CFI Notebook
CFI Notebook
The Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) Notebook provides "Higher" education, bridging the gap between flight training and the airplane, enhancing your aeronautical experience with articles, multimedia, lessons, and references.
Get into it by reading our notebook articles or following along with our lesson plans.
Review the CFI Notebook
The CFI Notebook is an instructor's guide to navigating the sea of resources to provide helpful guidance for their students and themselves. Our notebook aims to enhance pilots' aeronautical knowledge by explaining various topics and referencing their sources to enable further learning.
Instructors recall this knowledge when building lesson plans. More important than knowledge is connecting the topics so that the student can appreciate the "why" behind the facts.
CFI Lesson Plans
Trivia of the Day
Trivia rolls over daily at midnight, Mountain Standard Time.
Private Pilot Question of the Day
What is the role of an outflow valve in a typical pressurized cabin?
Controlled outflow balances supplied air. Relief valves protect pressure limits, and cabin altitude/rate/differential indications show system condition.
Commercial Pilot Question of the Day
What role does the battery play when the normal charging source is unavailable?
Stored energy is finite; available backup capability depends on battery condition and the actual electrical architecture.
Instrument Rating Question of the Day
What happens to the airspeed indication if the pitot opening becomes blocked but the drain hole remains open?
The indicated airspeed decreases toward zero as the trapped pitot pressure bleeds out through the drain hole.
Sport Pilot Question of the Day
Is hand-propping an appropriate improvised workaround for an unserviceable electric starter?
No. Arrange diagnosis and repair rather than improvise a hazardous start. Where hand-propping is appropriate to the aircraft, it requires the applicable procedure and properly trained, competent personnel.
Flight Instructor Question of the Day
How does rime ice form?
Rime ice forms when small supercooled water droplets freeze rapidly upon striking the aircraft. The rapid freezing traps air, producing rough, milky, opaque, porous, and brittle ice.
Flight Instructor Instrument Question of the Day
Question unavailable.
Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Question of the Day
Does the absence of an obstacle symbol on a chart guarantee that a flight path is free of obstructions?
No. Not every obstruction is individually charted, and temporary or newly constructed obstacles may appear between chart editions. Review current charts, applicable NOTAMs, and other relevant aeronautical information, and maintain appropriate clearance and vigilance.
Advice of the Day
Maintain a consistent flight training schedule. Long breaks in any kind of training, but especially aviation, will cause a dramatic loss of progress.
System of the Day
Cabin Heating and Cooling Systems: Cabin Heating and cooling systems provide conditioned air for comfortable operations during various weather conditions
Maneuver of the Day
Arc Approach: Arcing approaches provide the safe and expeditious transition from the en-route environment to the terminal area.
Emergency of the Day
Engine Failure: The total loss of power requires immediate actions which depend upon speed (life) and altitude (life insurance)
Mishap of the Day
ERA14LA450: The NTSB determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be: The pilot's inadequate preflight planning, which resulted in a takeoff with the airplane's center of gravity aft of its limit and led the airplane to exceed its critical angle of attack and experience an aerodynamic stall during the initial climb.
