Changing Flight Instructors

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texshaun

Filing Flight Plan
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May 13, 2011
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texshaun
Hello All. I am new to this forum and am seeking some guidance.

I am currently about 16 hours into my private pilot training and have reached a dilemma. I have already soloed, done a few cross countries, etc.

In the beginning, my flight instructor was great. I was flying twice a week and he was a plethora of knowledge. Recently, he has begun habitually cancelling on me. These cancellations are also somewhat last minute, a few hours before the flight. So far, he has cancelled three times in the past two months. Now, it is to the point that I have only flown twice in the past two months because of his scheduling issues.

Is this a legitimate reason to change flight instructors? If so, what impact will this have on my overall training? Will I have to redo everything with my new CFI?

Thanks in advance for any wisdom you may be able to provide.

 
yes, completely legitimate. you might have to re-do a few things with the new instructor but it won't be as bad as never flying like you aren't with the current guy
 
At that early in your training, you might need to fly an hour or so with a new instructor before they feel comfortable enough to solo you. Not much time or money wasted.

It really depends on you, if you want to change to a more consistent instructor, go for it. I would sit down with him, tell him your frustrated and see if you can work out a better schedule or system. Does he have one night a week that's always open?

My primary instructor left just before my solo cross country flight, and what would have been the final 8 hours of my training. He picked up a great job flying shorts, so I can't fault him. The interim instructor got me through the solo x-countries, but didn't impress me during test prep. It wasn't until he left, and I picked up my final instructor, that I really felt prepared. Unfortunately, that used about a month and 18hrs of flight time to sort out.

If you think your CFI will be leaving, or is too inconsistent to finish, I would change now. If you like the teaching style and think you can work through the scheduling, I'd stick with him. It's difficult to find a good CFI, that matches your learning style.
 
Thats for the advice guys. I really appreciate it. My initial reaction was to find a new CFI, but I'm considering all options.

Thanks again.
 
texshaun said:
So far, he has cancelled three times in the past two months. Now, it is to the point that I have only flown twice in the past two months because of his scheduling issues.
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So... You only scheduled 5 times in the past two MONTHS? You need to schedule more...

And 3 times in 2 months. While it's not great, I can see it happening for legitimate reasons. Definitely sit him down and talk. If things don't improve, walk.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
So... You only scheduled 5 times in the past two MONTHS? You need to schedule more...

And 3 times in 2 months. While it's not great, I can see it happening for legitimate reasons. Definitely sit him down and talk. If things don't improve, walk.
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No, I was willing to schedule quite a bit more; however, his constraints led me to schedule that many times. May have been a good indicator something was up though.
 
What reasons did he give for the late cancellations? Weather, something else, or no explanations?
 
Jim Logajan said:
What reasons did he give for the late cancellations? Weather, something else, or no explanations?
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Often its other "pop up" commercial flying ventures. Its hard to fault guys on that if its truly every once in a while, but all the time is ridiculous, in-considerate and unprofessional.
 
tonycondon said:
yes, completely legitimate. you might have to re-do a few things with the new instructor but it won't be as bad as never flying like you aren't with the current guy
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Tony hit the nail on the head! Where are you located? Texas I assume but where? We have POAers all over the map and perhaps someone could recommend a good CFI in your area.
 
Take command of and responsibility for your flight instruction. It's not as if you're converting to a new religion. It's not even as if you're changing your doctor. The present instructor does not have your interests sufficiently in mind.

This is more like choosing a college and major. No one expects you to be an expert at something you haven't learned yet, but no one would expect you to go to whichever school and put up with any old professor, either. Approach it and treat it in that light.
 
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We expect you to take command of an airplane. You should also be able to take command of your flight training and insure you keep progressing. I tell my students I am not going to baby sit them through their training. If they can not keep things moving and learn what then need to do and do it, then they probably can't/ won't do the same when it comes to flying the airplane.

One option that hasn't been mentioned is to tell you current instructor that you need to fly more and would he have any recommendation for another instructor you can fly with. While obviously not true of all instructors, most are most interested in you getting your training done and are professional enough to realize they aren't always the best fit with students either for personality, scheduling or other reasons. They will probably also know who locally has simliar or very different teaching styles from their own.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
 
It's your money. Are you getting what you're paying for?
I'd switch.
 
AdamZ said:
Tony hit the nail on the head! Where are you located? Texas I assume but where? We have POAers all over the map and perhaps someone could recommend a good CFI in your area.
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Thanks for all the great feedback. I'm located in Temple, TX. If anyone has any good reccomendations in the area, let me know. If I do decide to seek a new one, I would deffinately like a few good leads.

The cancellations were not nature related. They were all personal type issues.
 
brcase said:
We expect you to take command of an airplane. You should also be able to take command of your flight training and insure you keep progressing. I tell my students I am not going to baby sit them through their training. If they can not keep things moving and learn what then need to do and do it, then they probably can't/ won't do the same when it comes to flying the airplane.

One option that hasn't been mentioned is to tell you current instructor that you need to fly more and would he have any recommendation for another instructor you can fly with. While obviously not true of all instructors, most are most interested in you getting your training done and are professional enough to realize they aren't always the best fit with students either for personality, scheduling or other reasons. They will probably also know who locally has simliar or very different teaching styles from their own.



Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
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I will deffinately take this advice into account. I think no matter what my decision is, I'm going to have a sit down with him before I make a move. Maybe this in itself will be enough motivation for him to be a little more proactive. I don't want any sour feeling at the hangar I intend to rent from after completing my PPL.
 
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