Ten Steps to CFI

Step 1: Learn These:

Jedi Nein's FAA Page

1. Advisory Circulars: Now at FAA's Site.
2. Endorsements: AC61-65D, DPE Bill Talley's one endorsement covers all. Print on blank labels, keep 'em in your flight bag. I use the endorsements for WINGS, IPC, and BFR most often. Also add the TSA Citizenship Endorsement to that list.
3. Checklists: Research indicates a one page (front & back), kneeboard-sized, laminated checklist is most likely to be used. I've pulled my manufacturer checklists off my site and will be replacing them with usable ones.
4. Study Questions: Gene Hudson's Pre-Solo, Aircraft, BFR/Private Pilot, and IPC/ Instrument Pilot Questions.
5. GPS Information: Get 'em, learn 'em, get used to 'em. My avionics checklists are here. The how-to-use GPS book is forthcoming. Garmin has an excellent guide. The AIM also has excellent information. My collection of info is here.
6. I'm not the only CFI site. Check out Steve's CFI Page: A motherload of information here. Also Whitt's Flying: A most awesome series on flying and instructing.  Also see THE CFI.com for their benefits.
7. Welcome to the world of knee-jerk political reactions. Get your security awareness training over with at the TSA's site. Please do recognize that a student pilot about to take their checkride demonstrates many of the symptoms of a suspected bad guy and check with the other instructors and flight school management before calling out the goon squad. However, if things don't look right, call 1-866-GA-SECURE. That's 1-866-427-3287. Only you can prevent reporters from scaring the public with bogus stories called news.
8. The FAA's singularly most useful website. AV-INFO.
9. CAMI's research. The "why" behind being a human and a pilot.
10. Orlando FSDO has spent some serious time trying to improve flight instructors including a list of the common weak areas on CFI checkrides. They have several resources, too.
11. Regulations. There is a Part 61 FAQ that is the FAA policy on part 61. If you follow that policy you should be fine. If the FAA pursues you for following their guidance, refer the Investigating Inspector's Manager to John Lynch. This Part 61 FAQ is #7 in the list of rules, regulations, and policy that FSDOs MUST follow. The Part 61 & 141 FAQ documents are above Advisory Circulars and below Public Law, FARs, and NTSB Orders and Opinions.
12. Practical Test Standards. You, the CFI, are responsible for teaching to the standards. Let your students see these, too! I remain amazed at how many pilots have never heard of the PTS yet are terrified of what may be required of them on their checkride. AOPA's updated Instrument PTS (membership required).
13. What's going on in the world of the Designated Pilot Examiner? Check the Designee Update.
14. AOPA's CFI Resource: Different from the Flight Training Magazine Resources, contains ASF Programs.(membership required)

Some material that you can use to help develop your Lesson Plans. Courtesy Dr. Post, FAA Designated Examiner and Longtime CFI. 

An FAA Inspector that gives the CFI Practical stated, "Create these lesson plans as you would teach from them." 

The Aviation Instructor's Handbook gives several examples of lesson plans. There are plans for a particular training session, and there are plans that cover one particular topic such as steep turns. The United States Air Force has an excellent Guide to Developing Lesson Plans. I use it in teaching initial CFIs.

Also take a serious look at FITS. This is what the experienced instructors already do, although many may not be consciously aware of it. It's a method of training that goes beyond the maneuvers and procedures. The instrument lesson plans on this site are close and becoming closer to FITS acceptance. If you can develop your plans to FITS critera, you will pass your CFI ride and be better than 99% of the rest of the instructors out there.

Then you must create a syllabus. Of course there are several commercial syllabuses available today from Jeppesen, ASA, Rod Machado or others, but you are responsible for knowing why what comes first. Are you going to teach soft field landings before solo? Flap usage during landings? Slips? How to change runways if the wind shifts during solo? How about engine failure on takeoff? Is your plan going to be flexible, as in if the weather is not perfect enough for a solo, will you do a cross country instead? 

Not mentioned during lesson planning is procedure planning. This is the "how do I do the maneuver?" There are very few publications that have this information and most of them state what sounds right, not what is actually done and what works. This book is also in progress. To be a really successful CFI, you must become consciously competent in each maneuver of your flying. Where do you look on landing and what cue is used for what? How do you control pitch in the flare? Drift? Yaw? Roll? How do you know if you are sinking or climbing. Sit back, close your eyes, and think. What are you doing when? If you don't know, how can you possibly teach it to your student?

Step 3: Get to Know These Folks:

1. Your local Safety Program Manager at the local FSDO.
2. The Air Traffic Controllers at the local controlled airports or any airports where you would be sending students on their solos. 
3. The folks at the AFSS for your area. 
4 . The mechanics that work on the aircraft you fly. 
5 . The FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute has some suggestions on Crash Survival. 
6 . The FBOs on your field. 
7 . The mechanics that might need to work on the aircraft if your school uses another airport for pattern training. 

Step 4. Participate here to learn more:

Student Pilot.Com: This is one of the best bulletin boards for student pilots, those learning another rating, and instructors. This page has a lot of participation from pilots of all experience levels and all comers are welcome. There are a few CFI Inital Designated Examiners willing to answer questions, too.  Also contains articles, online ground school, and other resources.

FlightInfo.com Excellent bulletin board and resource site for all pilots. Participating are students through retired airline pilots, corporate pilots, wannabes, flight instructors, designated examiners, FAA Inspectors, college students, magazine publishers, and a few trolls. Excellent logbook program, too. I highly recommend.

Student Pilot Network: Has a small bulletin board and several scholarships. The bulletin board has an archive with several good threads.

