More thoughts on instructing

kimberlyanne546 said:
Oh and more bad things I just remembered:

After my first solo I wasn't allowed to do a second solo. He had a "policy" that all his students couldn't solo a second time unless they passed the written test to show they were serious about getting their cert. I solo'd on May 7 and by the end of May I'd made an appointment, studied (Kings videos), and passed the written with something like 97% (or maybe it was 95 or something but I know it was "high" and in the nineties).

Still no second solo. We were doing a large amount of cross countries, instrument, cross countries with diversions, etc. I asked why I couldn't solo and he said my landings were not good in the flare.

Between my first solo on May 7 my next solo wasn't until JULY 3. In between there were FIFTEEN MORE DUAL LESSONS.

Part of me thinks he was angry for me going and interviewing even MORE instructors during this time. I thought "solo" meant I could go whenever I wanted. Not to him, I couldn't even solo the second time for 2 months.

After my second solo, things went fast and I knocked out all my cross countries (it was a surprise) in one weekend. That was a lot of flying and I was on a roll.

More obstacles etc to the checkride but things came together and I passed.

What an experience!
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Clearly you have "True Grit"... and still have both your arms!
 
ronnieh said:
I agree Greg. As I stated if I had a student that was not ABLE to solo in what I consider a reasonable time I would quit wasting his money. If I thought it was me I would suggest another instructor. If it was the student I might suggest he take up knitting as a hobby. (just kidding, sort of).
Look, I did not intend for this thread to take this turn. It was intended for Greg. He stated a large percentage of students do not finish their private training. One reason MIGHT be shear frustration. We are a results orientated people. I used the solo to give a sense of achieving results for the student. My limited experience is that the solo gives students a source of pride and accomplishment. The solo cross country is the same thing. Can the solo be put off untill 15 hours, of course. My question is why. Some on here say their students are not smart enough to solo quicker than 15 hours. Wabower's can't do it in less than 40 hours. I simply do not agree. Week after week and thousands of dollars and what do you have to show or brag about? "I have 20 hours of instruction and I can still ride around the pattern with my instructor". Where I got my private the shirttails were hung up on display at the FBO with the date, aircraft N number and instructor's name. Later the date of the first solo cross country.
I am not telling you how to instruct. Maybe, just maybe if there was a little more excitement, milestones to look forward to, students might not get bored and frustrated so quickly. There needs to be an element of fun. For many this is a hobby. I think the LSA was an attempt to recapture some of this. Never compromising safety, recognizing that some airports will require another hour or two for the solo. Come on guys, you trying to tell me to use up 3/4 of the required dual to solo a student? If you don't figure something out, there will be no students to worry about soloing. Again we will just have to agree to disagree.:dunno:
While on a roll let me add by way of edit: I have followed Kimberly's saga. If I remember correctly she had a lot of hours when she took her checkride. I don't know how many total dual she had nor how many she had at solo. I have admired her attitude. She loves anything concerning airplanes. She is excited, and eager to learn all she can. She likes to hang around the airport. It is refreshing to see that in a person. I will admit I do not see how she has been able to keep such a positive attitude. As much as I loved aviation when I started flying I could have never made it going through what she has been through. I had no thoughts of being a corporate pilot when I began, like Kimberly I just loved it. To see her struggle, skimp and save to get an hour or two of flying is inspirational. There are not many students left that will do what she has done. Most are like I was, things get tough, just throw in the towel and move on. You instructors out there that want to drag the training out for 80 hours, are not going to be able to find enough Kimberlys to keep instructing. Sopmething to think about. And Kimberly, GOOD FOR YOU!
I have stored my soapbox away.
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Thank you, see my summary above (I've never summarized it like that before, in months / lessons in between / landings / etc which really paints a different picture than just saying "hours" or using raw data).

However, I didn't solo for over 40 hours which kind of disagrees with some of your earlier points. Remember, I was CLUELESS, had no pilot friends in real life (internet / phone from internet only) and too many conflicting advices to pick a "right" path for me.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
I was CLUELESS, had no pilot friends in real life (internet / phone from internet only) and too many conflicting advices to pick a "right" path for me.
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That's pretty much how I was/am. I had no idea about anything with regard to aviation and flying itself does not come so naturally to me. I'm having to really work at it... which I enjoy, I'm not complaining at ALL, but the hours rack up while I figure it out. I honestly don't think it'll make me a worse pilot (for having more hours than your average bear when all is said and done), because I'll have had that many more hours flying/ in the plane.

