CFI Academy - Acampo, California

Natalie Munson

CFI Academy was where I spent most of my summer. While there were a few challenges here and there, I was well prepared for the check ride when the day finally came. Their process works if you are willing to trust it. CFI is a hard thing to do, especially accelerated, come ready to put in the work. But also know that things happen, there’s a nation wide DPE shortage and they do their best. Overall CFI Academy helped me become the best instructor I can be, and I’m very happy about it!

Adam Kessler

My experience at CFI academy was great. The level of instruction provided is simply unmatched. The chief instructor, Prince, is highly knowledgeable and dedicated to his students. Yet, he can only do so much in preparing you for your checkride. The rest is up to you.

I recently completed my CFI-initial checkride with CFI academy and I can assure any future students that you get what you put in to this experience. CFI-initial is difficult, and requires many long days and nights, but if you are dedicated and driven you will get there!

The daily routine at CFI academy consists of class starting around 9:30 followed by an hour or two of group discussion, questions, and short lectures by Prince. After a lunch break, you can expect to present lesson plans and practice your teaching delivery. Class wraps up around 3-4, which at that point you will be expected to continue self study for the remainder of the evening. The one thing that stood at to me at CFI academy was the open discussion style of learning. Here, students are able and urged to discuss and work together answering questions and finding answers. Prince oversees the discussions and helps guide them in the right direction. He also asks critical questions that help to direct the conversation into more nuanced knowledge areas.

Like I stated before you have to put in the work to get the results you desire. Prince will not send you for a checkride that he is not 100% confident in your ability to pass. Even if this means having you stay a bit longer. This should be a reassurance that when he endorses you, you can be confident in yourself to go in and get the job done.

I would suggest that you have a week or two buffer worked into you plans here at CFI academy. Just like everywhere currently, there is a DPE shortage. Due to this checkride dates may be in your 4th or 5th week. At no fault of CFI academy, just the way the industry is. If you are able to plan accordingly with some cushion on those 3 weeks and you put in the work you will earn your desired certificate here at CFI academy.

Roman Lewicki

I had the pleasure of attending CFI Academy in Lodi, and I can confidently say that it was a transformative experience for my aviation career. Thanks to their excellent training program, I am now a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) based in Santa Barbara.

The training environment is both supportive and challenging, fostering a sense of camaraderie among students while pushing us to achieve our best.

I highly recommend CFI Academy to anyone serious about pursuing a career as a flight instructor.

Sean Hagmaster

Great experience at CFI academy. Prince’s knowledge is second to none, as is the company’s ability to secure checkride dates in a challenging environment. Go here if you're ready to work hard and have what you thought you knew about aviation completely picked apart. Learned more in one month than i had in the past year at other schools.

Mark Schiller

It took a lot of heart to get my credentials. There were many obstacles along the way. Without people behind you, getting to your final destination, can be an arduous task. Especially when you’re climbing mountains. I have gained tremendous amounts of knowledge and skills, I have made new friendships that I believe will be lifelong, and I truly believe I have become a better version of myself having spent time at CFI Academy. The people here have heart and the knowledge to get you where you wanna be. Thanks again to everybody who help me get to a higher plane.

David Cudeck II

CFI Academy really did an amazing job at developing me as a new Instructor. I did some instructor training at my previous flight school and I’m so glad that I decided to move forward with CFI Academy.
Prince, the instructor you’ll be mostly working with on the ground tells the class that he could easily have applicants ready in 1.5-2 weeks but he really wants to develop GOOD instructors who really have a deeper understanding of the knowledge we will teach future students. So that’s why he adds that extra week in there.
All of the staff, including the other instructors and admin really know what they are doing. It’s definitely not their first time preparing CFI applicants. I personally had a great experience.
Unfortunately I did have to wait a little longer for my checkride, and that wasn’t because of a lack of effort in scheduling. I’m sure as many aspiring CFIs should know, you can’t always just have a checkride ready right when you are ready. But I still got it done insanely faster than most places do.
This is the place to go for getting your CFI.

Anthony Mainiero

I had an excellent experience at the CFI Academy in Lodi, CA. The knowledgeable and well-resourced instructors are dedicated to preparing students for their checkrides. The lead instructor brings a wealth of information and good humor to the training, having trained CFIs for decades.

The academy's three-week CFI-initial program was exactly as advertised. It includes approximately 10 hours of flight time (I got a little more, at no extra charge), plus an aircraft rental for the checkride, and unlimited ground instruction time. There was no charge to slow down and stay at the academy longer if needed. I took 9 consecutive days off of the program to deal with some matters back at home, and it took me 29 days to complete the program. I will emphasize that those delays were due to my own choices—I was offered a checkride date which fell before the end of the third week, but for my own reasons, I chose not to take it.

The program is ideal for students who are prepared, good at studying, and academically minded. The day-to-day typically involves a couple of hours of instructor-led lessons, an hour or two of student-driven lessons (practicing teaching the ACS topics), and several hours of assigned reading. The learning is at times student-driven, so the ideal student will know their weaknesses and be prepared to utilize the resources at their disposal to focus on filling their knowledge gaps.

I will say, this program may not be for everyone. It is fast-paced, at times stressful, and there are high expectations. Expect to be doing a lot of public speaking (teaching ACS lessons in front of the class) to build confidence for the checkride.

At the end of the day, I think you will get out of this program what you put into it. I dedicated myself to it, studying from the time I arrived in the morning up until I went to sleep at midnight; and repeated this process for the first week until I had exhausted all of the resources available to me. I was constantly asking for more homework, and diving as deep as I could, because I felt it would be a disservice to myself not to. I asked a lot of questions to ensure I had a thorough understanding of the material. If you show up unprepared, or don't engage in the learning, expect it to take longer than three weeks.

Gaetano Basile

I completed my CFI certificate last fall in November 2023. I had a pleasant experience and felt fully prepared as an instructor after attending. Prince is incredibly knowledgeable and fully prepares his students for the check ride. Thanks CFI academy!