What is the difference between a CFI and BFI flight instructor?

Question

I understand that a CFI is a Certified Flight Instructor and a BFI is a Basic Flight Instructor, but what's the difference between the two? Are there things a CFI can do that a BFI can't?

Answer 1

I don't know what country you're in, but there is no such thing as a BFI in the United States.  Are you thinking of ground instructors?  There is such a thing as a Basic Ground Instructor, which I believe can only teach Recreational, Sport, and Private.  There is also an Advanced Ground Instructor certificate, which allows you to give ground training for any certificate.  This is all in FAR Part 61.

Answer 2

the FAA makes three distinctions for flight instructors.

Ground Instructor

Flight Instructor (Other than a sport pilot rating)

Sport Pilot Flight Instructor-

This may be old when they had a Ultralight catagory and Recreational ratings  for insturcting, but that was transionted to the Sport Pilot Rating.

Answer 3

Maybe the BFI is a Bigger #@%*ing Instructor?

I don't recall seeing any BFI mentioned in Part 61.

Looks like some industry invented instructor rating that has no real FAA oversight. A self-regulated sort of thing.