Professional Pilot Site: Has a FAR (14 CFR part blah blah) question board with answers to some tough questions, the authority on logging flight time, and a letter to the aviation industry that is a must read for all airline pilot wannabes. 

Online WINGS Seminars: This awesome site allows you to earn your WINGS, or maybe send a student here for extensive coverage on some topics. Redesign in progress as of 11-04-04.

FAASAFETY.GOV Find WINGS Seminars anywhere! It's going through some serious growing pains, but should be useful. No pilot certificate is needed. Students, get to these seminars! I attended one on METAR/TAF as a 6 hour student. Had no idea what they were talking about and wondered why the pilots there were complaining so much. A month later when my CFI introduced METAR/TAFs to me in ground school, I could read the code better than he could!

Silver Wings WINGS Seminars: Come to our seminars. They are at Van Nuys, CA, and soon will be at the major pilot conventions.

Sign up to receive Gene Hudson Flight Training's Newsletter:

Weather Tutorial: Another good thing to know. Also, USA Today Weather.

How does Flight Service give a briefing and what parts are critical? The full site. DUATS. DUAT.

This one is not as 'professional' as the other ones, but take 'em with a grain of salt.: Flight Instructor's Homepage

Step 5. Join These:

National Flight Instructor Association
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
AOPA Flight Instructor Program. Give your students a 6th month membership to AOPA and 6 months of AOPA Flight Training Magazine.
AOPA's magazine Flight Training Magazine
BeAPilot: Great marketing program for flight instructors and flight schools. Get a "intro" flight lesson for $49.00. WARNING: The actual cost of flight lessons is far more than $49 per hour. Be prepared, plan accordingly, and add 20% to a realistic 60-70 hour estimates. CFIs, keep your students flying, let them know what to expect up front! Spending $10,000-$12,000 for the private pilot certificate is common in large cities.
Gleim's CFI Program: Discounts on Gleim Books, Gleim Logbook, free Flight Maneuver Analysis Sheets, changes to PTS, and lots of other good things.

Step 6. Visit These:

Step 7. Read these:

These opinions and articles should some perspective on: 
Time Building - Anon Airline Pilot
Dropping Students - Anon
The Ultimate Touch - Gene Hudson (see his site for more)
An Instructor's Obligation - Rick Durden
Everything Written by Don Brown
Microburst Handbook
Forecasting Fog
Aviation Weather Prediction
Real Weather Charts -- the stuff in Aviation Weather Services
Aeronautical Decision Making AC60-22
Human Behavior, the #1 Cause of Accidents
The Right Amount of Ground Instruction - Rod Machado

Step 8. Other places to have some FUN:

Animated Aviation Graphics
Klyde Morris - The only ant in aviation.
Bizjet Study Guides

Step 9. Avoid the following:

Please don't end up like my first flight instructor: 
A statistic.
Or like my favorite Aircraft: 
Another Statistic.
Or my second favorite Aircraft:
Another Statistic.

Or my Friends: 
Midair Statistic
One more Statistic -- unknown cause
A preflight inspection rejected this one.
CAP flying is not a walk in the park
Neither is aerial fire fighting
A CHEAP RYAN TCAD would have saved the lives of another fire crew. Public use aircraft so no NTSB record.
Learn how to recognize a vacuum failure!
Lost a good mechanic.
When the gauges read "E", land and get fuel, even if you've always been able to go another hour.
For the want of a $200 room rental, two people and an airplane were lost.They had been offered rooms for free, but just had to get home. They never did.
The Impossible Turn took six.

Others:
Engine quits on takeoff; airplane doesn't climb like it should, a bee stings you on rotation. Put the nose down. Put the nose down. PUT THE FLIPPING NOSE DOWN! If you the CFI don't make this an instinctive reaction for your students, you may have to live the rest of your life knowing you failed the student.
Darwin Award Honorable Mention: I did an approach into Van Nuys and broke out 300' above minimums 30 minutes before this crash.
Darwin Award Winner for 2004. We already proved a dark night departure under a cloud deck while trying to pickup the IFR clearance is fatal if one doesn't follow the obstacle departure procedure.

Fly SAFE! I HATE adding to this list!

In a position of responsibility? The darkest months of your life will be after an aviation accident kills someone under you. Would you rather face an irate customer or an irate NTSB investigator?

Step 10. Get a Flight Instructor Job

1. The Flight Instructor Homepage has some listed in various spots, but watch out for trolls. 
2. There are more at the Find A Pilot Site. 
3. And some more at AOPA's Site makes you go to the classified ads, but there are a lot there. 
4. A nice list at Climbto350.  (warning pay to play)
5. NAFI has a few (members).

Step 11: Beyond the CFI

The 5 Steps to CFII
     Step 1: Figure out how you do each instrument maneuver. Gene's text, "Instrument Flying Made Easy," is a good start.
     Step 2: Get either the Jeppesen (JS312407) or FAA version of "FAA-H-8260-1: Instrument Procedures Handbook", FAA's "Instrument Flying Handbook" Part 1 Part 2, and the FAA's Instrument PTS. Print & Study all of the AOPA/Jeppesen Chart Clinic Articles. Do the same for the New Chart Handbook.
     Step 3: Write the Lesson Plans, Syllabus, IPC Questions & Plan of Action.
     Step 4: Master the GPS.
     Step 5: Get Instrument Proficient (Heading +/-2°, Altitude +/- 20', Bank Angle +/- 2°).
Get the MEI.
Specialize in GPS, Sport Pilots, Ultralights, Gliders, Instrument Training, Private Pilots, Tailwheels, Instructors, or everything.
Become a Master CFI
Get your Gold Seal.
Renew a different way each cycle.
Find a highly experienced CFI to be your mentor.
When you become a highly experienced CFI, mentor others.