A CFI lesson plan is the single most misunderstood piece of the initial flight instructor checkride. New instructor applicants either write far too much, turning a lesson into a term paper nobody could teach from, or they grab a stack of templates online and cannot explain a word of them when the examiner starts asking questions. This guide covers what a lesson plan actually is, what the FAA expects on checkride day, and how to build a set you can teach from with confidence.
What a CFI lesson plan actually is
A lesson plan is a teaching roadmap for one block of instruction. It tells you what the student should be able to do by the end of the lesson, how you are going to get them there, and how you will know they got there. That is the whole job. It is not a transcript of everything you plan to say, and it is not a copy of the textbook chapter.
The Aviation Instructor Handbook (FAA-H-8083-9) is the source the FAA grades you against here, and it describes a lesson plan as an organized outline built around clear objectives and completion standards. Keep that word outline in mind. An outline is something you glance at while you teach. A script is something you read to a student, and reading to a student is exactly what the examiner does not want to see.
What the CFI ACS requires
Lesson plans show up in two places on the flight instructor practical test, and it helps to know both.
The first is in the Fundamentals of Instructing, Area of Operation I, Task C, which covers course development, lesson plans, and classroom training techniques. Here the examiner wants to know that you understand how a lesson is built: training objectives and completion standards, performance based objectives, how the ACS itself drives a training curriculum, and how you organize material into blocks of learning. You can read our full breakdown of how the standard is structured in our guide to the CFI ACS explained.
The second is more hands on. In Area of Operation IV, the preflight lesson on a maneuver, the examiner asks you to present a preflight lesson on a maneuver exactly the way you would teach it to a real student. This happens before you ever start the airplane, and the examiner decides whether you passed that Task before the flight begins. The ACS is explicit that you deliver this instruction using a lesson plan, teaching methods, and teaching aids. So you are not just talking about lesson plans in theory. You are teaching from one while someone grades you.
Previously developed lesson plans from the instructor applicant library may be used. (FAA-S-ACS-25)
That line matters. The FAA lets you bring lesson plans you built ahead of time. You do not have to write one from scratch in the examiner parking lot. What you cannot do is bring plans you do not understand, because the moment you teach from one, the questions start.
The anatomy of a lesson plan
Most solid lesson plans, whether for a ground lesson or a maneuver, share the same bones. Here is what belongs in one and why.
- Objective. One or two sentences on what the student will be able to do when the lesson is over. This is the destination for the whole plan.
- Completion standards. The measurable bar the student has to clear. For a maneuver this is usually the ACS tolerances for the private or commercial applicant, such as holding altitude within 100 feet and airspeed within 10 knots. Vague completion standards are one of the fastest ways to lose points.
- Elements. The individual pieces of knowledge or skill that make up the lesson. For steep turns the elements include the purpose, entry, bank and pitch coordination, load factor, and the rollout.
- Common errors. What students typically get wrong, and how you catch and fix it. The ACS specifically expects you to describe the elements of a maneuver and the associated common errors, so this section is not optional.
- Equipment and instructional aids. The model airplane, whiteboard, or handout you will use. The FAA cares that you can pick aids that actually help learning rather than decorate the lesson.
- Instructor and student actions. Who does what, and when. This is what keeps the lesson organized instead of rambling.
- Schedule. Roughly how long each part takes, so a 30 minute lesson does not turn into 90.
Ground lessons versus maneuver lessons
The ACS asks you to be able to prepare two kinds of lesson plan. The first is an aeronautical knowledge ground lesson suitable for a classroom, for example a lesson on airspace or weather theory. The second is a maneuver introduction and ground lesson, which is the preflight briefing you give before you and the student go fly something like slow flight or short field landings.
They follow the same structure, but the maneuver lesson leans harder on purpose, elements, common errors, and completion standards, because those are the four things the examiner grades in Area of Operation IV. If you build every maneuver lesson around those four headings, you will always have an answer ready when the examiner asks why a student keeps ballooning the flare.
A quick worked example: steep turns
Here is what a lean, teachable steep turn plan looks like in outline form. Notice how short it is.
- Objective: The student performs a 45 degree bank steep turn in both directions while maintaining coordinated flight and returning to the entry heading.
- Completion standards: Altitude within 100 feet, airspeed within 10 knots, bank within 5 degrees, rollout within 10 degrees of the entry heading (private ACS tolerances).
- Elements: Purpose and use, clearing turns, entry and power, the relationship between bank and back pressure, load factor and the accelerated stall, coordination, and the rollout lead point.
- Common errors: Losing altitude in the turn, letting the bank steepen past 45 degrees, uncoordinated rudder, and rolling out late.
- Aids: Model airplane and a quick load factor chart.
That fits on one page, and you can teach a real lesson from it without reading. That is the target.
Do you have to write your own?
No, and yes. The FAA allows lesson plans from your library, and plenty of good pre built sets exist. The catch is that the examiner is not grading the paper. The examiner is grading whether you can teach from it and answer questions about it. A borrowed plan you understand cold beats a plan you wrote at 2 in the morning and cannot explain.
The smart move is to start from a solid set, then rework each plan in your own words until you own it. When you can close the binder and still teach the maneuver, the plan has done its job.
Common lesson plan mistakes
- Writing a script instead of an outline. If you are reading it, it is too long.
- Leaving completion standards vague. Attach real ACS numbers.
- Skipping common errors. This is graded material in Area of Operation IV, not filler.
- Building plans you cannot teach from. The examiner will find out in the first two minutes.
- One giant plan for everything. Break the syllabus into blocks of learning, one plan per block.
How ClearCut CFI handles lesson plans
Our full CFI course includes a lesson plan library that is already aligned to the ACS Areas of Operation, so you are not starting from a blank page. Each plan is built around the same objective, completion standards, elements, and common errors structure the examiner is looking for, and the video lectures walk through how to actually teach from them. You can see how we break down a Fundamentals of Instructing topic in our free demo quiz, then take the whole thing to checkride in the full course.
Frequently asked questions
How many lesson plans do I need for the CFI checkride?
Enough to cover the maneuvers and ground subjects in the ACS Areas of Operation your examiner may select from. Most applicants build a plan for every maneuver in Areas of Operation VII through XII and a set of knowledge lessons for the FOI and preflight topics.
Can I use digital lesson plans on my phone or tablet?
That is up to your examiner, so ask ahead of time. Many are fine with a tablet. Some prefer paper. Bring a format you can teach from smoothly either way.
What is a performance based objective?
It is an objective written in terms of what the student will do, under what conditions, and to what standard. The FAA leans on performance based objectives because they are measurable, which is exactly what completion standards give you.
ClearCut CFI is an online ground school built around the FAA CFI ACS. If you found this useful, our full course covers every Area of Operation with lesson plans, video lectures, mock orals, and cockpit recordings.