Good Instructors...

are awfully hard to find.

I just "interviewed" a couple at local flight schools by taking little
flights with them, ostensibly just for rust removal.

There's no way I'd hire them for instrument training. It is
tough to find an instructor who really knows his stuff, is a good
teacher and is congenial enough that I'd be willing to spend 10's of
hours in a cockpit with him/her.

Just an observation. I don't expect anyone to have a solution.

"doc" wrote in message
...
are awfully hard to find.

I just "interviewed" a couple at local flight schools by taking little
flights with them, ostensibly just for rust removal.

There's no way I'd hire them for instrument training. It is
tough to find an instructor who really knows his stuff, is a good
teacher and is congenial enough that I'd be willing to spend 10's of
hours in a cockpit with him/her.

Just an observation. I don't expect anyone to have a solution.

Oh...I don't know. They're out there if you look. It's true that finding
just the right combination of qualities you have mentioned isn't the
easiest task in the world, but it's worth the effort looking around for
the right instructor.
Just a tip; although first impressions are important and are what hit
you square in the puss when you start this quest, for someone like
yourself; knowing beforehand what you're looking for can actually skew
the interview if you're not careful. It's very easy to go in with an up
front conception for what you are expecting as a positive result that is
so strong it overpowers what would normally pass as "conditions" of the
day".
Everyone has pressures and schedules and chief flight instructors to
deal with. You might be catching a very good prospect and letting them
get away when your "net" should have caught them. You have to make
absolutely certain that you're considering everything......all the data
points....before you write off someone who came with a fair
recommendation. When you interview, just make sure you're "up" on the
atmosphere you're encountering so that your opinion doesn't get skewered
on you.
Bottom line.....in your quest for a GOOD instructor......be
aware........be advised.......and be alert. Observe the whole picture.
Then when you're certain you have considered it all, make your decision.
I'm just passing this on to you because I've seen many a mistake made by
students going into these things with preconception. Not to say that
preconception isn't a good idea...it is. But it also has to be tempered
and flexible to be an effective tool.
Best of luck in your quest,
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
for email; take out the trash

On Mon, 08 Nov 2004 16:46:47 GMT, "Dudley Henriques"
wrote:


"doc" wrote in message
...
are awfully hard to find.

I just "interviewed" a couple at local flight schools by taking little
flights with them, ostensibly just for rust removal.
snip
Bottom line.....in your quest for a GOOD instructor......be
aware........be advised.......and be alert. Observe the whole picture.
Then when you're certain you have considered it all, make your decision.
I'm just passing this on to you because I've seen many a mistake made by
students going into these things with preconception. Not to say that
preconception isn't a good idea...it is. But it also has to be tempered
and flexible to be an effective tool.

In my rather limited experience I think there are a lot of good
instructors out there. Sure, there are some that aren't, but I think
it is as important that the instructor and student personalities are
compatible. It takes a good match of a number of characteristics for
the teaching and learning procedure to proceed at the best possible
pace.

We now have close to 8 or 9 instructors on the field. None are full
time, all have "other jobs", all teach because they want to, and all
have pretty good success ratios. OTOH you can find students that will
swear by any particular instructor and you will find those they sear
at.

We even have one who was recently banned from the field because the
inexperienced person working in the terminal building got scared
watching them do emergency procedures and wrote them up. (long story)
I'd still fly with him any day and I'd be surprised that the lawyers
don't get him back on the field soon. OTOH we have an award winning
instructor with whom I refuse to fly. It's more of a
personality/ethics thing, but that person is known as a good
instructor.

We had a husband and wife team take some mountain flying dual out in
the Rocky Mountains this Summer. They flew with an instructor for not
much over an hour each and each had to switch instructors. He has
quite a few students, but as experienced pilots, his teaching style
was one of those that grated the wrong way.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com


Best of luck in your quest,
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
for email; take out the trash

Just my thoughts and observations on the subject.

What I try to do as an instructor and what I look for in instructors for
myself is someone that can clearly teach well and instill a high level of
understanding before ever getting in the airplane. While most instructors
know that an airplane makes a poor classroom, many students do not realize
this. One of an instructors first duties is to explain this fact to new
students. While students are anxious to get in the air and don't want to be
stuck on the ground or in a classroom, they must learn that is where the
real learning happens. I feel that if I teach or learn adequately on the
ground then transferring the knowledge into flying skill comes easy.

Transferring this theory to "interviews" I would spend most of my interview
time on the ground with a new instructor evaluating if he can customize his
teaching method to mesh with my learning style. If he asks plenty of
questions about my personality, background, learning style, flying history,
and goals, he should get a good idea about how I learn best. If I ask him
basically the same questions, I can get a good idea about how his
personality and teaching methods may mesh with me. You may then ask him to
give you a brief ground lesson to evaluate how he applies his teaching
methods to what he's learned about you.

Again, just my thoughts, your mileage may vary, but there are good
instructors out there. Sometimes it just takes a little work uncovering
them.

