CFI Desk Terms of Service

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern use of CFI Desk at app.cfi-desk.com and through its installable progressive web app. They cover instructor accounts and Student View account holders, including parents or legal guardians who hold accounts associated with minor student records. The related website is cfi-desk.com. CFI Desk is the product; CFI Desk LLC is its operator and the company referred to as “we,” “us,” or “our” in these Terms. Contact us at admin@cfi-desk.com.

CFI Desk offers read-only Student View and optional Instruction Billing. Student View is available for students age 14 or older, with a guardian-owned account required for students ages 14–17. The product is a U.S.-only website and PWA, with no current app-store distribution.

1 Accepting these Terms

By affirmatively accepting these Terms when registering or when presented with an updated agreement, you agree to them. Signup uses separate controls for agreement to these Terms and acknowledgment of the Privacy Policy. The links lead to the public policies on the CFI Desk marketing website. The Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal information; acknowledging it does not replace a separate authorization or consent requirement.

When these policies first take effect, existing instructor account holders must affirmatively accept the current Terms and separately acknowledge the current Privacy Policy before continuing into the application. We record the applicable versions and timestamps. Later changes are handled as described in Section 18; every immaterial wording change does not require renewed acceptance.

If you use CFI Desk for an employer or flight school, you must have authority to use the service for that purpose and to provide its information. These Terms do not automatically create a school account or grant your employer access to your instructor workspace.

For a student ages 14–17, the parent or legal guardian accepts these Terms as the account holder and separately acknowledges the Privacy Policy. The guardian must also separately attest to their relationship and authority to access the student’s records. Neither signup checkbox nor the instructor’s acceptance supplies that guardian authorization. The minor is the subject of the student record and does not own the login.

2 Eligibility and account responsibility

Instructor accounts are for instructors who are at least 18 years old and based in the United States. The service is offered for U.S. use. An adult student age 18 or older may hold an invited Student View account. For a student ages 14–17, the account belongs to the parent or legal guardian and provides authorized access to that minor’s Student View. CFI Desk does not offer Student View access for anyone under age 14, including through a guardian account. We do not collect student birthdates; instructors use the categories 14–17 and 18 or older.

Provide accurate account information and keep your email address current. Protect your credentials and do not share a personal account login. A guardian account is not a minor-owned account. Notify us promptly of suspected unauthorized access. You are responsible for your use of the account and activities you authorize, subject to applicable law. Instructors must use the service within the privileges of their qualifications and any permission granted by their employer or school.

Entering a student’s information does not itself create an account, establish guardian authorization, or make the student a party to these Terms. Account eligibility does not establish a student’s qualifications to fly or satisfy an aviation requirement.

3 Free beta and future paid plans

Beta access is free. Creating a beta account does not authorize a charge, start a paid subscription, or enroll you in automatic renewal. We may change beta availability or end the beta. Free beta access does not guarantee permanent free access, a particular launch date, or delivery of any planned feature.

Before offering a paid plan, we will disclose the price and billing interval, together with the applicable renewal, cancellation, and refund terms. You must separately choose and authorize a paid plan before we charge you. If you decline, access may change when the free beta ends. When practicable, we will give advance notice and a reasonable opportunity to preserve information you need. Any future purchase will be governed by the terms disclosed at that time and applicable law.

4 Purpose and aviation limitations

CFI Desk supports organizing flight instruction and maintaining training information. It does not replace the instructor’s judgment or the pilot in command’s responsibilities. You remain responsible for the accuracy of entries and for deciding whether a student meets an applicable training standard.

We do not represent that the service, its templates, or its records are FAA approved. A recorded lesson status or completion indicator is not itself a pilot qualification, endorsement, or authorization to fly. Do not assume that a course template satisfies your school’s approved syllabus or every applicable regulatory requirement. Verify its suitability before use.

Maintain any required logbooks, endorsements, and school records in a form that satisfies the rules applicable to you. During beta, do not rely on CFI Desk as the sole copy of a legally required record. Use the app only when it does not interfere with safe aircraft operation or effective instruction.

CFI Desk training records and billed instructional hours are not an FAA pilot logbook or a substitute for any legally required pilot or instructor record. Time billed for instruction may differ from time that can lawfully be logged. A charge or a paid status does not establish that a flight or training requirement was completed.