(At least this is what I tell myself). I hope to have fun and never be a danger.
 
Well now you both have lots of pilot friends, and no shortage of opinions to think about.

Using hours as an experience metric is useful when you apply it to a group of a thousand pilots. It's much less useful applying it to a single person.
 
TMetzinger said:
Using hours as an experience metric is useful when you apply it to a group of a thousand pilots. It's much less useful applying it to a single person.
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Mmm. Good point.
 
ronnieh said:
Fearless, you have your oppinion. The only difference is I am not calling it dumb. My statement may be dumb but, it is true. If you were my student I would in the most diplomatic way I could, offer to find you another instructor. I did not say it was true for all instructors, it is for me. I might go 15 hours if I was seeing solid progress. Some people are not cut out to be a pilot.
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Ronnie, I think I understand what you are trying to say.....your delivery needs some serious refinement.

Perhaps I have misread you, but you are coming across like you are implying that a one-size-fits-all approach is the best/only proper way to teach flying and that all students should fit within a set norm.

That is simply.....bronze-age thinking at best. Might have been the way to do things pre-WWII, but we have made alot of advances in education.
 
I was clueless too, even more clueless than the rest of you since there was no internet. Maybe that was a good thing because I had nothing to compare myself to. I had no idea what was considered normal so I didn't have any expectations. I do realize now that I was very fortunate to have only one main CFI, with a couple others for post-solo and pre-checkride stage checks. I soloed in 1976 with 14 hours and had 71 total at my private checkride. This was at a fairly busy, towered airport (KOAK). My CFI was a young guy although I didn't think of him as being that young because he was 5 years older than I was. But that only made him about 25. I still keep in touch with him, the only person I know from the early flying days.
 
TMetzinger said:
It all varies with the student. For some, grades help. For others, just a sense that the instructor is satisfied is all it takes.

Thinking more about this, I feel pretty strongly that in many many flight schools a student gets shortchanged on quality instructor interaction AFTER the flight. Usually there's a rush to get the log filled out and get the student out the door and get ready for the next one. To me that's a shame, because the debrief-review is the time for the instructor to ensure that the student leaves on a positive note, no matter how the flying actually went. The airplane is a lousy learning environment for all but the psychomotor stuff, so making sure the mental things are really getting learned and "stuck" is best done on the ground before and after the flight.
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One of the best things the Instructor I stuck it out with did was my logbook endorsement. Where previously Instructors wrote in microprint in the remarks section stuff like normal climbs and turns, etc, etc (if you could even read it) my good Instructor first off wrote something along the lines of "private pilot training in accordance with FAR 61.105 & 61.107...." followed by something like "has good aptitude for flying" or "good control touch" or "needs little improvement to solo" or "good progress made". At first I was like :eek: about how my log book was "messed up" by this guy taking of four or five whole lines writing in full size print ! I now look back and think I wouldn't have it any other way. First of all there is no question for the examiner which flight meets what regulatory requirement and secondly after having a few crappy instructors a simple "good flight" written in my logbook left me wanting more.
 
ronnieh said:
I thought for Greg it might be better to get a free lance, not depending on instructing to eat nor build hours. I simply thought the continuity might be better. I will defer that to instructors currently teaching.
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Thanks for the advice. I am looking for an independent CFI because after my thread and this one, I really do think that I'm more of an individual learner. Part 141 didn't work for me and part 61 with CFI's teaching in part 141 (at the school that I was at Part 61 wasn't the usual) doesn't work either. I "passed" stalls with one lesson (I swear that the CFI did all the work) and when I flew with a better CFI (at Freeway, he's now at FL36 in a CRJ) he had me do power on stall, long story short I almost went out for a spin.

There's a great CFI at the field with loads of tail wheel experience and a massive amount of knowledge. He is independent but doesn't solo people in his Champion. He's out there daily whether he flies or not. Always ready to go and he's retired as well. He won't teach in the school's 172's for some reason :(.

I'm in this for the long haul, I've already spent a couple thousand on about 5% of the training needed for an industry that for the most part is a money pit. I live under a nice military transport route, airliner route, and GA route (all in different directions) and just while typing this I have seen two twin's, a C-130, a C-17,a Q-400, a military King Air (C12 huron or something like that?) and a Cessna. Now here comes a KC-135. My point is that my frustration got to my bug a bit but it's definitely back. I wish that I was up in that Cessna right now.Alright, maybe the KC too :D

I'll go return some emails with CFI's now.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
Pulled out my logbook.

