What’s your favorite online FIRC (and why)?

[PT20J]

Time to renew my CFI next month. Seeking other CFI’s thoughts on Flight Instructor Refresher Courses.

[Andy95W]

I use AceCFI.  I did the “pay once lifetime renewal” option.  It’s okay, nothing exciting but it gets the job done.  And I have learned a good bit of new stuff over the past few years.  

It does an okay job of reviewing the old standard stuff.  The place where it shines, in my opinion, is the newer stuff that’s come down the pike in the last few years.  The FAA has a ton of online resources that I never really knew about, but I learned from the Ace CFI courses.  I have to redo mine next spring, and while I’m not looking forward to the regular monotonous stuff, I am looking forward to reviewing the modern material and seeing if there’s anything new to learn.

[toto]

I used to do the AOPA one every renewal year, but the quality started to vary quite a bit after they switched platforms a couple of times. I’ve been doing Aviation Seminars for the last two renewals, and even though it seems old school (they just show video replays of in-person classes), I actually found that I like the format better than the online content from AOPA. Their instructor, Kim Barnes, is really good. 

I did my renewal this year so I’m set till 23, but the Aviation Seminars product is worth checking out. If you did a different online FIRC last time, I believe they have a competitive offer for like $25 including filing. 

https://www.aviationseminars.com/online-firc/

[RobertGary1]

American flyers. Paid 16 years ago free for life. 

[toto]

1 minute ago, RobertGary1 said:

American flyers. Paid 16 years ago free for life. 

 

13 minutes ago, Andy95W said:

I use AceCFI.  I did the “pay once lifetime renewal” option.

When you do these one-time payments, you get the course material, but you have to handle the renewal paperwork and filing yourself, right?

One of the things that I always liked about AOPA (and about Aviation Seminars) is that they handle the paperwork for you. So you’ve got someone who does this stuff all day long making sure that it gets to the right place on time. 

Probably not a big deal, but it’s always been a factor for me. 

[Andy95W]

I last renewed in April 2020 just as COVID hit.  I did the entire renewal process online with my FSDO, so maybe that will be an option going forward.

There is a place on AceCFI when you begin the courses to pay the extra and have them file the paperwork.  Sorry, never used it, but it seems pretty straightforward.  Might be worth a look.  I bet American Flyers is similar.

[RobertGary1]

2 hours ago, toto said:

 

When you do these one-time payments, you get the course material, but you have to handle the renewal paperwork and filing yourself, right?

One of the things that I always liked about AOPA (and about Aviation Seminars) is that they handle the paperwork for you. So you’ve got someone who does this stuff all day long making sure that it gets to the right place on time. 

Probably not a big deal, but it’s always been a factor for me. 

its your choice. If you want them to do it there is a processing fee. 

[Ragsf15e]

I used the one from Sportys last year.  It was free, but very dry.  I got what I paid for.  They did take care of the paperwork, but I think that cost me $20.  Even though it’s free, I’d have a hard time using it again because of how dry it was.  If you find one that’s engaging and well done that’s not too expensive, I’m all ears!

[toto]

2 hours ago, Ragsf15e said:

I used the one from Sportys last year.  It was free, but very dry.  I got what I paid for.  They did take care of the paperwork, but I think that cost me $20.  Even though it’s free, I’d have a hard time using it again because of how dry it was.  If you find one that’s engaging and well done that’s not too expensive, I’m all ears!

The Aviation Seminars eFIRC is $25 for your first renewal - then it’s $125 for subsequent renewals. It feels old school, but not as dry as some of the self-paced online ones.

Here’s the link to the “competitive discount” thingy. 

https://www.aviationseminars.com/online-firc-competitor-entry/

[kortopates]

The easiest method is to do enough wings activities credits, 15, so that you don’t have to do a FIRC.

You do need to do the IACRA through your FSDO which has been a challenge for many due to the pandemic closures; unless you pay a DPE to sign off for you.


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[midlifeflyer]

On 12/24/2021 at 11:25 PM, RobertGary1 said:

American flyers. Paid 16 years ago free for life. 

Me too. I did one live seminar at the beginning (which was  the most enjoyable) and Gleim (which had good materials) but once I realized they all had to follow the same general format and timing and  there was maybe 1/2 hour out of the 16 hours that was new to me , $99 for the rest of my life became very attractive,

[midlifeflyer]

8 hours ago, kortopates said:

The easiest method is to do enough wings activities credits, 15, so that you don’t have to do a FIRC.

You do need to do the IACRA through your FSDO which has been a challenge for many due to the pandemic closures; unless you pay a DPE to sign off for you.


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I'm not sure how all that is easier than sitting at home or in your office working on other things while the FIRC window is open and the timer is counting down for each module.

[Rick Junkin]

On 12/25/2021 at 1:09 PM, Ragsf15e said:

I used the one from Sportys last year.  It was free, but very dry.  I got what I paid for.  They did take care of the paperwork, but I think that cost me $20.  Even though it’s free, I’d have a hard time using it again because of how dry it was.  If you find one that’s engaging and well done that’s not too expensive, I’m all ears!

I used Sporty's eFIRC last year as well. I'm not regularly engaged in active instruction and appreciated the review, along with the info on the changes that occurred over the last two years. Most I was aware of, some I was not. I'm one to read everything but not always listen to all of the audio so I was slowed up by the minimum time limits on some of the modules. I didn't mind, it encouraged me to listen to more of the case studies. I thought it was a pretty good course, in comparison to some of the annual Instrument Refresher Courses I attended over the years. I needed the review and got what I was looking for, so use that as your gauge.

The course is still free, but the Airman Certification Representative (ACR) service is now $49.94. A convenience to be sure but saves me the trip to the FSDO.

Cheers,
Rick

[toto]

43 minutes ago, Junkman said:

I was slowed up by the minimum time limits on some of the modules.

I believe the FAA requires a certain minimum amount of instruction time for a FIRC. Fifteen hours or something. So if it’s a self-paced online thing, they still have to be sure that it’s meeting the minimum threshold. 

[midlifeflyer]

24 minutes ago, toto said:

I believe the FAA requires a certain minimum amount of instruction time for a FIRC. Fifteen hours or something. So if it’s a self-paced online thing, they still have to be sure that it’s meeting the minimum threshold. 

Close. 26 hours.

[Ragsf15e]

11 hours ago, midlifeflyer said:

I'm not sure how all that is easier than sitting at home or in your office working on other things while the FIRC window is open and the timer is counting down for each module.

Shhhhhhh….

[Scott Dennstaedt, PhD]

On 12/24/2021 at 11:25 PM, RobertGary1 said:

American flyers. Paid 16 years ago free for life. 

Same here.   I think it was $125 when I paid 20 yrs ago.