What makes a good CFII?

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ArnoldPalmer

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ArnoldPalmer
I am looking to finish up my Instrument. Failed checkride in Oct 2015. Too many things happened in between and I could not go finish the rating.

Written is done and I am looking for a good CFII to finish up the rating with. Work keeps me busy Located one that is within a 45 minute drive of my location. Has an older 172 (what I prefer) and it has the equipment (430 GPS) that I like. Only concern I have: seems like he has not had any instrument students in a few years.

Is this a valid point to be concerned about? He is a super nice guy and is willing to work around my oddball schedule.
 
Your title asks one thing, and then your posts asks another. A CFII should of course be competent and up to date on everything, and experienced on whatever avionics are installed in the plane. Also, be willing to go up in actual.

Now your second question, try the guy, give him a chance. As long as he is current he should work out for you. If not, back to square one. Sounds like he has more positives (esp your schedule for one) so as long as you're comfortable, go for it! Good luck regardless.
 
It is a valid point, but I would be more concerned about his experience flying IFR and whether he is comfortable flying in actual IMC with you in the left and him in the right seat. Many CFII's are not comfortable doing that.
 
mscard88 said:
Your title asks one thing, and then your posts asks another. A CFII should of course be competent and up to date on everything, and experienced on whatever avionic are installed in the plane. Also, be willing to go up in actual.

Now your second question, try the guy, give him a chance. As long as he is current he should work out for you. If not, back to square one. Sounds like he has more positives (esp your schedule for one) so as long as you're comfortable, go for it! Good luck regardless.
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On thread title. Yes: I started out wondering if I should be concerned about flying with him.. and then started thinking about what makes a good CFII in general. He is the closest to my location and is pretty available. Rates are reasonable and unlike the others he is not too busy.
 
I'd give it a go. Make sure he'll go up in actual though. You need to experience that IMO. I did with my instrument students. I ain't scared! lol
 
Just chiming in to echo the advice to make sure he is willing to go up in actual. My first CFII wasn't afraid to, but his minimums were too high to be useful because he was afraid of having to land away from home base and bum a ride. His days were full and he didn't want to have to cancel with another student. My finish-up CFII had no such concerns and took me up on a day when there was a chance we'd not get in at home base (though it turned out we did).

About a week after passing my checkride I soloed in hard IMC and shot two approaches in low conditions. Without that experience with my finish-up guy I probably would not have had the confidence to do that. :thumbsup:
 
azure said:
Just chiming in to echo the advice to make sure he is willing to go up in actual. My first CFII wasn't afraid to, but his minimums were too high to be useful because he was afraid of having to land away from home base and bum a ride. His days were full and he didn't want to have to cancel with another student. My finish-up CFII had no such concerns and took me up on a day when there was a chance we'd not get in at home base (though it turned out we did).

About a week after passing my checkride I soloed in hard IMC and shot two approaches in low conditions. Without that experience with my finish-up guy I probably would not have had the confidence to do that.
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My startup CFII was great. He would have loved to fly into IMC, but the plane we were renting had some very questionable MX stuff.....

Hope to get at least one good IMC flight in this time around, but being close to finish up.....

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
 
Another vote for lots of training in low IMC, which trumps almost everything else. I did much of my IR training and even my checkride in IMC. After getting rated, I immediately started flying real (single engine) IMC/IFR and have been doing that ever since. I think having that experience during training is vital to what comes after the rating. CFIIs who do little if any hard IMC training project their fears on their students, who end up being afraid to use the ticket for real utility.
 
I wouldn't be concerned about his lack of instrument students. They were few and far between during the two years I was full-time instructing and seem to be even more rare now. So long as the instructor is current for IFR (ie. he can legally pick up an IFR clearance) and is comfortable in real IMC, I would consider him a viable instructor.

Real IMC experience does not need to come from "low IFR" days, although flying an approach to minimums is certainly a great confidence booster. During the early fall and late spring, thick stratus clouds with bases at altitudes like 3,000 ft AGL can provide worthwhile IMC experiences. The way to accomplish that is to obtain a quadrant clearance from ATC:
"Cleared to fly northwest quadrant of the XYZ VOR within 15 mile radius. Maintain block 3,000 through 5,000."​

This at least enables you to experience basic instrument maneuvers without references outside. Of course, this is subject to the availability of the airspace and whether or not your instructor is willing to do it.
 
Agreed about actual. My first few instructors were hesitant to go up in it which really frustrated me. Finally found someone willing and now almost every lesson I schedule is severe clear. I have gotten some actual by getting a block up high, but one of these low days I'll have to go with my instructor and shoot approaches.
 
mscard88 said:
I'd give it a go. Make sure he'll go up in actual though. You need to experience that IMO. I did with my instrument students. I ain't scared! lol
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Man. You gotta change your avatar. It's starting to freak me out that I'm having impure thoughts about a dude.
 
If you were close to North Central AR, I'd be happy to train you. Like the rest said ask the guy about his experiences.

I don't mind actual at all. Only thing I'll say no to is actual with embedded storms, unless I have radar. I don't screw with storms anymore.
 
I had 24 hours or so actual when I took ride. First flight after, Chicago departure had me smack in the middle of actual for about 1/2 hour because of Ohare and midway arrivals. Started my approach into St Louis while in actual. Now I have close to 30 hours in actual. Glad I got the experience before I got my ticket.
 
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One who gets you some good time in actual and is good at keeping your workload high. IFR flying with foggles where you're getting lots of time to setup and such is relatively easy once you master the insturments and get your power settings locked in. The real challenge is doing all that with lots of stuff being thrown at you. Staying cool under pressure and task overload is key to safe single pilot IFR flying.
 
What's this CFIIs background, does he have access to a sim?
 
James331 said:
What's this CFIIs background, does he have access to a sim?
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Career CFI since the mid-90s. No access to a sim. Hasn't had an instrument student in a long time. 8K+ hours. 5K+ dual given. Majority of the time (all?) in 150, 172, Warrior and the like.

Am looking to finish up - I had a good instructor on my first go-around.. but he is unavailable.
 
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