CFI Academy

Great experience overall. Excellent ground and flight instruction in preparation not just for a checkride, but for the real world. I would definitely recommend for your next certificate/rating.

You pay 8000 and they promise you your cfi and commercial in 2 weeks. Do you really think you’re gonna be the best flight instructor in 2 weeks? You’re not and it’s not possible. Quality of instruction is ok but with the paying up front it’s not effective. (Ask for maintenance logs) Also a heads up the reviews are made up on that website.

I had a wonderful and memorable experience at CFI Academy. Let me tell in details.

First off, I got my commercial and CFI certificates! I enrolled in the class starting on 4/4/2022, got my commercial pilot’s certificate on 4/28 and CFI certificate on 5/16. In between I went home for about 10 days due to scheduling issues. This is lightning speed considering that it took my 14 months to get my PPL and 12 months to get my IFR. I was very happy that I passed my CFI check ride in one sitting.

I was a little frustrated with my PPL and IFR progress and was looking for an accelerated CFI program. I have three criteria in my selection process.
1. The school has to be located where weather is generally not an issue. I was fed up with the Chicago weather which makes it only possible to fly once or twice a week, if you are lucky.
2. There are a large amount of reviews for the program. There will be good and bad reviews for any business, but a large amount of reviews signify a program that has been in business for a long time.
3. The school has a dedicated DPE. Scheduling with a DPE can be very frustrating. Any additional appointment due to weather/maintenance/failed check ride, etc.could easily drag the entire process out for a month or more.
I selected the CFI Academy because they seem to meet all three criteria. There are many other accelerated CFI programs across the nation, and they all at least miss one or two of my criteria. My experience at the CFI Academy validated my choice.
1. The CFI Academy is located in the central valley region south of Sacramento. The weather was generally very aviation friendly. Winds at the surface and aloft were generally very mild, and sky is generally clear. We were able to fly very often, some times twice a day. I found that to be very helpful in honing my skills. Of course, there were rainy/windy days, but overall much better than Chicago.
2. And yes, the CFI Academy has been in business for a long time, and they do have a ton of positive reviews, and a few bad ones. They have a system worked out to mass produce CFIs.
3. The CFI Academy has very good relationship with some DPEs. This was very helpful. I actually failed my first try at commercial check ride, but I was able to be scheduled for three days later and passed.
Beyond my original three criteria, I found myself getting a lot more than I expected. Here are a few.
1. Prince, the owner and chief instructor! Oh, man, Prince is one of the two most amazing aviators I have ever met. He is also an A&P. His vast aviation knowledge and experience aside, he has a way to teach complex concepts in layman’s terms. It was truly something else to meet Prince.
2. Amazing classmates. The CFI Academy attracts students with some most amazing qualifications, such as 737 pilot, test pilot, etc. I lived on campus, and we talked about aviation all the time. Check ride tips and stories were swapped among the students. The friendship and camaraderie was precious.
3. Since Prince is an A&P and he has a shop, we got to look at planes under the hood.
4. Lodi (pronounced Low-die, not lowdee), to my surprise, is actually a larger wine producing area than Napa. This area was dotted with vineyards and wine tasting rooms. On weekends, I biked around this wine country, and it was very enjoyable.
5. I liked the on-campus dorm a lot. There is a kitchen, two full bathrooms, laundry, a courtesy car (with over 250k miles), and a bike. The room I got was decent. I could just walk down the hall way from my room to the class room.
6. Weekend parties. Prince often shows up on the weekends with beer and/or BBQ, and we just sit around outside and hangout, a good time.

All in all, I am very happy with my experience, and more importantly, I now have much better airmanship than when I entered the Academy. Time and money well spent.

I did not regret coming to CFI academy to get my ratings, I got my CFI initial in 3 weeks, CFII in 1 week, both passed on 1st attempt, my instructors are Prince and Jake, they are both knowledgeable & helpful, will come back again if I decide to get more ratings. Also, a reminder, this is not the place that you come sit here for 3 weeks and you will get your tickets, you will need to read & study on your own as well, and I highly recommend to finish your written exam before you start your training here, because your schedule will be tight.

Excellent instruction from start to finish. All of the instructors are in depth with their teaching and fill in all the gaps in your knowledge. Prince, Seth, and Jake are friendly and patient. Leaving a 141 school and learning here has been a fantastic experience.

Got my CFI initial done here in 2021 and had a great experience. Prince was an excellent ground instructor and I felt thoroughly prepared for the ground portion and Kyle did a great job at preparing me for the flight portion. Fast forward 8 months and I have nearly 200 hours of dual given already and am very grateful for the solid foundation CFI Academy gave me!

