, then add the full Certificated Flight Instructor (CFI) and Instrument Instructor (CFII) certificates. Two of our current instructors trained here and one of them now flies the Pilatus PC-12 professionally while still teaching part-time.
Turn your hours into income.
Tell us your current certificate and hours and we will map the shortest route to your Sport Pilot Instructor checkride.