Jim


"doc" wrote in message
...
are awfully hard to find.

I just "interviewed" a couple at local flight schools by taking little
flights with them, ostensibly just for rust removal.

There's no way I'd hire them for instrument training. It is
tough to find an instructor who really knows his stuff, is a good
teacher and is congenial enough that I'd be willing to spend 10's of
hours in a cockpit with him/her.

Just an observation. I don't expect anyone to have a solution.


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"doc" wrote in message
...
are awfully hard to find.

I just "interviewed" a couple at local flight schools by taking little
flights with them, ostensibly just for rust removal.

There's no way I'd hire them for instrument training. It is
tough to find an instructor who really knows his stuff, is a good
teacher and is congenial enough that I'd be willing to spend 10's of
hours in a cockpit with him/her.

It depends a lot on the student. If a student has a tough time getting along
with people then he is going to have a tough time finding a congenial
instructor.

Hey CJ, is 'verticalreference' yours or am I mistaken?

PJ

"PJ Hunt" wrote in message
...
Hey CJ, is 'verticalreference' yours or am I mistaken?

What is that?

"PJ Hunt" wrote in message
...
Hey CJ, is 'verticalreference' yours or am I mistaken?


Oh, I see. Are you talking about Ray Madrid's helicopter web site? If so, I
have never flown in a helicopter and never heard of verticalreference before
today. Looks interesting, though.

One of the reasons I became an instructor was because I was frustrated
with teh CFIs out there. 1/2 of them are young guys who have never
owned an airplane before and have never even gone on a long cross
country. The other 1/2 are the old guys who used to be professional
pilot but haven't been in an airplane without a student in 20 years.
I actively fly my Mooney all over the country (and other countries)
and end up in real world weather (not training weather where you
cancel because its too cold to walk out to the plane). I felt there
was a need for CFIs that really do use these little planes to get
around in real weather and real situations. However, since I have a
regular job, I don't get as much time to teach as I'd like.

-Robert



doc wrote in message ...
are awfully hard to find.

I just "interviewed" a couple at local flight schools by taking little
flights with them, ostensibly just for rust removal.

There's no way I'd hire them for instrument training. It is
tough to find an instructor who really knows his stuff, is a good
teacher and is congenial enough that I'd be willing to spend 10's of
hours in a cockpit with him/her.

Just an observation. I don't expect anyone to have a solution.

(Robert M. Gary) wrote
One of the reasons I became an instructor was because I was frustrated
with teh CFIs out there.

aol me too /aol

I bitched about it for years, and finally I decided it was time to be
part of the solution rather than part of the problem. I encourage any
owner who feels the same way to do as I did. Becoming a CFI involves
a lot of jumping through FAA hoops, but it's certainly not difficult
or challenging. In fact, I can't say it requires acquiring any skill
or knowledge that the average 1000 hour instrument rated private pilot
owner doesn't already have.

1/2 of them are young guys who have never
owned an airplane before and have never even gone on a long cross
country. The other 1/2 are the old guys who used to be professional
pilot but haven't been in an airplane without a student in 20 years.

I think your proportions are wrong (though not your descriptions) -
it's about 90% timebuilders and 10% old hands. And I think you make
an excellent point - an instructor who does almost no flying other
than instruction isn't generally much of an instructor. Neither is
someone who has never owned an airplane.

I actively fly my Mooney all over the country (and other countries)
and end up in real world weather (not training weather where you
cancel because its too cold to walk out to the plane). I felt there
was a need for CFIs that really do use these little planes to get
around in real weather and real situations. However, since I have a
regular job, I don't get as much time to teach as I'd like.

aol me too /aol

Only I fly my Twin Comanche that way. Before I bought it, I flew my
TriPacer the same way (though I admit I got stuck a bit more and
needed a lot more time to get places). You might not think a TriPacer
is much of a go-places airplane, but when I owned it, I took it South
to the Gulf of Mexico, North to the Great Lakes, East to the Statue of
Liberty, and West to the Golden Gate.

And you've pretty much nailed the key issue - time. Those of us who
have full time jobs that pay enough to support an airplane and do our
own flying don't have the time to hang around the FBO waiting for a
student to maybe show up. We will MAKE time to teach.

As a result, when you walk into the FBO and 'interview' some random
instructor, you're not getting an owner who flies his own airplane on
real trips in real weather. He's not out there waiting for a student
to maybe show up. He probably has all the students he can handle,
because he doesn't have the time (what with his job and all) to fly
more than about 200-300 hours a year, and he probably wants at least
half those hours to be his own flying, not instruction. He may not be
associated with an FBO at all, training only owners in their own
airplanes, or he may be part time - but in any case when you ask for
an instructor at the front desk of the FBO you won't be getting his
name.

In reality, it's quite easy to find a good instructor. Here's how.
Forget the FBO - walk around the hangars, and ask the owners who does
their training (BFR's, IPC's, transition training when they upgrade).
THOSE are the good instructors.

Michael