Flight Instructor Responsibilities and Regulations for the CFII
Domain 2 covers the regulatory spine of the CFII certificate: what you may endorse, what you may not, how you stay current, and how you keep records that survive an inspection.
Privileges and limits
- 14 CFR 61.193 lets a flight instructor give training and endorse applicants for knowledge tests, practical tests, flight reviews and instrument proficiency checks. Instrument instruction requires an instrument rating on the flight instructor certificate for that category and class.
- 61.195(a): no more than 8 hours of flight training in any 24-consecutive-hour period.
- 61.39(a)(6) requires the applicant to have logged training in preparation for the practical test within the 2 calendar months preceding the month of application; the instructor's endorsement (see the current AC 61-65 for wording) attests to preparation and to that training. Do not endorse an applicant you have not flown with in that window.
Currency and renewal
- Flight review: 24 calendar months (61.56). Instrument currency (61.57(c)): six approaches, holding, and intercepting/tracking within the preceding 6 calendar months; if it lapses, an instrument proficiency check under 61.57(d) from a qualified instructor or examiner restores it.
- CFI renewal every 24 calendar months (61.197) by one of: passing a practical test; completing an approved refresher course within the 3 calendar months preceding the expiration month; or endorsing at least five applicants in the preceding 24 months with at least 80 percent passing on the first attempt.
Records
- 61.189: sign the logbook for each endorsement and retain a record of endorsements for at least 3 years. Endorsements belong in the student's logbook, not on a loose sheet.
Worked example
A student completes the required instrument training on 3 April; the examiner's first date is 22 July. The two calendar months preceding July are May and June, so April training no longer satisfies 61.39(a)(6). The CFII must fly with the applicant again, log training in May or June, and re-endorse. The earlier endorsement does not stay valid simply because no checkride has yet occurred.
Traps that cost marks
- Believing the refresher course may be taken at any point in the 24-month cycle.
- Treating flight review currency and instrument currency as one requirement; they are separate.
- Assuming a lapsed instructor certificate must be earned from scratch (reinstatement is by practical test under 61.199).
- Applying the 8-hour limit per aircraft type instead of per instructor per 24 hours.