I was a self-studying, Pt 61 CFI Candidate that ended up at a Pt 141 school for final prep, sign off, and my DPE Checkride. On Thursday, I passed on my first attempt! Leading up to my sign off at the 141, I gave 4 mock orals with 4 different instructors. Each one said I was extremely prepared, more so than most of their 141 students. One instructor even said I was teaching him things he didn't know. When we broke for lunch, the DPE commented on how well prepared I was and that out of all the CFI Initial Checkrides he has given, I was in the 90th percentile. When the Checkride was over and he was filling out my IACRA, he said that he was giving me a 4.0 on the oral exam.

I could not have been half as prepared without the help of Backseat Pilot; the lesson materials, instructors, and fellow students in the classes all contributed to my success; especially because my Checkride was more of a guided discussion vs a "stand-up-and-teach" model.

I was told early on that the DPE dreaded "death-by-PowerPoint" and had been known to "fail" your computer if you were too dependent on it. So I merged and greatly condensed my slides to an at-a-glace checklist to verify I hadn't forgotten anything AFTER I presented (basically the style of flows with checklist verification format). But I didn't even get to use that during my oral.

He wanted to see my lesson plans and how I had organized what I would be teaching. My lesson plan binders included the ACS with the Areas of Operation tabbed out. Behind each tabbed section were my slides. He loved that setup.

But when the oral began, I didn't touch any of it because the DPE's format was completely scenario-based. The only "lesson" I taught was my maneuvers lesson. Instead, he gave multiple scenarios that weaved across different ACS topics. Each story/scenario was pulled from real-life occurrences which made the whole experience very interesting. I was expected to identify a mix of issues across the FOIs, regs, technical areas, etc., then discuss the concepts, the good and/or bad from the example, best practices, and risk management aspects of each. If I missed covering something, he would have a question-prompt to make sure we discussed every issue the scenario was meant to address. When it came to issues he wanted to dig a little deeper on, like a question I missed on the written exam, he would ask me to elaborate more. That typically led to me giving more of a lesson-type response and even getting up to draw out things on the board. Any nervousness I had going in quickly drifted away because I started realizing just how prepared I was.

When starting my CFI journey, the sheer volume of information that I was required to know felt quite overwhelming. I first purchased "The Whole Shebang" lesson plans and PowerPoints package after a friend recommended it to me. Having the abundant and well organized material removed one layer of stress from the preparation process. It helped organize my thoughts and provided a wealth of information to continue my studies. But I still felt like I was stuck in a short-term memory loop. Without the experience practicing teaching, I wasn't able to develop HOW I wanted to teach; this was preventing me from building confidence in my abilities.

There is no doubt in my mind that my level of success was from attending the online Class Pass training. The classes took me way beyond slides to read, or simply memorizing isolated lesson talking points. Class discussions provided fuller understanding, helped clarify concepts and tease out nuances, and Instructors and participants alike brought real world experience that greatly improved my ability to figure out what methods and examples worked best for me when applying the material in relation to my teaching style. Through varied repetition in both classes I attended and in watching previously recorded sessions, I was able to achieve the correlation-level of learning which allowed me to successfully identify talking points within the real-world, complex scenarios on my Checkride and confidently demonstrate my mastery of the material. Most importantly, this whole process with Backseat Pilot has better prepared me to be the best Flight Instructor I can be for my clients.

Thank you to everyone at Backseat Pilot and I'll see you in the CFII classes and beyond.

It is extremely difficult to wrap your head around the sheer volume of what you need to know for the CFI Initial, let alone how to organize it. I was at a Pt 61 school that had access to one, 2-yr CFI and his schedule was extremely limited; add to it my busy schedule, I only received a handful of lessons before he left. I wasted so much time trying to figure it out on my own until a friend suggested I purchase "The Whole Shebang" from Backseat Pilot. These documents were a game changer. Each instruction area comes with a Syllabus, ACS review, set of both abbreviated and in-depth lesson plans, and associated slides for your presentations. They are updated monthly, as needed, so you always know you have the most up-to-date information. It also comes with a 90-day Training Guide to help you schedule your studies and keep you on-track and progressing.