5 Weather and other reference information

The weather feature provides a quick reference using information from AviationWeather.gov. Information may be delayed, incomplete, unavailable, or served from a saved cache. Check the observation or forecast time and any cached-data notice. A displayed flight category is not a determination that a flight is safe or legal.

Obtain and evaluate the weather and other preflight information required for your flight using appropriate current sources. CFI Desk’s weather display is not a complete preflight briefing. Third-party sources and linked websites remain subject to their own terms and practices.

6 Student information and sensitive content

An instructor may create a student record before any Student View account exists or an invitation is sent. Limited identifying information may include first name and last name, an email address, and an optional phone number. The instructor must have authority to enter and use the information and provide notices or obtain permissions required by law or the school’s arrangements. Instructor recordkeeping is separate from the guardian authorization required for access to a record concerning a student ages 14–17.

Enter only information reasonably needed for instruction and administration. CFI Desk does not collect student birthdates or request FAA certificate numbers, medical certificate information, government IDs, or similar sensitive records. Do not place those details, Social Security numbers, bank or payment-account credentials, or passwords in notes, feedback, or billing fields. A future need for additional sensitive information requires a defined purpose and appropriate disclosures, with any required consent before collection.

Instructors are responsible for the accuracy and authorized use of training and billing records, including payments and corrections they enter. Adult students and guardians are responsible for information they provide directly and should report errors through the instructor or the applicable privacy-request process. Guardians must accurately state their authority. Guardian authorization does not certify an instructor’s records or, by itself, make the guardian responsible for a student’s charges.

CFI Desk LLC remains responsible for its own obligations in handling personal information. A guardian-owned login does not change the fact that the underlying information concerns the minor student. Nothing here transfers a student’s privacy rights to the instructor or guardian. Read-only access does not prevent a student or authorized guardian from requesting correction or exercising applicable privacy rights.

7 Student View

Invitations and guardian accounts

An instructor invites the adult student directly or enters the guardian’s email for a student ages 14–17. Each invitation is single-use, expires after 7 days, and is tied to one specific student record and one intended account email. The recipient must use and verify that same email through the normal authentication flow. An invitation cannot be transferred to another email. The instructor may cancel a pending invitation and issue a replacement. A pending invitation does not grant record access.

The guardian supplies their name and relationship or authority as appropriate, accepts the Terms as account holder, and acknowledges the Privacy Policy. They separately attest that they are the student’s parent or legal guardian and are authorized to access the records. We preserve the account/student relationship and evidence of authorization, including timestamps and the applicable policy or consent versions. During beta, this process does not require government ID, birth certificates, driver’s licenses, or similar documentary verification. A future legal or product requirement would be addressed with appropriate notice and safeguards.

Read only access and account information

Student View account holders cannot modify instructor-controlled training or billing records, mark charges paid, or alter correction history. Authorized information may include lesson date, title and status; student-facing feedback or debriefs; student-facing carryover or remediation information; and applicable billing history, receipts and payment status. Simplified correction history explains relevant changes. Private instructor notes and internal remediation or administrative notes remain private. Backend actor identifiers and internal audit metadata are not part of Student View.

Adult students and guardians may manage their own login credentials and supported account-contact information. Changing an account email does not silently change the instructor’s student record. Instructor-maintained names and contact details remain read-only, as do training and billing records. Corrections must be made by the instructor or through the applicable privacy-request process. An instructor may revoke Student View access without deleting or changing the underlying record. Revocation does not remove applicable privacy rights.

Transition when a student turns 18

There is no automatic age-18 transition because CFI Desk does not collect birthdates. Only the guardian may initiate it by indicating that the student has turned 18 and strongly confirming the action through password re-entry or another appropriate re-authentication method. The instructor has no separate control to declare that the student has turned 18. Initiation places the relationship in a pending adult transition and gives the instructor an in-app notification or action to invite the now-adult student.

The instructor sends a new invitation to the adult student, who creates or claims their own account and accepts the current Terms and separately acknowledges the current Privacy Policy. The adult account links to the existing student record. Guardian access ends when the adult account is successfully activated. The guardian’s account is not converted into the student’s account. Existing access restrictions continue to apply while a transition is pending. Historical authorization and transition evidence follows the Privacy Policy’s retention rules.

