In order to apply for your Certified Flight Instructor Rating, you will need a commercial pilot's license and an instrument rating. During your training, you will need to pass a written test and a practical and oral test. Your training will consist of knowledge based learning on the fundamentals of lesson planning, classroom training techniques and the learning process. You will also learn to fly and teach from the right seat of the airplane all of the techniques you learned during your private pilot training but in addition, you will learn to perform and recover from spins. Instructing is highly rewarding and it can be a great way to accumulate hours while working toward a further aviation goal. The great thing about CFI training is that much of it is done on the ground with an instructor. For this reason, the training is less expensive for the hours accumulated. For budgeting purposes only, set aside $4,500 for CFI training.