The Only CFI Prep System Combining Lessons, Live Classes & AI Practice
CFI, CFII & MEI lesson plans, slides, syllabi, and ACS reviews — plus weekly live instruction and AI-powered mock checkride practice. From lesson one through instructing.
Includes 3 months Class Pass · Continue for $95/mo
Everything included
Three things most CFI candidates are missing
Most prep resources give you content. Pro gives you content, live instruction, and the practice reps to actually be ready.
Lessons & Syllabi
Every lesson plan, slide deck, ACS review, and syllabus — fully editable, every format, updated automatically. The foundation of your checkride and your instructing career.
Live Instruction
Weekly live Zoom classes with expert instructors. Present lessons, run mock orals, ask real questions, and build the teaching confidence that makes the difference on checkride day.
AI-Powered Practice
FOI focused and growing! Study, listen, quiz, teach, and practice mock oral questions — on your schedule. By the time you sit down with a real examiner, you've already been through this.
Everything. In detail.
Expand any section to see exactly what you're getting.
The complete content library used by thousands of CFI candidates to pass their checkrides. Every lesson plan covers all ACS knowledge, risk management, and skill elements — nothing gets missed under pressure. Fully editable in every format.
- CFI ACS Lesson Plans & PowerPoint Slides — every task, every element, annotated
- Extra-Detailed CFI ACS Lessons — deeper coverage for complex topics
- CFII PTS Lesson Plans & Slides — full instrument instructor coverage
- MEI ACS Lesson Plans & Slides — multi-engine instructor ready
- 5 Complete Syllabi — Private (SE), Instrument, Commercial, Multi-Engine Add-On & CFI with hour breakdowns and student trackers
- 4 ACS Reviews — Private, Instrument, Commercial & CFI — every element covered
- IFR/VFR Reference Card — hard-to-remember, rarely-used info when you need it most
- All formats — Word, PowerPoint, Pages, Keynote & PDF
- Free lifetime updates — regulation changes, ACS revisions, improvements automatically delivered
Weekly live Zoom classes led by Marcus — an active CFI, USAF combat veteran, and commercial airline pilot. These aren't passive webinars. You ask questions, present lessons, and get real-time feedback from someone who has been through this at the highest levels of aviation.
- CFI Checkride Prep — mock oral exams, lesson presentations, examiner-style questioning
- CFII & MEI Sessions — dedicated deep-dives into instrument and multi-engine topics
- Office Hours — bring current training challenges, weak areas, or student questions
- All sessions recorded — 90-minute classes available for review for 3–6 months
- Up to 18 hours of live instruction per month — attend as many or as few as you need
- Continue after 3 months for $95/mo — most students are checkride-ready before then
The FOIs trip up more CFI candidates than any other section — because reading the Aviation Instructor's Handbook isn't the same as being able to teach from it. Think of it like chair flying: practice at home so your time with your CFI is sharper and more focused. BackseatPilot.app takes you from reading to knowing & doing.
Each FOI lesson broken down with slides — the same way you'll present to a DPE.
Audio recordings of each lesson being taught — with timestamped teaching techniques, ACS code annotations, and a full transcript.
Test retention with questions that mirror the depth of a real oral exam.
Teaching is the best way to learn. Practice presenting concepts out loud, get immediate AI feedback before you teach in real life.
DPE-style questions with AI feedback. Master the concepts before you're in the room.
A conversational AI that simulates FOI mock oral checkrides. By the time you sit down with a real DPE, you've already been through this.
Currently covering FOI/Section I. Expanding to all CFI ACS lessons — your access means you're in from the start.
Is the Pro right for you?
Overwhelmed & lacking structure?
You're not alone — and you don't have to figure it out yourself.
The mountain
The mountain of information is real — the ACS, the handbooks, the regulations, the maneuvers, the FOIs. It's a lot, and nobody hands you a clear path from where you are today to checkride day. You study hard, but aren't sure if you're making progress or what comes next.
Going it alone
Don't prep alone. There should be someone checking in, pressure-testing your weak spots, and there to answer questions when something doesn't click. The hardest checkride in general aviation shouldn't be a solo mission.