Best place to do your CFI training.best instructors i have had throughout my pilot training. I'm really happy i chose this place to get my CFI. Also, really beautiful place to fly.

I passed my CFII checkride today first attempt. I know I didn't get to go for my checkride while I was there but I still consider myself a CFI Academy graduate. Thanks for all your help I couldn't have done it without your CFI ground school that I attended.

You’ll become a cfi in three weeks. Prince is very knowledgeable and teach you even more than what you need to actually become a good instructor. Everyone there is nice and friendly

You will obtain your CFI here. The in-house instruction is second to none, the lead instructor is a master of his craft and will teach you more than you need to pass your check ride. Be diligent with your time and you will have your first student in no time

If you think you can get CFI in 10 days at this school, think it twice.
The owner is a master minded criminal with prior conviction and criminal charges against him.
He operated many scam business (Wing over California, tracking business, …).
His facility with dogs running around and no one clean the place is like a dumpster. His fleet with two C150 and a 140 old piper is ancient.
If you think about your safety and others, do a little background about this guy and his new scam.

Great school, would highly recommend to anyone looking to get their cfi done fast. Prince is one of the smartest guys I’ve met and I really enjoyed his teaching style. My flight instructor was Jake and he was awesome, he did a really good job with all the cfi candidates. There was mixed feelings about the dpe they use, feel free to contact me with any questions.

Great Flight school very friendly Instructors. I received my CfII and MEI in two weeks. Jake Was my instructor For CFII and Prince For MEI. I flew from Memphis to Sacramento and rented a car for two weeks. Car rental wasn't bad 47 dollars a day. I rented a room 600 for two weeks. Building is very clean with full kitchen and two bathrooms with full showers and washer and dryer. The schools makes you feel at home. The room layout is two bunk beds per room. Some are single bed rooms that cost a little more. Each room Is equipped with a desk and study area that was very nice. There is a grill outside with a fire pit. Plenty of grocery stores near by and great taco trucks about a mile down the road. Weather was nice, had an enjoyable experience.

Prince did a great job on the ground instruction and went through just about everything, Jake and Kyle are awesome instructors and made sure I was I ready for the checkride. Jake really went above and beyond to make sure I was ready, got my CFI initial in 13 days.

I was recommended by my flight Instructor to wrap up my CFI training at CFI Academy in Lodi. It was the best decision ever. Prince is an amazing teacher. He’s very knowledgeable and knows the FAR regulations like the back of his hand. He is a true veteran in the aviation community devoting his career to teaching. His standard is the highest to teach in aviation English language. When I had my Checkride at the end of the training I was more than confident that I was prepared and ready to tackle it. Their flight instructors Kelvin, Kyle and Jake are top notch. Faudi their administrator was very friendly and helped me settle in. Thank you CFI Academy.

What a fantastic experience! After several years of starts and stops in my flight training and disappointing service from other flight schools, I was incredibly lucky to have had CFI Academy recommended to me. The quality of instruction and support I received was incredible! Having taken essentially a year and a half off from flight training, I came to the academy on a Saturday and passed my private pilot’s check ride the following Wednesday. The ability to stay at the campus was awesome, providing a wealth of knowledge from the incredible instructors, as well as from the CFI candidates themselves. It was a supportive and fun environment, and CFI Academy’s incredible reputation ensured that I had my check ride scheduled on my time line (rather than having to wait several months for a DPE’s availability). When my instructor told me I was ready for my check ride, it gave me a ton of confidence walking into my exam. While you’ll always be nervous for a check ride, when your CFI Academy instructor says you’re ready, you can be confident you are. Thank you CFI Academy, Prince, Kelvin, Kyle, and Estefan!

CFI Academy is the best. I went to CFI academy because my current school was struggling to teach CFI students I’m glad I went to CFI Academy their teaching is the best Prince is the best ground instructor throughout my entire aviation career I have never met anyone more knowledgeable than prince it took me like a month to get my CFI but it’s still way faster than anywhere else and I learn so much at Cfi Academy that it was worth it if I had to do cfi all over again I’ll definitely go back to CFI Academy I Highly recommend CFI Academy -German

Prince is an amazing instructor and is very knowledgeable. He’ll over prepare you so you’re a great instructor. Also, the environment at the school is very friendly and loving and they make you feel at home. I definitely recommend CFI academy to any inspiring CFIs or other ratings that they offer.