Start with the logbook
Review cross-country PIC time, instrument experience, knowledge-test preparation, and any currency goals before building the next sequence of lessons.
The CFII (Certified Flight Instructor – Instrument) certificate allows you to teach instrument flying to other pilots. It is one of the most valuable add-ons to a CFI certificate because it dramatically expands your student base and keeps you in the cockpit during instrument conditions.
CFII training at Accelerated Flight School covers teaching instrument approaches, holding, IFR cross-country planning, instrument flight regulations, and how to effectively communicate complex IFR procedures to student pilots. our CFII instructors, teaches the CFII from an instructor-of-instructors perspective.
The Los Angeles Basin airspace — with multiple approach procedures, ILS options at KVNY, and complex ATC environments — provides an excellent real-world teaching environment for the CFII curriculum.
Why the Instrument Instructor Rating Is Worth Adding
Adding the CFII to a CFI certificate roughly doubles what you are qualified to teach. Instrument students are a steady, motivated population, and being able to train them keeps you flying through weather and seasons when VFR-only instruction slows down — which matters when you are building hours toward airline minimums.
Teaching instruments from the right seat is its own discipline. You have to monitor a student's scan, anticipate errors before they cascade, manage the radios and the clearance, and keep the bigger picture while the student is heads-down. CFII training builds the habits and verbal techniques that make all of that smooth.
Van Nuys is an ideal classroom for it. With ILS, VOR, and RNAV procedures available and a genuinely busy ATC environment, you learn to teach approaches and holds in the same real-world conditions your future students will fly in. Training is conducted in the fleet's aircraft at the from-$185/hr dual rate. Call or text 424-493-2761 to plan a combined CFI/CFII path.
A Deliberate Instrument Training Plan
Instrument students at our Van Nuys flight school need more than time under a hood. Accelerated Flight School helps pilots turn their current experience into an organized IFR plan, with each dual instruction session connected to the instrument FAA/ACS tasks.
Practice the complete workflow
Lessons can combine clearance review, avionics setup, holds, approaches, missed approaches, and a useful debrief—not isolated button pushing.
Build checkride readiness
The instructor uses mock oral and flight scenarios to identify weak tasks before recommending the instrument rating checkride.
IFR Context at Van Nuys Airport
Training from Van Nuys Airport (KVNY) puts Los Angeles pilots in the Los Angeles ATC environment. Real radio work, route planning, and approach briefings help make an instrument certificate/rating practical beyond the checkride.
Checkride coordination is planned early
As checkride readiness approaches, the school plans examiner coordination early and targets a checkride within 1–2 weeks after training is complete when examiner schedules, weather, and eligibility allow. This is a planning target, not a guarantee: independent DPE availability and checkride outcomes remain outside the school's control.
Why Train at Van Nuys Airport (KVNY)?
Van Nuys Airport is one of the busiest general aviation airports in the United States — and one of the best environments to earn a pilot certificate.
Active Controlled Airport
KVNY has a live tower, ILS approaches, and year-round high-traffic conditions. You learn real-world radio communication from lesson one.
Real Los Angeles Airspace
Training here means working with Burbank Class C, LA Class B, and diverse terminal area procedures — preparation for flying anywhere in the country.
Consistent Training Weather
The San Fernando Valley's inland location provides consistent VFR training conditions, particularly compared to coastal marine-layer airports.
Cross-Country Route Variety
From KVNY you can fly cross-country to Santa Barbara, Camarillo, Bakersfield, Big Bear, Brackett, Long Beach, and beyond — building real navigation skills.
General Aviation Focused
No commercial airline traffic competing for runway time. KVNY is a dedicated GA airport built around pilots like you.
Checkride Access
FAA Designated Pilot Examiners (DPEs) are available in the Van Nuys area for all certificates and ratings.
Training Programs at Accelerated Flight School
From your first discovery flight through your commercial certificate and flight instructor rating — all based at Van Nuys Airport.
How We Approach Your Training
Accelerated Flight School is built around a straightforward principle: efficient, structured training that respects your time, your money, and your goals.
ACS-Based from Day One
Every lesson objective maps directly to the FAA's Airman Certification Standards — the exact document your checkride examiner will use. No filler flights.
Checkride-Focused Preparation
You are never wondering when you will be ready. Your instructor tracks your progress against checkride standards and gives you a clear picture at every stage.
Instructor Accountability
Your instructor debriefs every flight with specific observations. What you did well, what needs work, and exactly what your next lesson will address.
Pay-As-You-Fly
No large training loans required. No large prepaid blocks. You schedule and pay per lesson, keeping your investment proportional to your progress at all times.
Student-First Instruction
No runaround, no scripted upsell sequences, no inflated hours. Our instructors teach because they believe in the mission of aviation training done right.
No Pressure on Pace
Train twice a week or twice a month — your schedule, your pace. The instruction quality does not change based on how fast you progress through the program.