Have any of you found your wife by instructing a Student pilot?

JetAviator7

JetAviator7

Filing Flight Plan
Joined
Mar 25, 2025
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Location
Muskegon, Michigan
Display Name
John M. White
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MKG
I met my wife in an interesting way. I had decided not to continue instructing students for a while, but a friend of mine owned a small FBO and had a women who wanted an instructor who was interested in teaching her how to fly, not an instructor who was interested in her. The FBO owner asked me to take her on as a student, and after 3-4 calls asking me to take her on as a student I reluctantly agreed. Some number of years later I did marry her, and we have been married for 39 years now.

Anyone else had this experience?
 
First, when you post your wife stories, keep in mind that this can be the answer to a banking security question.


Second, while meeting your wife while instructing is definitely a good story, I know a guy who met his wife at Oshkosh. I think he wins.
 
I met my wife the boring old fashioned way.



On the internet...

I did have a couple female students that were interested in me being more than an instructor. I kept it professional, no additional activities until they got their PPL.
 
My first chief pilot met his future wife while instructing in a Cub. I think they only had one flight and the engine failed. They put it in a field behind a Stucky's after pulling down a power line with the tailwheel. They should be married around 50 years by now and had two girls.
 
My Ex came into the Flight School I was working at and wanted to take lessons. She was assigned to me as a new student. Before she was ready to Solo I got her assigned to a female instructor. She soloed but never got her PPL. We split after 12 years.
 
yeah I know tons. Mil pilot to pilot marriages are a dime a dozen, and do frequently occur as a result of shenanigans while in that year we call UPT. Why? Mostly because most of our instructors are of the same age as their students (FAIPs), and the socioeconomics of the towns pilot training are located, tend to limit the sexual pool among college educated, largely upper middle class kids (don't shoot the messenger).

This leads to the imposition of a very frequently-violated training command addendum (expansion) to the at-large DOD fraternization rules (latter which the DoD should reform; anachronistic organization stuck in a long ago past where females weren't a significant proportion of the Total Force) regarding instructors not dating students. It's an open secret. They make us sign a yearly reminder of the DoD Order/instruction, it's that on the nose. We're all innocent in Shawshank type of thing, the difference in life as always, is who gets caught and who doesn't, before nobody up the chain has it on their radar to care about it and the people in question PCS away in short order, making the whole pearl clutching about people bumping uglies in their time off, moot.

But it is not uncommon at all in the .mil side. Frankly it's so typical it borders on banal. Statistically one leaves the cockpit eventually, and it's the female usually as she chooses to prioritize motherhood over the unsociable work schedules of the pilot occupation. But I also know several where the male is the one who leaves the cockpit and takes the child rearing primary role while the female continues to the airlines or part- whatever. Heck we have some POAers who resemble that demographic btw.

Me, I went unicorn hunting away from the flightline. One day I'll elucidate.... today is just not that day. ;)
 
I can’t help but envision a Monty python style sketch of a sleazy instructor showing a complete newbie who showed up with a gorgeous women the controls, then telling him “he will figure it” while pushing the throttle to full through the window then walking away with the girl…
 
One of the CFI’s at the flight school I work at part time found his wife this way. She ended up becoming a CFI and they are both engaged to be married now.
 
RyanB said:
She ended up becoming a CFI and they are both engaged to be married now.
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If just one of them was engaged, it’d be kinda creepy.

But then, I was killing baby bunnies when I met my wife, so I really can’t criticize.
 
midlifeflyer said:
My wife, who bought me my first flight lessons a dozen years after we got married, would not be very pleased with that.
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My wife is the reason I am here today, she gave me a discovery flight for my birthday. She didn't realize how much time and money it was gonna take, but she stuck it out with me being gone so much during training.
 