1. Intro flight for over an hour in January 2011 (he only logged one hour) - instructor promised I'd be his student, I had a blast (best time of my life flying over downtown SF and sticking my hand out the open canopy of the LSA), bought all the books, ready to fly and get my certs. Weeks of promises, phone calls, and texts "yes we're gonna fly" despite the winter weather. One day, I am so tired of waiting for my first lesson I just show up at his flight school. He is with another in my plane, the gas guy sees me wait for TWO HOURS, they put away the plane, my instructor leaves WITHOUT SAYING WHY. The gas guy even told him I was there. I never saw / talked to him but emailed him that night asking why we didn't fly and why he ignored me. To this day I've never EVER heard from him and their plane is gone / their school out of business. In fact, my $99 check never got cashed so I guess this one was "free". Very shady operation.


Kimberly
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That's pretty cool! Sorry that you didn't fly for a bit but that is interesting.
 
bigblockz8 said:
Thanks for the advice. I am looking for an independent CFI because after my thread and this one, I really do think that I'm more of an individual learner. Part 141 didn't work for me and part 61 with CFI's teaching in part 141 (at the school that I was at Part 61 wasn't the usual) doesn't work either. I "passed" stalls with one lesson (I swear that the CFI did all the work) and when I flew with a better CFI (at Freeway, he's now at FL36 in a CRJ) he had me do power on stall, long story short I almost went out for a spin.

There's a great CFI at the field with loads of tail wheel experience and a massive amount of knowledge. He is independent but doesn't solo people in his Champion. He's out there daily whether he flies or not. Always ready to go and he's retired as well. He won't teach in the school's 172's for some reason :(.

I'm in this for the long haul, I've already spent a couple thousand on about 5% of the training needed for an industry that for the most part is a money pit. I live under a nice military transport route, airliner route, and GA route (all in different directions) and just while typing this I have seen two twin's, a C-130, a C-17,a Q-400, a military King Air (C12 huron or something like that?) and a Cessna. Now here comes a KC-135. My point is that my frustration got to my bug a bit but it's definitely back. I wish that I was up in that Cessna right now.Alright, maybe the KC too :D

I'll go return some emails with CFI's now.
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I wish I had an airplane to teach in... I'd be happy to have you as a student.
 
jaybee said:
One of the best things the Instructor I stuck it out with did was my logbook endorsement. Where previously Instructors wrote in microprint in the remarks section stuff like normal climbs and turns, etc, etc (if you could even read it) my good Instructor first off wrote something along the lines of "private pilot training in accordance with FAR 61.105 & 61.107...." followed by something like "has good aptitude for flying" or "good control touch" or "needs little improvement to solo" or "good progress made". At first I was like :eek: about how my log book was "messed up" by this guy taking of four or five whole lines writing in full size print ! I now look back and think I wouldn't have it any other way. First of all there is no question for the examiner which flight meets what regulatory requirement and secondly after having a few crappy instructors a simple "good flight" written in my logbook left me wanting more.
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:rofl:

When I got my re-tread the instructor kept trying to cram everything into the little remarks box using teeny tiny writing. And I'm, like, "Dude, just use two or three lines - draw a line through the stuff on the left if you want."

FWIW - my "learn to fly" experience was nothing like what anyone has posted. The old man had an airplane and I flew a lot with my brother - cost nothing 'cept gas and I didn't keep track of time - we were just out goofing around having a good time (sometimes my brother had a better time than I did - he thought it was funny when I screwed up). After a while I got reasonably good at it and decided I should make things official. So when I first had an instructor get in, I was already able to demonstrate takeoffs, landings (three point and wheel), slow flight, stalls, navigation, etc. etc. etc. probably close to PTS standards.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
By the time I was at wit's end he had said I was too frustrated so he moved to the post solo stuff like XC and instrument to get my mind off solo. When I solo'd I had 42.1 hours DUAL. My solo lasted .3 hobbs. I had logged (may not be accurate) ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY FIVE LANDINGS before then. My CFI had been OFF THE CONTROLS for months. I was safe LONG AGO.


Kimberly
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I think that I would actually enjoy doing other flying. I read some FOI books while waiting for my CFI and my understanding is that there is a learning plateau. On about the 5th-8th attempt no progress occurs and thereafter it declines. It finally made sense as to why my 2nd-4th landings were decent, 3rd generally a great one. I figure that this natural occurrence+my (natural) inability to fly + an unprepared CFI that only teaches after I tie up the airplane= HUGE plateau.

