last updated october 2026. written by Nathan, a part 135 pilot based in denver who makes the cards at 1500 hours.
two kinds of people look for this: the student who wants to thank the instructor who got them through, and the family or friends of someone who just became an instructor. both lists are below. the short version for both: specific beats expensive, and a few honest words beat almost anything you can buy.
thanking your instructor
most instructors are building hours toward an airline job, usually toward the 1,500 hours an airline transport pilot certificate asks for. many are paid only for the time they fly, they spend long days on the ramp, and most of their students say thanks with a handshake. the bar is low and the effect is large.
- a note, and tell the school too. write down one thing they taught you that you'll keep. then say it to the chief instructor, or leave a review that names them. a good word on the record helps an instructor's next job more than anything you could wrap.
- a card of the field with their name on the back. your checkride field or your home field on the front with the rating and the date you passed, and the instructor's name on the back. it's the one that tends to stay on the desk. $24, made to order. checkride card.
- a good pen. instructors sign logbooks all day: lessons, endorsements, the solo, the checkride sign-off. a nice pen that writes cleanly on logbook paper gets used every flight.
- lunch on a long day. a lot of instructors fly back to back from sunrise and eat whatever the vending machine has. ask the front desk when they're on a full schedule and have something delivered.
- fresh ear seals for their headset. the seals wear out after a few hundred hours and almost nobody replaces them on time. note the headset brand, buy the matching set.
- a referral. if you liked flying with them, send them the friend who keeps saying they want to learn. more students means more hours toward wherever they're headed.
what to skip
- "world's best flight instructor" anything. they have the mug.
- a gift that assumes they'll stay. most instructors are on their way somewhere else. something small that travels beats something for the office wall.
congratulating a new instructor
on the cfi checkride the applicant teaches the examiner, on the ground and in the air, and it has a reputation as the hardest ride most pilots take. if someone you know just passed it, it's a big one.
- a cfi checkride card. the field, cfi as the rating, their name and the date on the front. $24, made to order. checkride card.
- the whole timeline on one card. for most new instructors the cfi is the end of a long run: private, instrument, commercial, then cfi. an airport card with the training timeline on the back lists every rating and the date they passed it, first solo to the cfi ride, in one column. $24 plus $12 for the timeline back. airport layout card.
- an endorsement record book. instructors have to keep a record of the solo, knowledge test and practical test endorsements they sign, and hold onto it for three years. a well-made book just for that gets used from their very first student.
- a printed copy of the faa's endorsement guide. advisory circular 61-65 has the exact wording for every endorsement a new instructor will write. a tabbed copy in the flight bag beats scrolling on a phone in the lobby.
- a better kneeboard or flight bag. they're about to spend a lot more time in the right seat.
quick answers
should you tip your flight instructor? it isn't expected the way it is at a restaurant. a thoughtful gift and a good word to the school are more common, and usually mean more.
when should you give your cfi a gift? the day you pass your checkride, or the day they leave for an airline job. both are days they'll remember.
what's a good gift for a cfi under $50? a card of your checkride field with their name on the back, a good pen, fresh headset ear seals, or lunch on a long day.
more for the student side: first solo gift ideas and what to get someone who just passed their checkride.
fly more.