Knowing vs. sharp
Knowing the material and being checkride sharp are two different things. Sharp means you can teach any task off the cuff, field a DPE's follow-up without hesitation, and walk in with the kind of confidence that only comes from having done it before — even if just in practice.
We built Pro to take you from overwhelmed to confident. We're in your corner.
"All the content was overwhelming at first — but it helped me organize it and focus on the right material. I highly recommend it to anyone studying right now."
— Class Pass Student
Free lifetime content updates · Cancel Class Pass anytime
You have a structured plan, a CFI mentor giving regular feedback, and consistent practice reps in place. You just need the best lesson plans and materials available.
The base Whole Shebang was built exactly for that.
View The Whole ShebangWhole Shebang vs. Pro
Same great content foundation. Pro adds the live instruction and AI practice layer.
| The Whole Shebang $295 |
The Whole Shebang Pro $495 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Content | ||
| CFI, CFII & MEI Lesson Plans & Slides | ✓ | ✓ |
| 5 Complete Syllabi | ✓ | ✓ |
| 4 ACS Reviews (Private, Instrument, Commercial, CFI) | ✓ | ✓ |
| IFR/VFR Reference Card | ✓ | ✓ |
| Word, PowerPoint, Pages, Keynote & PDF Formats | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free Lifetime Content Updates | ✓ | ✓ |
| Live Instruction | ||
| 3 Months Weekly Live Zoom Classes | — | ✓ |
| CFI, CFII & MEI Checkride Prep Sessions | — | ✓ |
| Mock Oral Exam Practice with Instructor | — | ✓ |
| Office Hours — Open Q&A | — | ✓ |
| All Sessions Recorded | — | ✓ |
| AI Practice Tools | ||
| BackseatPilot.app Early Access | — | ✓ |
| AI-Powered FOI Study (Learn, Quiz, Teach) | — | ✓ |
| AI Mock DPE Oral Examination | — | ✓ |
Built and taught by people who've done it
Every product starts with a real problem encountered in actual flight operations.
"The tower's radios went out on downwind at KLGB. I got a steady green light to land — and afterward I kept thinking: what if I'd gotten a different signal and hadn't been 100% sure what it meant? That moment became the IFR/VFR Reference Card. If I needed it in the cockpit, I figured other pilots did too."
— Nate Ehlers, Founder, Backseat Pilot
Nate
Founder & Content Creator
Nate is an active airline pilot and U.S. Air Force Reserve C-17 Instructor Pilot with 8,500+ hours across light GA, heavy military transports, and commercial jets. He graduated #1 overall from USAF Undergraduate Pilot Training and has spent years as a C-17 IP training military aviators.
Backseat Pilot grew out of the same instinct that drives good instructors everywhere: if something was hard to find or poorly explained, build a better version. Every lesson, slide, and reference card is refined continuously based on FAA guidance, real-world ops, and direct feedback from CFI candidates.
- USAF Undergraduate Pilot Training — #1 Overall Graduate
- C-17 Instructor Pilot, 732nd Airlift Squadron, AFRC
- Active Airline Pilot
- CFI, CFII, MEI, ATP
Marcus
Lead Instructor
Marcus leads the weekly Class Pass sessions. He's an active CFI, USAF combat veteran, and commercial airline pilot — and he brings the same directness and clarity to teaching that comes from instruction at the highest levels of military and commercial aviation.
Students consistently say his sessions cut through the noise in a way that self-study alone doesn't. He's invested in every student's success, not just their checkride.
- Active CFI & Commercial Airline Pilot
- USAF Combat Veteran
- 2,000+ hours dual given
- 20+ years military service — USAF Combat Veteran
- Specializes in CFI, CFII & MEI checkride preparation
What students are saying
"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. Marcus is so helpful."
"I felt confident enough to schedule my checkride after the second class. By the third class I'd already presented two lessons, received valuable feedback, and gained the confidence to teach."
"Only reason I passed my CFI initial on the first try. Worth its weight in gold. Probably one of the most comprehensive and articulate, straightforward lesson plan sets out there."
Common questions
The only CFI prep system
combining all three.
Lessons, live instruction, and AI-powered practice — in one place, from a team that's done this at the airline and military level.