8th landing and it was my worst, even after not flying for a month (thanks to the CFI cancelling/not working)

Maybe with the next CFI if I can't solo in 5-8 more hours (20-ish TT) with them I'll ask to try something different for a lesson or two. That might help me. I've basically had supervised solo's (CFI interjecting occasionally) so I'm not in a huge rush. I'd still like to know how to forward slip and what the emergency procedures are. (I have a POH and owners manual but for a S model, I fly P models)

I also have some ground questions but I haven't felt like paying for another 3hr ground session that taught me nothing. I already knew my alphabet,pattern communication, four forces, and how/why stalls occur. A good CFI should teach those last two adequately in 20 minutes.

I miss the 10min rides out to the practice area, navigating based on farms, the big red barn, and powerlines for not only navigation but Class B ring clearance as well.
 
Kimberly, seems like you proved my point. It seems you think you were ready to solo long before the instructor did or at least you could have been. Did I misunderstand you?
Oh, and Fearless now I understand. I had forgot how GA's accident rate and fatality rate has improved so much and also how the student drop out rate is so low compared to the bronze age. I am sure raising the bar all the way to ground level for the instructor rating had a lot to do with this. With the improvement in GA statistics I concede, it is being done better now. Carry on!:D
 
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I soloed with 38 hours in my logbook. I'm not really sure why that matters. I am a teacher in my real life and certainly know that every student is different and that each teacher has different standards. I'm sure the instructing bussiness is pretty much the same.

Personally, I was fine with it taking that long. The flight school I went to has a program designed to teach everything you need to know to fly a plane safely before you solo. To me that makes sense!

I think the better gauge of cost effectiveness of training is how long it takes you to get your license. After I soloed I only received an additional 8 or so dual hours. The rest of the time was the required solo time. I got my license with 65 hours in the book and was very happy about that.
 
ronnieh said:
Kimberly, seems like you proved my point. It seems you think you were ready to solo long before the instructor did or at least you could have been. Did I misunderstand you?
Oh, and Fearless now I understand. I had forgot how GA's accident rate and fatality rate has improved so much and also how the student drop out rate is so low compared to the bronze age. I am sure raising the bar all the way to ground level for the instructor rating had a lot to do with this. With the improvement in GA statistics I concede, it is being done better now. Carry on!:D
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I thought I was but I think I was influenced by the outside (websites). If I had only read FAA books, and my only pilot friend was my instructor, that might not have been the case. But if solo meant was I "ready" or "able" to perform three landings and takeoffs alone, heck yes I was ready long before the day came. Gosh, he even gave me false hopes with a pre-solo take home written quiz many lessons before solo which upset me even more.
 
TMetzinger said:
Hmm... I understand that learning to fly can be frustrating. Pretty much every student goes through a learning plateau (often before solo) where they're ALMOST ready and make very little improvement, often over multiple lessons. We can encourage them, and tell them to stick with it.

But if a student is not able to deal with frustration and persevere, and keep a reasonably cool head while doing it, they may not be suited for the responsibilities of being a pilot. Flying is full of frustration. Weather issues, mechanical issues, medical issues, all have to be dealt with in a safe way. Get-home-itis is a frustration issue, as is flying with a known deficiency on the airplane or a medical problem.

The new wave of flight instruction, scenario based training, tends to de-emphasize the solo, and puts it even later in the syllabus. On the other hand, it emphasizes practical and fun uses for airplanes, substituting trips for drill, and getting aeronautical decision making and other stuff into the student early. So far, it seems to create ready pilots in the same amount of time as the "old" way, and to me at least they are a bit more well-rounded.

While flying may be a hobby, it's a hobby that can kill you or others, so unlike Tennis or Golf, there's a certain amount of rigor required, and a minimum bar to pass before you are trusted to "play" without supervision.

I've asked some folks who gave up their reason for quitting, and in most cases it wasn't the CFI, or even the training environment. Sometimes they ran out of money, but often they just didn't have the level of passion for it to do the work to cross that bar.

Lowering the bar isn't really the solution. Whatever can be done to nurture and grow that passion is really the only thing. You need to want this, really want it, as opposed to "wouldn't it be nice if I was a pilot?" I'm often envious of folks when I see them do their "thing" but at heart I know I'm not willing to make the sacrifices they made to do it. And I'm sure that they aren't willing to make the sacrifices I've made to get really good at the things I'm really good at.

