Flight Training · Instructor Academy
Our accelerated cohort academy runs every month. 2–6 students per class, ~10 hours flight + ~30 hours ground, and a 96% first-time pass rate. Top graduates are offered TFA staff positions before they leave the building.
Program overview
The Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) rating is the most important certificate in a career-track pilot’s logbook. It’s where you stop paying for flight time and start being paid to fly. For most career-track pilots, the CFI is the credential that bridges Commercial to ATP — the rating that lets you build the 1,500 hours required for an airline cockpit while getting paid to instruct.
Our Accelerated CFI Academy is built around that career reality. Three weeks, cohort-based, structured. ~10 hours of flight training paired with ~30 hours of classroom ground instruction in a small group of 2 to 6 students. Monthly start dates. And — for graduates who perform — a path directly onto our instructional staff.
The academy format
Structured, cohort-based, and calibrated to finish in three weeks — not months. Here's what that looks like.
3 wks
Total duration
Three focused weeks, finish-to-checkride. Most students complete in 15 working days.
2–6
Students per cohort
Collaborative learning. You'll teach lesson plans to peers and learn from theirs.
~10
Flight hours typical
Private and Commercial maneuvers from the right seat. Spin awareness training included.
~30
Ground hours
Lesson plan development, FOI material, teaching technique, and FIA exam preparation.
Two instructor ratings
Two distinct instructor certificates with different training structures. Earn them back-to-back, or come back later for CFII when you're ready.
Part 61 · 3-week cohort
Your first instructor certificate. Train to teach Private Pilot through Commercial single-engine students. Cohort-based academy of 2–6 students.
● 2–6 students per cohort, monthly start dates
● Structured 10 hours flight: 1.5 in DA20 + 8.5 in DA40 NG
● 30 hours classroom ground instruction
● Spin awareness training included
● Custom lesson plan development as part of the curriculum
Flight time
Additional hours, if needed for individual proficiency, are billed at our published rates.
Best for: Commercial-rated pilots ready to start a CFI career, especially career-track pilots aiming for ATP and an airline cockpit.
Part 61 · 5-day intensive
The instrument-instruction add-on. Train to teach Instrument students through their rating. 1-on-1 instruction in a week-long intensive format.
● 1-on-1 instruction with personalized CFII mentor
● 8 hours flight in DA40 NG + 5 hours Redbird FMX simulator
● 12 hours ground (lesson plan development, IFR teaching techniques)
● Weekly rolling start dates with flexible scheduling
● FII written required before checkride
Flight time
Additional hours, if needed for individual proficiency, are billed at our published rates.
Best for: recent CFI graduates adding instrument-instruction privileges, and working CFIs returning for the rating.
A note on our Part 61 framing
The program design hours shown above — 25 for CFI Initial, 20 for CFII — reflect what our Part 61 courses are sized to deliver for candidates of varied backgrounds, including transfer pilots from other schools who may need additional acclimatization. The published figures aren’t averages. They’re our operational structure.
For continuous TFA Professional Pilot Program students — pilots who completed Private, Instrument, and Commercial with us — CFI Initial typically finishes in ~10 flight hours and CFII typically finishes in ~8 flight hours. Most career-track graduates exit the program at roughly 250 total flight hours, at or just above the FAA Commercial minimum and the recognized industry milestone.
There’s no hard cap on flight hours. If a candidate needs more time to reach ACS standards, training continues at our published rates. Honesty over false ceilings.
Aircraft you'll train in
CFI candidates train in both Diamond aircraft as part of the structured curriculum — the DA20 for fundamentals, the DA40 NG for advanced operations. Both aircraft, one program.
Two-seat composite trainer. Predictable handling, excellent visibility, the airplane most of your future Private Pilot students will fly. The CFI curriculum allocates 1.5 hours here for foundational right-seat work.
~1.5 hours in the structured curriculumFour-seat with Garmin G1000 NXi glass cockpit and Austro AE300 diesel powerplant. Modern avionics, same panel as our Instrument fleet — the airplane your future Instrument and Commercial students will fly. The bulk of CFI training happens here.
