Glidepath Aviation

Glidepath-Approved Independent CFIs

Independent CFIs

Take the one-time orientation course to become a Glidepath-approved independent CFI and operate using Glidepath Aviation aircraft with your own students.

Independent CFI standing next to a Cessna 172

Independent CFI Course

$250 — one-time

Includes a 2-hour ground course, a written syllabus, ongoing mentorship, and eligibility to be named on the Glidepath-Approved Independent CFI list. A minimum 1-hour checkout flight per make/model with a Glidepath employee is also required — plane rental, fuel, and instructor are billed separately.

The $100/year listing fee starts one year after you complete the ground course.

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What you'll cover

Glidepath SOPs
2-hour ground course covering Glidepath-specific standard operating procedures.
Syllabus & Mentorship
Written syllabus you can use with your students, plus ongoing mentorship from Glidepath staff.
Checkout Flight (per make/model)
Minimum 1-hour checkout flight with a Glidepath employee in each make and model you plan to instruct in. Plane rental, fuel, and instructor billed separately.
Operating Procedures
Fueling, squawks, Hobbs/Tach, scheduling, student checkout process, and post-flight reports.

Why go independent with Glidepath

  • Run your own flight training business — keep your CFI revenue
  • Use the entire eligible Glidepath fleet
  • Direct scheduling rights for your students
  • Ongoing mentorship from Glidepath staff
  • Listed in the Glidepath approved-CFI directory
Format: 2-hr ground course (Glidepath SOPs, syllabus walkthrough, mentorship intro) scheduled directly with our Chief Pilot, plus a minimum 1-hr checkout flight per make/model with a Glidepath employee — plane rental, fuel, and instructor billed separately. Multi-engine instructors add 1 hr of CFI checkout in the multi.

CFI Requirements

  • At least 10 hours in make and model of the aircraft you'll instruct in
  • Minimum 1-hour checkout flight per make/model with a Glidepath employee (plane rental, fuel, and instructor billed separately)
  • Current CFI insurance on file
  • Multi-engine: a hard 5 hours of dual received in make and model — no exceptions — plus 1 hr CFI checkout in the multi
$250 one-time course (2-hr ground + syllabus + mentorship) • 1-hr checkout flight per make/model with a Glidepath employee, billed separately • $100/year listing, starting one year after course completion.

Ground Syllabus — 2 hr

  1. Glidepath SOPs & Culture — scheduling, dispatch, squawk reporting, Hobbs/Tach, fueling, post-flight reports, billing, and the independent-CFI operating agreement.
  2. Safety & Risk Management — PAVE & IMSAFE, sterile-cockpit discipline, ADM and threat-and-error management, go/no-go decision framework.
  3. Weather Minimums (Glidepath) — stricter than FAA VFR. Specific ceiling and visibility numbers are set by the Chief Pilot and reviewed in person; the framework is:
    • Solo / Student: ceiling and visibility minimums scale with the individual student's experience and recent currency — set conservatively by the supervising CFI. Surface winds ≤ 20 kt, crosswind component ≤ 10 kt, no exceptions for solo/student ops.
    • Dual: surface winds ≤ 25 kt, crosswind ≤ 15 kt.
    • Night: winds ≤ 15 kt, no convective activity within 50 nm.
    • No flight into forecast moderate or greater turbulence/icing; review TAFs, AIRMETs/SIGMETs, PIREPs.
  4. Night Flying Restrictions & Precautions — Glidepath night ops require:
    • IFR required — either a filed/followed IFR flight plan, or "I Follow Roads" (continuous reference to lit highways/known ground features). No black-hole cross-country without one of the two.
    • No solo night flight for primary students; dual only at unfamiliar airports.
    • Higher personal minimums for VFR over unlit terrain — file VFR flight plan or use flight following.
    • Brief illusions (black-hole approach, autokinesis, false horizon) and mitigation.
  5. Emergency & Abnormal Procedures Review — engine failure profiles by phase of flight, electrical/vacuum loss, partial-panel, smoke/fire, gear/flap malfunctions, lost-comm, unusual attitudes.
  6. Aircraft-Specific Items — POH limitations, V-speeds, W&B, fuel management, avionics (G1000/G3X as applicable), known squawks.
  7. Insurance, Documentation & Liability — open-pilot warranty, CFI insurance proof, logbook standards, endorsements, 8710 / IACRA workflow.

Checkout Flight Syllabus — 1 hr min per make/model (+ multi add-on)

  1. Pre-Flight & Risk Brief — POH walkaround, fuel sample, W&B for the profile, weather/NOTAM brief, departure & emergency-return plan.
  2. Departure & Aircraft Familiarization — normal takeoff, climb performance verification, systems check at altitude.
  3. Advanced Maneuvering Block — slow flight to the edge of the buffet, power-on & power-off stalls with realistic distractions, accelerated stall recognition, steep turns at maneuvering speed.
  4. Emergency Scenarios (instructor-induced):
    • Engine failure at cruise — best-glide, field selection, ABCDE flow, simulated forced landing to ~500 AGL.
    • Engine failure on climb-out (impossible-turn discussion & demo at safe altitude).
    • Partial power loss, carb-ice or fuel-management induced.
    • Electrical failure / smoke in cockpit — checklist discipline under load.
    • Vacuum / AHRS failure — partial-panel recovery and divert.
  5. Advanced Landing Training:
    • Short-field & soft-field takeoffs and landings to POH numbers.
    • Power-off 180° accuracy landing (commercial standard).
    • Maximum-performance crosswind landing at or near Glidepath crosswind limit.
    • No-flap / partial-flap landing for a flap-system failure.
    • Slip to landing and forward-slip energy management.
    • Go-around from low-energy / balked landing — decision altitude and pitch/power discipline.
  6. Pattern Discipline & CRM — non-towered radio work, pattern entry standards, traffic deconfliction, instructor-seat awareness.
  7. Post-Flight Debrief & Endorsement — Glidepath checkout endorsement issued; logbook entry; squawks logged in scheduler.
  8. Multi-Engine Add-On (required for multi instruction): 5 hrs dual in make/model + 1 hr CFI checkout — Vmc demo, single-engine work at altitude, single-engine ILS/approach, single-engine go-around discussion, engine-failure on takeoff above & below blue-line, feathering & restart procedures.

Ready to fly Glidepath aircraft with your students?

Enroll in the Independent CFI Course and we'll reach out to schedule your ground course and per-aircraft checkout flight(s).

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