Guardian withdrawal

A guardian may withdraw authorization through the withdrawal process, with strong confirmation through re-authentication. Normal Student View access is suspended immediately and the instructor is notified. A restricted 14-day transition window allows only download or export of existing authorized records and a request for reassignment to another CFI Desk instructor. It does not provide continuing normal access to new instructor records. Contact admin@cfi-desk.com for assistance with authorization or privacy requests.

Normal access to the minor’s Student View cannot resume without a new valid guardian authorization process. A reassignment request does not bypass that requirement. After the 14-day window, restricted transition access ends and applicable retention or deletion rules govern the records. Withdrawal does not automatically delete the instructor’s training or billing records. The separate account-closure and privacy-request provisions continue to apply.

8 Your content and our permission to use it

As between you and CFI Desk LLC, you retain the rights you hold in the materials you provide, subject to the rights of students and other owners. This includes original lesson content and notes. Merely uploading material does not give you rights that belong to a school, publisher, or another person.

You grant CFI Desk LLC a nonexclusive permission to host, copy, and process your content as reasonably necessary to provide the service to you, including device synchronization, backup, and requested support. We may use service providers for those purposes. This permission is limited by the Privacy Policy and lasts only as needed to provide the service and carry out its permitted retention practices.

This permission does not authorize us to publish your private training records, sell your syllabus, or use your content to train general-purpose AI models. A separate sharing or publishing feature would require an appropriate additional permission. You must also have sufficient rights before submitting third-party material for import or processing.

9 CFI Desk materials and the Course Library

CFI Desk LLC and its licensors retain their rights in the application, branding, and materials they provide. Subject to these Terms and any applicable template-specific license, you may use the service and authorized Course Library templates for your instructional work.

Where “Add to My Courses” is available, it creates an editable copy of the selected published template version. Later changes to the source template do not automatically update your copy or existing training records. Verify copied content before relying on it. Access to a template does not by itself authorize resale or public redistribution. Broader rights expressly granted by a template’s owner continue to apply.

The beta Course Library is not a marketplace for user sales. Any future marketplace or instructor-publishing feature may require separate contributor terms before you use it.

10 Planned AI Lesson Debrief

AI functionality is not currently active. The planned feature is an optional, instructor-initiated Lesson Debrief generator during Lesson Completion. Its input is limited to lesson-item SAT, UNSAT, or Incomplete status and instructor-entered line-item notes. An existing overall lesson note is not an input. The feature does not include syllabus conversion or course building.

The AI proposes a debrief for the instructor to review and, if needed, edit before saving and completing the lesson. AI can invent facts or omit context. The instructor remains responsible for the final debrief and instructional decisions. AI output is not an endorsement, a determination of proficiency, or verification that training occurred. We do not guarantee that generated content is accurate, unique, or eligible for intellectual-property protection.

Unrelated student profiles, contact information, billing or certificate records, account information, and other unrelated data are not sent merely because they exist elsewhere in CFI Desk. Do not place unnecessary identifying or sensitive information in line-item notes. Private instructor or student content is not authorized for general-purpose AI model training. Before AI launch, we will identify the provider, disclose the applicable processing practices, and obtain any required consent.

11 Offline use and data preservation

Supported lesson workflows can save information locally in your browser or installed PWA. Local saving is different from successful cloud synchronization. Use the available sync controls and verify the result before relying on another device or deleting browser data.

Offline features depend on previously saved context and the continued availability of local storage. Clearing site data, losing a device, or browser storage removal can destroy unsynchronized work. Not every page works offline. Signing out does not necessarily erase all saved lesson data. Protect devices containing student information and preserve records you need before clearing storage.

Student View and Instruction Billing are online-only during beta. This includes billing history, receipts, payment records, and guardian-managed account information. Instructor offline lesson drafts are a separate function and do not provide offline Student View or billing access. Copies deliberately downloaded or printed by an authorized user are separate from application offline support.

12 Instruction Billing

Optional instructional billing

An instructor enables or disables Instruction Billing in Settings. Enabling it does not classify the whole account as an independent or school instructor account. Billing controls are normally hidden when the capability is disabled. Billing is limited to instructional services the instructor provides; it does not track aircraft rental, fuel, school fees, club dues, or other school or third-party charges.