~8.5 hours in the structured curriculumTrain in what your students will fly. The Diamond fleet is growing nationally — Diamond Brilliance Training Centers, the DA50 RG, the DA62. A CFI who trained in modern Diamond aircraft is a CFI who knows the platform serious operators are increasingly hiring around.
The hiring conversation
It's a real conversation with management, not a sales pitch. Many of our top CFI graduates are offered TFA staff positions on the spot. There's no obligation to accept — but if the fit is right, you can start instructing at TFA the week after your checkride.
Path 1
The most common path for top graduates. Build your hours toward ATP while teaching at TFA — paid, on a known schedule, in our fleet. The hiring conversation happens at the stage check, based on actual performance through training.
Path 2
If we can’t make an offer (or you’d rather instruct closer to home), your CFI is portable to any flight school in the country. You’ll still need ~1,250 more hours after your CFI to reach the 1,500-hour ATP minimum required for airline interviews — and those hours come from instructing.
One clarification, in case it’s not obvious: earning your CFI does not put you in an airline cockpit. The CFI is the credential that lets you build hours toward the 1,500-hour ATP that airlines require. The CFI is the bridge — instructing is the work that crosses it.
The career math, honestly
For graduates we hire onto our staff, here's the path from CFI checkride to airline cockpit.
Earn the CFI
3-week cohort academy. Stage check serves as your interview opportunity.
Teach at TFA
For graduates we hire: instructor time builds toward ATP on TFA's payroll instead of self-funded.
Airline-qualified
Apply to airlines with the hours, the resume, and the references built at TFA.
Not hired onto our staff? You still get to the same destination. Instructing at any flight school builds the same hours — it just takes about as long, on someone else's payroll.
Admission requirements
● Current FAA Commercial Pilot Certificate (Single-Engine Land)
● Current FAA Medical Certificate
● Completed Fundamentals of Instruction (FOI) exam
● Completed Flight Instructor Airplane (FIA) exam
● Video meeting with the CFI Course Director or TFA President
● Personalized lesson plans started (based on provided lesson list)
Common questions
If I complete the academy, am I guaranteed a job at TFA?
No, and we don’t promise that to anyone. What we do say is honest: the stage check at the end of the program is structured as a job interview opportunity, and many of our top graduates are offered staff positions on the spot. If we can’t make you an offer, your CFI is still portable to any other flight school — and you can build to ATP from there.
How many flight hours does CFI Initial actually take?
For continuous TFA Professional Pilot Program students, CFI Initial typically completes in around 10 flight hours — 1.5 in the DA20 plus 8.5 in the DA40 NG. Our program is designed to accommodate up to 25 hours for transfer candidates and pilots arriving with inconsistent prior training. If you need additional time beyond that, training continues at our published rates — there’s no hard cap on Part 61 hours.
Can I do CFI and CFII back-to-back?
Yes, and many students do. The CFI Academy is 3 weeks; CFII is a separate 5-day 1-on-1 intensive that can follow immediately or be scheduled later. Combined back-to-back, it’s about 4 weeks total for both instructor ratings.
Why is CFII 1-on-1 instead of cohort-based?
CFII is structurally different from CFI Initial. Where CFI focuses heavily on lesson plan development and peer teaching (which benefits from cohort dynamics), CFII is about adding instrument-instruction privileges to an existing CFI — more individual, more procedural, more focused on simulator and IFR-specific maneuvers. The 1-on-1 format with a personalized mentor matches that work better than a cohort would.
What about MEI (Multi-Engine Instructor)?
The MEI is a separate rating, taught in our Diamond DA42 NG. Many career-track CFI graduates pair the MEI with their CFI completion. The MEI program lives on our Multi-Engine training page.
What does the program cost?
Cost depends on which rating(s) you’re pursuing, which aircraft you train in, and your prior experience. We don’t publish a flat rate because every pilot’s path is a little different. Reach out and we’ll build a personalized estimate based on your logbook and goals.
Classes start every month. Reach out and we'll talk through your situation and the right start date.
49 Hangar Road, Hangar D
Montgomery, NY 12549
845-457-4188
Open 7 days · 8 AM – 6 PM