Definition
Pilots who are training for, or being evaluated on, the requirements to earn a Flight Instructor Certificate (CFI). They are typically commercial pilots learning to teach flight maneuvers from the right seat and to demonstrate maneuvers — including certain advanced stall recoveries — to a higher standard than required of a private or commercial pilot.
Plain English
Pilots working toward becoming flight instructors. They are held to a higher demonstration standard than other pilots because their job will be to teach.
Context Anchor
In the Airplane Flying Handbook, this phrase usually marks material aimed at pilots learning how to teach a maneuver, not just perform it themselves.
Why Pilots Care
Some maneuvers in the handbook (like intentionally inducing a secondary stall) are practiced only by flight instructor applicants, not by student, private, or commercial pilots. Knowing the term tells you whether a procedure applies to your level of training.
Intuition Check
Do not read this as people applying to take lessons from a flight instructor. In this context, it means pilots applying to become flight instructors.
Example Sentence 1
The secondary stall is intentionally demonstrated only by flight instructor applicants during their practical test.
Example Sentence 2
The Airplane Flying Handbook notes that flight instructor applicants should be able to recognize the onset of a secondary stall during training.