Instructor Series · CFI · CFII · MEI
Every ACS element. Tagged where it's taught.
Lesson plans for the flight instructor practical test, built on the current Flight Instructor ACS. Hand the examiner the lesson plan card, teach from the development and use the crosswalk to prove nothing was missed.
Overview video
How the lesson plans work.
Every ACS element tagged where it's taught, what's in each lesson, and the FOI Study Guide.
- The ACS crosswalk in every lesson
- The six parts of each lesson
- The CFI, CFII and MEI sets and the FOI Study Guide
The CFI oral is different
On this checkride, you teach.
The examiner plays the learner. The ACS lets you bring lesson plans from your own library. Building them yourself means reading the standard element by element and hoping you covered each one. These lesson plans do that work and show it.
What's inside every lesson
Built in the order you teach it.
Lesson plan card
Objective, key elements, equipment, instructor and learner actions and completion standards on one page.
Development
Teaching content in presentation order, with the ACS code in each heading.
Risk management
Every R element as hazard, assessment and mitigation, plus a scenario to run with the examiner.
Skills
What the examiner wants to see for each S element, and how to show it.
Conclusion
Summary, check-for-understanding questions with answers and the next assignment.
ACS crosswalk
Every element of the task in ACS order, with the section that covers it.
Crosswalk excerpt · Task I.F
Nothing in the standard goes untaught.
| Code | Element | Where covered |
|---|---|---|
| FI.I.F.K1 | Teaching risk identification, assessment and mitigation | Development §1 |
| FI.I.F.K2a | PAVE checklist | Development §2a |
| FI.I.F.K2b | Flight Risk Assessment Tools (FRATs) | Development §2b |
| FI.I.F.K3 | When and how to introduce risk management | Development §3 |
| FI.I.F.R3 | Hazards arising from human behavior, including hazardous attitudes | Risk Management |
| FI.I.F.S1 | Use scenario-based training to teach and assess ADM | Skills; Scenario |
What sets these apart
Built to teach from, and to show an examiner.
Compare any set you're considering against this list. Download Tasks I.E and I.F free and judge for yourself.
01 · TAGGED WHERE IT'S TAUGHT
Every element, coded in the text
Each knowledge, risk-management and skill element of the ACS (or the CFII PTS) carries its code where you teach it, and every lesson ends with a crosswalk table. Asked "where do you cover FI.I.F.K2b?", you turn straight to it.
02 · CURRENT FAA MATERIAL
Built to today's references
AC 61-65K endorsements, the Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28B), AC 90-23H on wake turbulence, and the December 2024 rule that new flight instructor certificates no longer expire. Where FAA sources disagree, the lesson says so and teaches the conservative answer.
03 · REAL FAA FIGURES
The pictures the examiner learned from
Figures from FAA handbooks throughout the lessons, chosen where a picture teaches something the text can't. Confirm the final figure count before quoting a number (about 240).
04 · BUILT TO TEACH FROM
A card for the examiner, a script for you
A one-page lesson plan card to hand the examiner, examiner-style questions with model answers, common mistakes, teaching tips and a scenario you can run on the oral.
05 · FACT-CHECKED LINE BY LINE
Every correction logged
Each lesson was checked against 14 CFR, the AIM and the FAA handbooks, and every correction was recorded in a fact-check log.
06 · PDF, WORD AND PRINT
Teach from a tablet or from paper
Every book comes as a PDF and an editable Word file, and as an 8.5 × 11 paperback from January 2027 that you can bring to the checkride. Confirm the editable Word files ship with the digital editions; if not, change this line.
Written by a former airline pilot and FAA Advanced and Instrument Ground Instructor. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the FAA.
Digital editions · from Nov 25, 2026
Full colour. Every task. Free updates.
Digital editions open Nov 25 with free updates for the life of the current standard. Black Friday price on CFI Complete: $119 through Nov 30. Paperbacks follow in January 2027.
FAA-S-ACS-25 · Vol 1 + Vol 2
CFI Complete
$149or $89 per volume
Every task for the airplane single-engine CFI, in two volumes (821 pages).
FAA-S-ACS-25 · AMEL
MEI Lesson Plans
$69
OEI performance, VMC demo, engine failures.
FAA-S-8081-9E
CFII Lesson Plans
$129
Every task in the instrument instructor PTS.
All instructor books + PAVE
Complete Instructor Bundle
$299
CFI Vol 1 and 2, CFII, MEI and the FOI Study Guide, plus The PAVE Checklist eBook. CFI + FOI only: $169.
Paperbacks · January 2027
Every book as an 8.5 × 11 full-colour paperback on Amazon. Set print prices after the standard vs premium colour proofs (decision D10).
Mock Oral · $299
90 minutes on video: you teach an assigned task and get a written debrief. Book
Flight school licence · $599/yr
Up to 10 instructors. Standardize lesson plans across your staff.
Digital $49 from Nov 25 · Checkride & Instructor Series
FOI Study Guide
For the FAA Fundamentals of Instructing knowledge test and Area I of the CFI practical test. Each chapter follows a chapter of the Aviation Instructor's Handbook (FAA-H-8083-9B), with the handbook page beside every point.
- 10 chapters in handbook order, with key terms in plain English
- About 200 practice questions with explanations, each tagged with its CFI ACS Area I code, so the codes on your test report point straight to what to reread
- A timed 50-question practice exam with a remediation table
- Examiner questions, common mistakes and a teaching scenario in every chapter
- For flight instructor and ground instructor (BGI, AGI, IGI) applicants
354 pages, full colour. Digital edition from Nov 25; paperback on Amazon in January 2027.
Free · the two required FOI tasks
Start with the lessons every examiner must evaluate.
Tasks I.E and I.F are on every initial CFI practical test. Get both complete lessons plus the Area I crosswalk checklist.
Questions
Before you buy
Can I use these lesson plans on my practical test?
Yes. The Flight Instructor ACS allows lesson plans from your own library. Your licence lets you print, annotate and adapt them for your own use, including on the checkride.
Are they current?
The CFI and MEI sets are built on FAA-S-ACS-25, effective May 31, 2024. The CFII set follows FAA-S-8081-9E. Each lesson cites the edition it was written to.
Which aircraft do the examples use?
A Cessna 172S for single-engine lessons and a Piper PA-44-180 Seminole for multiengine. Each value is marked “Your Aircraft” so you can replace it from your POH.
How do these compare with other CFI lesson plans?
Every ACS element is tagged where it's taught and listed in a crosswalk at the end of each lesson. The lessons use real FAA figures, are built on current FAA material and were fact-checked line by line. They come as PDF, Word and print. The easiest way to judge is to download Tasks I.E and I.F free and compare them with whatever else you're considering.
Do they include slides or a syllabus?
Answer only once built: CFI Vol 1 slide decks (Black Friday if ready, else Jan) and a CFI training syllabus (Jan 2027) are planned.
Is there a study guide for the FOI knowledge test?
Yes. The FOI Study Guide is available digitally from Nov 25 for $49, with the paperback following in January 2027. It covers both the FOI knowledge test and Area I of the practical test.
Are these affiliated with the FAA?
No. They are compiled from public-domain FAA publications and organized to match the ACS and PTS.