Instructors set separate default hourly rates for Flight Instruction, Simulator Instruction, and Ground Instruction. They also enable or disable billing per student and may change that setting at any time. Each lesson may use the student default, be billed, or not be billed. A lesson override affects only that lesson. Instructors remain responsible for communicating and agreeing on charges with students or other payers outside CFI Desk’s recordkeeping function.

Time and completion records

At Lesson Completion, the instructor enters actual billable instructional time. A scheduled lesson block does not determine billable time. Ground lessons use Ground Instruction only. Flight lessons may include Flight Instruction and Ground Instruction; simulator lessons may include Simulator Instruction and Ground Instruction.

Billable time is entered in tenths of an hour only: 0.1 hour equals 6 minutes. Hundredths of an hour are not supported for billing. Charges are calculated from the entered tenths and applicable hourly rates, with currency amounts rounded to cents. Instructors are responsible for entering accurate billable time. Billed instructional time is not represented as FAA-loggable flight time or an official pilot logbook entry.

Completed records preserve the actual billing state, applicable Flight, Simulator and Ground time, each component’s rate, and resulting charge used at completion, with the recorded payment status and related details. Later instructor-rate or student-setting changes apply to future lessons and do not recalculate completed records. Turning billing off does not hide, erase, or otherwise alter existing history. Completed history, payments, receipts and corrections remain available under the applicable access and retention rules.

Payments and corrections

Charges and payments are separate records. Instructors may record partial payments, and displayed status may indicate unpaid, partially paid, or paid amounts. Payment entries are entered manually and may contain the amount, payment date, method label, and limited note or reference.

CFI Desk does not connect to, initiate, process, receive, verify, transmit, or hold payments made through Zelle, Venmo, cash, check, or other external methods. Recording a method does not connect an external account or supply confirmation from a financial institution or payment provider. This feature does not collect banking or payment-account credentials. Instructors must not enter those credentials or unnecessary financial details in notes.

Billing corrections preserve the original value and corrected value, the reason, timestamp, and instructor identity. A mistaken payment can be corrected or reversed with the original entry and the correcting or reversing value preserved, together with the reason, timestamp, and instructor identity. Payments cannot silently disappear through deletion. A reversal only changes the instructor-maintained record; it does not initiate or represent an external refund. Later payments and auditable corrections may update the current display without erasing the historical record.

Adult students and guardians see simplified correction history sufficient to explain relevant changes, such as previous and corrected hours or amounts and the reason. Internal account IDs and backend audit metadata remain hidden. Preserving history remains subject to applicable privacy rights and retention limits.

Receipts and service limitations

CFI Desk can generate instructor-maintained receipts or payment records for viewing in the service and printing or saving as PDF through the browser or supported app functionality. Receipt delivery does not include automated receipt email. A receipt may show the instructor or business name, student name, lesson date and type, applicable instructional hours and component rates, total charge, amount paid and remaining balance, payment date and method, and relevant correction or receipt date. It includes a notice that it is generated from instructor-entered records and is not an independently verified payment confirmation.

CFI Desk is not a payment processor, bank, accounting service, payroll service, or tax preparation service. Instruction Billing is provided only for convenience in tracking instructional income and payments. Its records are not official tax records and are not represented as satisfying tax or accounting requirements. Users remain responsible for maintaining records required by law or regulation and by their accountants or tax professionals. These limitations do not change any legal significance that an accurate instructor-created record may otherwise have.

Billing summaries reflect recorded payments and outstanding instruction charges. They are not independent verification of income received or amounts legally owed. Instruction Billing is separate from any future CFI Desk subscription; recording a charge or payment does not enroll anyone in a paid application plan.

13 Acceptable use and feedback

Do not access another person’s data without permission, bypass access controls, interfere with the service, or introduce malicious software. Do not use CFI Desk to fabricate training records or impersonate another instructor. Do not upload unlawful or infringing material. Security testing that could affect other users requires our written authorization.

If you voluntarily submit product suggestions, you permit us to use those suggestions to improve CFI Desk without payment or attribution. This permission does not transfer ownership of your student records or allow us to use personal information outside the Privacy Policy. Avoid including unnecessary student information in feedback. Public use of a testimonial identifying you requires separate permission.

14 Account deletion and suspension

Account closure and instructor deletion

An instructor may request account deletion through Settings under Account and Security or by emailing admin@cfi-desk.com. During beta, an administrator completes deletion manually. Submitting a request does not immediately delete or disable the instructor account, and a pending request may be cancelled before completion through the available controls.