The abundant and well organized material removed one layer of stress from the preparation process, but I also needed to know I could teach. I spent any free day sitting at the flight school, day-in and day-out, hoping for the opportunity to practice teaching. Even when I did, it is hard to get constructive feedback from a student. This stiffled my confidence building. Due to a lack of DPE availability in my area, I had to look out of town. It was still going to be delayed several months but I found a DPE with a slot at a Pt 141 school that would allow me to do my final prep, sign off and checkride as Pt 61. That is when I knew I couldn't keep doing my preparations alone; I needed more structure and feedback. So I signed up for Backseat Pilot's CFI Class Pass and it was exactly what I needed to quickly up my game.

I passed on my first attempt. Leading up to my sign off, I gave 4 mock orals with 4 different instructors. Each one said I was extremely prepared, more so than most of their 141 students. One instructor even said I was teaching him things he didn't know. When we broke for lunch, the DPE commented on how well prepared I was and that out of all the CFI Initial Checkrides he has given, I was in the 90th percentile. When the Checkride was over and he was filling out my IACRA, he said that he was giving me a 4.0 on the oral exam. I could not have been half as prepared without the help of BackSeat Pilot; the lesson materials, instructors, and fellow students in the classes. I went from feeling stuck in a short-term memory loop to feeling completely confident in my ability to adequately teach any lesson in an in-depth manner.

Thank you to everyone at BackSeat Pilot. I'm looking foward to working with you guys for my CFII and beyond.

Good tool that was easy to navigate with links

One of the very best. Really enjoyed this course! Thank you - backseat pilot. SEEEYUHH!

I ended up purchasing the double I lesson plans. They are very good sometimes you'll have to reword things to help teach someone new to instrument training. I would add that backseat does cover FAA plates versus Jepp so it's good information on both ends. As I teach Jepp plates.

I passed my CFI checkride this past weekend! I just wanted to thank you for all of the great resources you have created. It gave me more time to study vs. working on formatting lesson plans. Thanks again!

Marcus is an excellent CFI instructor — very thorough and incredibly patient. He took the time to walk me through lesson plans I was struggling with and explained everything in a way that finally made sense. His guidance helped me get organized and confident in my CFI studies. I’d definitely recommend his class to anyone starting their CFI prep or looking to strengthen their teaching skills.

Marcus is a great teacher. You can tell right away how knowledgeable he is about all things aviation. This course will improve your Cfi knowledge, prepare you for your Checkride, and most importantly, help you become a more knowledgeable and safe instructor.
Learning how to present this information for the Checkride and in the classroom to our future students can be daunting, it’s a whole new world. Marcus really helped break it down and explained how to do the presentations as well as critique and fine-tune the presentations that we prepared. I recommend this course if you are just starting the Cfi rating or if you are getting ready to take your Checkride and need a little extra help.

I can't thank the team at Backseat Pilot enough for putting all this together. This has been such a huge time saver. Very well done! Thanks!

All the content was overwhelming at first, especially with the two FAA exams, but Marcus helped organizing it and focusing on the right material. A really good class that I highly recommend to anyone studying right now to become a CFI.

Fantastic product that’s greatly helping me through my CFI initial! Absolutely a necessity as it provides all the materials including slides to help with a CFI candidate’s preparation as well as teaching his or her future students.

Great product. I didn’t know about the military discount before I ordered. Next order. Super happy with the reference card.

Clear and concise!

This class has prepared me for my checkride so much more than I expected. The format was great, and the ability to learn within a group of 4 was integral. I had no idea how effective learning is in small groups. The instruction was top-notch, as well as cultivating, personable, and professional. It would be even better if we had our own grading rubrics to use on each other. To have a physical or digital sheet to fill in while grading our peers would help give us elements of teaching to look for that we would have missed otherwise. Implementing the rubric later on could be proven to be more effective than implementing it at the very beginning. Allow learners to give an honest, raw opinion of their peers before the aid.

