The FAA and Canada signed a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) back in 2008. This agreement was eventually expanded in 2014. BASA allows the Canadian pilots to easily obtain a US FAA issued pilot certificate, and vice-versa. The process is explained in detail in FAA’s Advisory Circular (AC 61-135A) but here is the short version.
If you hold a Transport Canada Civil Aviation Authority (TCCA) issued pilot’s license, then the process to obtain an FAA issued pilot’s certificate is fairly simple.
STEP 1 – Apply with the FAA for the verification of your TCCA issued pilot’s license. Here is the link.
STEP 2 – Obtain an FAA Medical Certificate (minimum required is Class III). This process can be completed at your TCCA authorized medical examiner – the same doctor that does your Canadian medical.
STEP 3 – Take the appropriate written exams at the approved testing sites. These are multiple-choice type exams and there are many online test prep sites available to help you with this.
STEP 4 – Make an appointment and visit your nearest FAA Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) and get your FAA pilot certificate and/or rating – Temporary Airman Certificate.
FAA CFI certificate (Flight Instructor) does not have any such provisions for conversion from Canada or from any other country. You must meet the requirements of 14 CFR 61.183 and then take a practical test to earn your CFI certificate. CFI Academy can help you with the process. The duration for Canadian Flight Instructor’s training and testing here with us is about 2 weeks.
ExcellentBased on 90 reviewsTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Roman Lewicki2024-08-05I 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.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Sean Hagmaster2024-07-27Great 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.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Anthony Mainiero2024-07-10I 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.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Cameron Stong2024-07-09I highly recommend CFI academy for flight training. I did CFI and I was very well prepared for my checkride. I do recommend having a good foundation of ground knowledge prior to coming here for CFI as I did which made my time here more smooth then if I needed to learn more information. I feel very confident with my teaching abilities going forward because of CFI academy.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Ted Chung2024-06-27Prince was an awesome ground instructor, and Wyatt and Kyle helped me with the flight portion. I wasn't ready since I got my commercial a long time ago, but I was able to take my time to make sure I felt confident before I decided to go. The DPE situation is better than anywhere else. Just make sure you have knowledge of private and commercial before you start. Then they will help you pass the checkride! It was a very pleasant experience. I will definitely go back for my CFIITrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.greg locklin2024-06-15Great experience! Really helpful towards becoming a CFI. Very knowledgeable instructors and will help build confidence need to become a flight instructor.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Andrew Tapia2024-06-12Passed CFI checkride with CFI Academy. I couldn’t have done it without the level of instruction provided through this school. They have a great culture here where the students best interest are valued.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Emanuel Dennis2024-05-24Really great experience with everyone. Prince is a well knowledgeable instructor and will get you where you need to be and ready for your checkride. Best experience in flight training I have had here at CFI academyTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.David Cudeck II2024-05-24CFI 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.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Alexander Sia2024-03-07Definitely one of the best flight schools out there! I’ve been to multiple flight schools in CA, and I can say this is one of my home flight schools if that makes any sense. They helped me get my CFI within 3 weeks which is crazy! Most DPE’s can be booked for months! Again the fact that I was able to get a check ride slot within 3 weeks is absolutely insane! And now let me talk about the chief flight instructor Mr Prince! Mr. Prince is by far one of the most knowledgeable & experienced instructors I have ever met. He really makes you critically think, and makes you think of the whys and how of things. It’s one thing to say yes or no, but to explain in great detail why that is, is what truly makes great instructors as well as having the ability to be patient with your student! With that said, the instructors here are very passionate about aviation, they love to help others, they are respectful, and they want you to learn/succeed. I truly loved the environment, I was able to get out of my comfort zone, grow as a person and as a pilot, make friends as well as meaningful connections. Thankful that I was able to do my CFI training at CFI Academy in Lodi, CA. With all that said, one big advice I would give is to new CFI candidates is to get the FOI and FIA Knowledge tests done before hand or before enrolling. This will allow you to have and spent more time teaching, creating lesson plans, making printed or hand written lesson plans, drilling the FOI fundamentals, and the list goes on. Time management is the key!!
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