I always find this post fun every year. We get to see how many CFIs signed off applicants for practical tests, and how many CFIs did it at high levels!
When we look at the total number of CFIs who signed off even one applicant for a practical test in 2024, we see that number up a little bit. The chart below shows the trend of this data point since 2017.
When we compare this in the tabular format year to year, we see that the number of CFIs who are signing people off for a practical test has been climbing each of the recent years.
This matches up with the general trend of higher certification levels each year, and while we don’t have the airman certification numbers for 2024 just yet, I think this data point is an early indicator that 2024 will again be a year that saw high numbers of FAA certificates and ratings issued.
It can also be an indicator that CFIs are turning over in their jobs and that more CFIs are signing people off for tests as they work to gain experience and then transition into other professional pilot jobs for which they become qualified based on the hours they gain as a CFI along the way.
Another interesting data point is how many CFIs signed off more than 5 applicants for practical tests in 2024. These are some of the more active CFIs in our system in a given year. We see this number climbing year-to-year also in the chart to the right here.
But like most years, it still represents a small number of the overall holders of CFI certificates (probably over 120,000 at this point) in our aviation system. A smaller number of CFIs are doing the bulk of our training toward issuance of a certificate or rating that is tracked when an applicant is signed off for a practical test.
And for the last fun data point of this post, you can compare how your own signoff efforts relate to other CFIs this year if you are a highly active CFI when it comes to applicants you signed off in 2024. The chart below shows how many CFIs signed off applicants in ranges, quite obviously the higher numbers of signoffs in a given year fall to rare company. Pretty amazing that 7 CFIs were the recommending instructors on over 100 certificate and/or rating applications!