This is a must-have if you can afford it and have the time.

I just started the CFI class pass and I am really impressed with the ability to interact with the instructor and thoroughly move through the mass of information needed to obtain a new rating. I have been able to customize what I need to work on a Marcus is so helpful. Thank you!

Excellent product. Definitely saved time during my efforts to earn my CFI ticket. Well worth the cost as the time saved is immeasurable.

I have really enjoyed learning with Marcus. He is a wealth of information. He always keeps the lesson on track and interesting. I'm really looking forward to each lesson.

Marcus was great. This was a helpful and engaging prep course for the CFI check ride. Marcus is professional and fun to interact with. Highly recommend!!

Very nice addition to the cockpit.

Great layout and presentation!
Nice addition to the cockpit or the classroom.

I wanted to take a moment to say thank you for everything you do. Your products were a major part of my success in earning my CFI, CFII, and MEI back in 2017, and they’ve remained an invaluable resource throughout my aviation career.

I am currently an active-duty U.S. Naval Officer and have been serving for the last 21 years. Since 2017, while concurrently serving on active duty, I’ve also worked part-time as a CFI to gain the experience needed for my post-Navy career goal of becoming an airline pilot. During that time, I’ve had the privilege of teaching roughly 300 students, including about 20 who went on to earn their flight instructor certificates. Every one of those instructor candidates has followed my recommendation to purchase the “Whole Shebang,” just as I did. The clarity and practicality of your material truly set the standard, and I still use them almost daily while instructing.

Your products have helped me far beyond my initial instructor ratings. I relied on them again to refresh my knowledge while preparing for my ATP and 737 type rating, which I obtained in 2021, and that solid foundation made a significant difference.

I’ll continue sending my future instructor candidates your way because I genuinely believe in the value you provide to the aviation community. Thank you for everything you do to support pilots at every level.

I had an absolutely fantastic experience with this CFI prep course! Marcus, the lead instructor for the course is incredibly humble, extremely knowledgeable, and brings a great sense of humor that makes the entire process enjoyable. I also love the fact that he’s both a veteran and an airline transport pilot — he’s got a wealth of experience, real-world insight, and a teaching style shaped by years of doing it at the highest levels.

It’s inspiring to see where he came from and the impact he’s had on the pilot community. I’m grateful to have him here sharing his expertise.

I highly recommend this course to every CFI applicant — it’s absolutely worth your time and will elevate your preparation.

5/5 — Strongly recommend!

True story: I skipped the 4th week’s session because I passed my CFI checkride earlier that day.

I felt confident enough to schedule my ride after the second class. By the third class, I’d already presented two lessons, received valuable feedback, and—most importantly—gained the confidence to teach.

While the course is by no means a comprehensive resource for everything you’ll ever need as a CFI, it was absolutely enough to get me across the finish line. Our instructor brought years of teaching experience to each meeting and offered exceptional insight into our lesson plans, along with immensely helpful feedback I could immediately apply.

For less than the cost of an hour in a 172 today (yikes!), this course offers tremendous value to anyone working toward—or even just considering—their first CFI rating. I’d recommend it without hesitation.

The ACS by itself can be a complex and overwhelming document to navigate through. This is exactly what I was looking for while scouring the Internet looking for something to make sense of the ACS Standards. Stumbling onto “The Answers to the ACS” was a great relief when I came across it. It is broken down to a point of complete understanding. After reviewing it for a couple of days I now get completely, THANKS for all the work you put into this document. I will let you know how I do on my Instrument Checkride.

I'm going through IFR training trying to prepare for the oral exam. I felt a little lost in the process, mainly due to having a lot of study resources without them being closely aligned with the exam format.
"Instrument ACS Review" is awesome - exactly what I was looking for! - very detailed and most importantly in the ACS order, which means the best study guide for the Instrument Oral exam. Amazing piece of work. Thank you!