Finding a good flight instructor

Recently decided to go for my private's license after all these years
of waiting for time and money.
But it seems like one has to just "hunt & peck" for a good instructor.
True?

How can you tell if an instructor has a good (or any) track record?
Does the FAA keep track of instructors' success rate?
Or is there somewhere online where one can find recommendations from
past students?

Is it really "buyer beware" ?
TIA
Janis

How can you tell if an instructor has a good (or any) track record?
Does the FAA keep track of instructors' success rate?

Well, yes and no. The FAA keeps track of how many students that have
been signed off pass their exam, and an instructor gets a "gold rating"
or something like that if enough students do this. However, offsetting
this, an instructor can just over-train before the checkride, so it's
not all that good an indicator, IMHO.

Talk to others who have flown with the instructor, and try a few
yourself. Each student's style is different, just like each
instructor's style is different.

Jose
--
Quantum Mechanics is like this: God =does= play dice with the universe,
except there's no God, and there's no dice. And maybe there's no universe.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

Janis Hidiki wrote:
How can you tell if an instructor has a good (or any) track record?

Talk to pilots in the area where you live. Ask them who they have had
lessons with and their opinion of their training.
If you keep hearing one or two names as being good, get their telephone
numbers and contact them.

Janis Hidiki wrote:
Recently decided to go for my private's license after all these years
of waiting for time and money.
But it seems like one has to just "hunt & peck" for a good instructor.
True?

How can you tell if an instructor has a good (or any) track record?
Does the FAA keep track of instructors' success rate?
Or is there somewhere online where one can find recommendations from
past students?

Try to find the DE that serves your area and call him or her. Often
they will tell you who sends them the best prepared students.

Matt

This will help follow up on Matt's suggestion:

http://av-info.faa.gov/DesigneeSearch.asp

Bob Gardner

"Janis Hidiki" wrote in message
oups.com...
Recently decided to go for my private's license after all these years
of waiting for time and money.
But it seems like one has to just "hunt & peck" for a good instructor.
True?

How can you tell if an instructor has a good (or any) track record?
Does the FAA keep track of instructors' success rate?
Or is there somewhere online where one can find recommendations from
past students?

Is it really "buyer beware" ?
TIA
Janis

Is it really "buyer beware" ?

It is to a large extent. Having a flight instructor certificate
assures a certain minimum standard, but it's very minimal.

The best advice I can give you is this - figure out the sort of pilot
you want to be in five or ten years (meet the pilots based at your
airport to get an idea) and then ask THAT pilot to choose your
instructor. He already has a pretty good idea of what to look for -
you don't.

It's a matter of perspective. By the time you've figured out how to
choose a good instructor, it's not so useful.

Michael

In addition to what others have said, a good student/instructor
relationship depends on how compatible both individuals are and whether the
teaching style is compatible with the students learning style. I have had
excellent results with 30,000hr CFIs and with 300hr CFIs so it is not just a
matter of experience.

Mike
MU-2


"Janis Hidiki" wrote in message
oups.com...
Recently decided to go for my private's license after all these years
of waiting for time and money.
But it seems like one has to just "hunt & peck" for a good instructor.
True?

How can you tell if an instructor has a good (or any) track record?
Does the FAA keep track of instructors' success rate?
Or is there somewhere online where one can find recommendations from
past students?

Is it really "buyer beware" ?
TIA
Janis

On Sat, 06 Aug 2005 04:48:33 GMT, "Mike Rapoport"
wrote:

In addition to what others have said, a good student/instructor
relationship depends on how compatible both individuals are and whether the
teaching style is compatible with the students learning style. I have had
excellent results with 30,000hr CFIs and with 300hr CFIs so it is not just a
matter of experience.

Agreed, If you have a character conflict with the instructor, it
doesn't make a difference if he is good or not or has 20,000 hours or
300. Interview the instructor and see if you are compatible with him.

Also, a gold seal isn't a very good indicator IMHO. It does help but
I would not put much weight on it. Like others have said, that could
indicate that an instructor may over prepare and you might find an
instructor who chooses not to get his ground instructors license which
is required for the gold seal. Does that make that instructor a bad
instructor??? It could be purely financial for him not to drop
another 80 bucks for a test

Ask around. You will see that a few names will keep popping up. But
don't discount the ones with few hours. As some people will tell you,
they are sometimes better, because they are fresh on all things and
different techniques opposed to someone who may be set in their ways
and are not willing to concede new ways.

Scott D.

In addition to researching a CFI, don't forget to research the airplanes
you may fly, too. Doesn't matter how good the instructor is if the
airplane(s) isn't/aren't reliable. Find out who does the maintenance.
Tactfully ask around and determine if that shop/mechanic has a good
reputation. Don't be afraid to ask the mechanic if he feels the
airplanes you are considering get what they need or just what's
required. Ask, ask, ask.

No guarantees - but I would start by asking how many hours they have,
how many students they soloed, how many students they have taken to
PP-ASEL, how many hours actual IMC they have - and anything else you
want to ask. My first instructor, I eventually discovered, was teaching
his first student. They all have to learn - but sorry - not on my dime.

Now I just take a few hours each year to keep sharp, and I insist on the
most experienced instructor in the school. It may not guarantee me the
best instructor, but it does save me from the CFI who qualified
yesterday and is eagerly looking for his first paying customer.

Tony
(Standing by for sh-- and abuse from all the wet behind the ears CFI's

--

Tony Roberts
PP-ASEL
VFR OTT
Night
Cessna 172H C-GICE

In article .com,
"Janis Hidiki" wrote:

Recently decided to go for my private's license after all these years
of waiting for time and money.
But it seems like one has to just "hunt & peck" for a good instructor.
True?

How can you tell if an instructor has a good (or any) track record?
Does the FAA keep track of instructors' success rate?
Or is there somewhere online where one can find recommendations from
past students?

Is it really "buyer beware" ?
TIA
Janis