Gary Ward said:
My wife is the reason I am here today, she gave me a discovery flight for my birthday. She didn't realize how much time and money it was gonna take, but she stuck it out with me being gone so much during training.
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My wife got tired of hearing me say I'd wanted to fly since watching Sky King as a kid, so she bought me three lessons "to get it out of your system." She tells people she hasn't seen me since.
 
hindsight2020 said:
Me, I went unicorn hunting away from the flightline. One day I'll elucidate.... today is just not that day. ;)
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Neither one of us seemed to wander too far off the reservation though - pilot/medical field pairings are pretty ubiquitous. :)
 
JetAviator7 said:
I met my wife in an interesting way. I had decided not to continue instructing students for a while, but a friend of mine owned a small FBO and had a women who wanted an instructor who was interested in teaching her how to fly, not an instructor who was interested in her. The FBO owner asked me to take her on as a student, and after 3-4 calls asking me to take her on as a student I reluctantly agreed. Some number of years later I did marry her, and we have been married for 39 years now.

Anyone else had this experience?
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So did she complain to the FBO for not giving her what she wanted? ;)

RyanB said:
One of the CFI’s at the flight school I work at part time found his wife this way. She ended up becoming a CFI and they are both engaged to be married now.
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To each other?
 
midlifeflyer said:
My wife got tired of hearing me say I'd wanted to fly since watching Sky King as a kid, so she bought me three lessons "to get it out of your system." She tells people she hasn't seen me since.
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I described to my wife about seeing small planes land at the drag strips that I was racing at. Said to her it would be cool to get my license someday. The rest is history.
Here's me taxing down a drag strip, first time I flew this plane. That's the late owner of the plane and drag strip owner up ahead in his truck leading me down to turn around to take off. I have been down this strip in a blown alcohol dragster going 275 mph. I was more nervous this day only going 55 kts to take off.
6d2b0868-6195-4885-bf8d-806d67d86ac9.jpg
 
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kayoh190 said:
Neither one of us seemed to wander too far off the reservation though - pilot/medical field pairings are pretty ubiquitous. :)
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Fr. Except I 'groomed' mine into it...she wasn't medical when I first [--5A redacted--]. :devil:

I've been hacking at this arbitrage stunt so long, I feel like Andy Dufresne from Shawshank. At this point I almost would have been better off going to FNP/PA school myself *nervously checks siiiiiiiix*.

Say with me, all together now class:
:biggrin:
 
I met my wife by jumping out of an airplane. It was 1956 and I needed someone to pick me up after a planned jump in the west end of the San Fernando Valley.

My pal brought the most beautiful girl in the world with him when he picked me up.
We're 88 and 86 and still kicking.
:)
 
JetAviator7 said:
I met my wife in an interesting way. I had decided not to continue instructing students for a while, but a friend of mine owned a small FBO and had a women who wanted an instructor who was interested in teaching her how to fly, not an instructor who was interested in her. The FBO owner asked me to take her on as a student, and after 3-4 calls asking me to take her on as a student I reluctantly agreed. Some number of years later I did marry her, and we have been married for 39 years now.

Anyone else had this
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Some people do strange stuff for free flight instruction.
 
Nope for me but, like @hindsight2020 you could say I know some folks. While in student status on active duty, I did date some other students, which is the other path that track follows. Fun, but never made a match.
 
Speaking of match-es... Country-boy pilot with a Citabria. 3-day trial on match.com. Searched for 'Citabria'...one match....tall blond, CFII jet-jockey with a great smile and a 172. Totally intimitated so didn't wink. OMG!...she did! First email from me to her....'Will you marry me?' (true, still have a copy). I knew she had the same warped sense of humor when she replied, 'Maybe!'. Short story...18 years in and livin' at the airport.

Jim
 
I almost lost my fiancée when I took her flying. It was a very smooth flight and a greaser of a landing, but the whole process terrified her. She wound up going through with the wedding because I had other attributes beyond my passion for flying that were attractive to her. We just had our silver wedding anniversary and I'm still flying, but almost all of my airtime is solo.
 
Flyhound said:
I almost lost my fiancée when I took her flying. It was a very smooth flight and a greaser of a landing, but the whole process terrified her. She wound up going through with the wedding because I had other attributes beyond my passion for flying that were attractive to her. We just had our silver wedding anniversary and I'm still flying, but almost all of my airtime is solo.
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Heh... I took my wife flying on about our third or fourth date. It was bumpy as all get-out even though it was February when we normally have glassy-smooth air. She loved it, so the dates continued. Now we have two kids and an airplane. :)
 
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