When instructor-account deletion takes effect, linked student records enter a read-only archived transition state for 14 days instead of being immediately destroyed. During that period, authorized adult students or guardians may access or export preserved records as allowed by the transition workflow and request reassignment to another CFI Desk instructor. The record is preserved in a system archive; CFI Desk and its administrator do not become the instructor of record. After the 14-day period, the records follow the applicable deletion or retention rules.

A transfer requires appropriate adult-student or guardian authorization and acceptance by the receiving instructor. Historical records remain attributed to the original instructor. The receiving instructor cannot rewrite the original instructor’s historical entries. A request does not guarantee transfer. Restricted guardian-withdrawal access does not permit normal access to new records without renewed valid authorization.

Closing an adult-student or guardian login is separate from deleting an instructor-created record. An instructor may have legitimate instructional or billing recordkeeping needs, including resolving disputes, that permit or require retention. Retention must have a lawful, specific purpose and appropriate duration; an instructor’s preference alone does not override an applicable deletion right. Contact admin@cfi-desk.com to request account closure or exercise access, correction, or deletion rights. The Privacy Policy explains consent evidence, transition periods, and other retention limits.

Disputed records and access restrictions

Students and guardians may dispute instructor-controlled training or billing records. Existing records and audit history are preserved while the matter is addressed, subject to applicable privacy and deletion rights. The instructor may use the normal correction workflow, and an unresolved record may be marked as disputed. CFI Desk does not adjudicate whether training was properly performed, a student met a training standard, or an external payment or amount is legally owed. A displayed status or account closure does not settle a payment dispute.

We may restrict or suspend access when reasonably necessary to address misuse, protect the service, or comply with law. When appropriate and permitted, we will explain the restriction and give an opportunity to resolve the issue. Urgent security action may occur without advance notice. Contact us about access to needed records if an account is restricted. The transition workflows do not require us to disclose records to an unauthorized person or disregard a legal restriction.

15 Service availability and warranties

The beta is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. To the extent permitted by law, we disclaim implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, and implied warranties of noninfringement. We do not promise uninterrupted access, error-free operation, or that every local change will synchronize successfully. Features and supported devices may change as the service develops.

These disclaimers do not remove rights or warranties that applicable law does not allow us to exclude. They do not excuse our compliance with applicable privacy or security obligations.

16 Limits of liability

To the extent permitted by law, CFI Desk LLC will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from the service, including lost profits or business interruption, even if advised that such damages were possible.

These Terms do not set an aggregate dollar cap on CFI Desk LLC’s liability. Liability remains subject to the exclusions in this section and applicable law.

These limitations do not apply to fraud, willful misconduct, gross negligence, or any liability that applicable law does not allow to be excluded or limited. Mandatory consumer protections remain in effect.

17 Disputes and applicable law

Please contact admin@cfi-desk.com so we can try to resolve a concern. This request does not prevent you from seeking urgent relief, making a regulatory complaint, or preserving a legal deadline.

These Terms and disputes concerning them are subject to applicable U.S. federal and state law. A claim may be brought in a court with jurisdiction and proper venue under applicable law. These Terms do not select an exclusive court location, require arbitration, or waive participation in a class action.

18 Changes and a future business transfer

We may revise these Terms as the service changes. We will identify the new effective date and Terms version and provide reasonable notice of material changes through the service or your account email. Renewed acceptance is required for material Terms changes or where otherwise appropriate or required. We do not require renewed acceptance for every immaterial wording change. A revision will not retroactively authorize a new use of personal information that requires separate consent. These Terms are versioned independently from the Privacy Policy. Updating one document does not, by itself, change the other document’s version or require renewed acceptance or acknowledgment of an unchanged document.

We may assign these Terms to a successor that takes over the service, provided it assumes the applicable obligations. Any related transfer of personal information remains subject to the Privacy Policy and applicable law. We will identify a new operator through updated notices. This provision does not itself release CFI Desk LLC from liability for earlier conduct.

If a provision is unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue to apply to the extent permitted by law. Failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. Provisions that reasonably need to continue after account closure, including ownership and limits of liability, survive to the extent applicable. Feature-specific terms expressly accepted by you may supplement this agreement.