So there's a time to fire your CFI, and there's a time to fire your student.

For the student. you fire your CFI when you feel he's not working to help you reach your goals or that you don't have confidence in him/her.
For the CFI, you fire your student when you are convinced they're unsafe, or a danger, or when you can't figure out how to help them - though in the last case a good CFI will reach out to his mentors for help, either for a new technique or for a reference to a CFI that can help this student.
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Bravo Tim..... I don't think it could be stated any better then that.:yesnod:

Ben.
 
Reading all these CFI threads makes me pretty fortunate to only go through 2 of them, only because the first one had a baby when I was at about 40 hours post solo and dual cc.

On the other hand, I'm thinking of getting my comm/CFI because of my passion for flying, not to race to the airlines. If I can ever afford to quit my job and fly for a living I would consider it. I would not turn down giving instruction at 250-300 but would of course have personal minimums just as I do on a regular flight. The minimums might be weather, type of ac, etc.

Also, being self employed my schedule can work out pretty well for students which may help them progress.

I had a great experience with my CFI's because of their interest in flying not because of their hours.
 
ronnieh said:
Sunlight, you missed my point completely. If you were ready to solo but weather prevented it, I am not talking about you. You could have been in a car accident, got sick and needed surgery, any number of things. I covered that in the original thread. I stand by what I said. If you are not ready in 10-12 hours you need another instructor or another hobby.
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I guess I did miss your point, and your later comments. Obviously I was not ready to solo in the conditions that continually presented themselves. If that makes me a bad pilots, darn, guess I am.

I personally was fine flying twice a week with my instructor even after I was "ready" to solo. It was either that or not flying at all due to wx, and I knew it. If someone can't deal with not soloing because of things unrelated to their skill level, they need to seriously consider why they are learning how to fly. Rushing never got a pilot anywhere good.

(By the way, my crosswind landing skills were excellent)
 
ronnieh said:
Oh, and Fearless now I understand. I had forgot how GA's accident rate and fatality rate has improved so much and also how the student drop out rate is so low compared to the bronze age. I am sure raising the bar all the way to ground level for the instructor rating had a lot to do with this. With the improvement in GA statistics I concede, it is being done better now. Carry on!:D
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Unless you have hard data or statistics that show a correlation between hours to solo/PPL vs accident rate, I think you are full of crap.

Plenty of 40-45 hr Private Pilots who have had accidents.

But then you are indeed old school so you MUST know best.
 
Well Kimberly, if you were ready why not. Would it have made you feel better? What would have been the down side. Seems to me the instructor was doing you harm in making you wait? Maybe not?
Tim I stated in at least two posts that I have not instructed in over 15 years. I simply did not enjoy it and quit renewing my instructor ratings around 1996 or so. I was much more interested in corporate flying.
This thread was never about hours to solo or get a private. It was a pep talk to Greg. I expected some flaming (please read my OP) but this is getting insane. If an instructor wants to hold a student to 40 hours or 100 hours dual before solo I DON"T CARE. It is only a question "is this the best thing for the student"? "Is it the best thing for general aviation?" I did state what I would do if faced with some hypothetical situation. I have never faced that but it is what I would have done based on my experience. The people here can not differentiate between an instructor trying and wanting to solo a student and just can't get there or can't get there in a reasonable time and one who simply does not want his students to solo untill later in the course. I simply do not believe (remember this is my oppinion) that a reasonable person with a reasonable instructor can not solo a student in a single engine, fixed gear, fixed pitch prop in 15 hours. If that can't be done then either the student or the instructor or both needs another hobby. (remember JMO) On the other hand if the instructor tells the student up front "look I do not solo students untill at least 30 hours of dual and could be twice that much. I want more items covered and mastered than just what is needed for solo. This is the way I teach and it is what you can expect". I have no problem with that. I disagree with the logic but it is your student and you teach any way you want to.
I have never seen so much angst and down right hostility torward someone asking questions and probing ways to help the dismal drop out rate and the terrible accident/fatality rate in GA.
If some here take exception to my thinking that if you CAN'T solo in less than 30 or 40 or what ever hours perhaps you need to rethink your flying then so be it. If you and the instructor CHOOSE to not solo in less than 30 or 40 or whatever hours then that is nothing to me. I only questioned if you think this is the best way. It appears many do. This horse is beginning to smell.
 
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Damn, Fearless you are the one that said the new way is better. I assumed you had statistics showing the drop out rate has improved and that the accident/fatality rate has improved. I accepted your premise. Are you saying there has been no improvement since the bronze age with the new and improved methods? You will have to cut me some slack I am old and feable and having a hard time with your logic.
 
It really sounds like there are a lot of CFIs out there who insist on doing the flying too much for too many landings.

Maybe CFIs in general don't know how to let students practice their landings?
 
Careful Jim, criticising instructors or students on this site will get you flamed severely.
 
I've been busy over the past few day and couldn't properly respond to this topic and just wrote I agree with Ron. I still do, but after reading all of the responses, I'm baffled by the lack of discussion concerning ground school. Mine was every bit as intensive as my flying. I had to spend around $300- $500 on the Cessna Pilot Center Cleared for Takeoff material. We followed it to the T. I had to do all of the ground school before I arrived at the flight school. If I didn't bring in my completed assignment, I didn't fly! In the syllabus, it has you soloing on the 11th flight. By the time you solo, you've done all the maneuvers, you've already had a check ride by a senior flight instructor, and you've already done emergency procedures. Also, we did 30 min after action review of all the flight. By the time I got to my solo, I had 39 landings and 20.1 hours total. I then continued to follow the syllabus and had check rides every 10 hours. When I came to 41.9 hours I had 4 check rides and was signed off by the senior instructor to take my real check ride. Looking at my log, my DPE was delayed 2 days for some reason, so I did 2 more check rides. Total before test was 45.2. My check ride was 2.3 hours and was a blast. I wrote that in my log!

So, my question is: What about ground school? Is it still being done?
 
What you describe is typical for the well organized schools, when the weather cooperates. It also demonstrates that the "new" syllabus puts the solo later, well past the 10-15 hours discussed elsewhere.
 
I have a different take on ronnieh's commentary.

I note from the very FIRST, that after the 3rd session we're having a 2-way performance review. (1) How quickly I think the student is a "picking it up", and (2) how'm I doing? (3) Based on #1, I give the estimate of 10 hrs to solo, 15 hours, or 20 hours. Total dollars spent are going to be exactly proportional to that number, and based on that number, (4) Can you afford it/ is it worth it (a backhanded way of asking the student's level of committment).

The point is, mutually agreed upon 2 way evaluation(s).

I've had students who never crack a book and never ask a single question (RED ALERT!). I've had engineers who want to know why the Friese flap doesn't have a whatcha ma thingy where the slot goes. I've had students take a break after the third session until they pass the written. I've had students pester me by email for more homework (these are the stars of the crowd).

If the expectation is not being met, reassessment is done every ~$2,000 total expense. It's a two way street.

They are told taught from the very beginning, positive transfer of controls. The only time I will touch them is either to demonstrate or to SAVE the bacon.

I demand that they finish chapter 3 of AC H8083-3 by the first evaluation "sit down" or flying stops until they have it. And there IS A QUIZ at the end of the hour.

PS I solo'd in 7 hours in a Mighty 172. I would think that were we working a rural setting in an electric-less champ, 7 hours might still be do-able. WITH THE RIGHT student.
 
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John, I don't know about ground school since I have never been to one. 20 hours at solo is a little lite for this forum. Seems like it is preferred to have at least 40 hours to solo. I have not been able to get a consensus on required hours for the private but for sure 45.2 is way too low for the average student. I have seen anywhere from 90 to 300 mentioned here. You might need to check your math you may have missed something.:rofl:
I appologise for the sarcasam, I just could not help myself. John it is you, me and Captain Geoff.
Tread carefully John!!
 
bbchien said:
I've had students who never crack a book and never ask a single question (RED ALERT!). I've had engineers who want to know why the Friese flap doesn't have a whatcha ma thingy where the slot goes. I've had students take a break after the third session until they pass the written. I've had students pester me by email for more homework (these are the stars of the crowd).
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Never knew that CFI's gave homework or email addresses. Best that I got was being asked for my #. If he wants to cancel he'll text me to say so.

My new demands of a CFI:
Some type of assigned assessment in my weaker areas.
Something on paper besides a checklist.

I finally read my Jepp. Private Pilot Manual cover to cover after starting 2yrs ago. In that time not a single CFI recommended any books. I find that 4.2lbs of book is a decent beginner's book.
 
bigblockz8 said:
Never knew that CFI's gave homework or email addresses. Best that I got was being asked for my #. If he wants to cancel he'll text me to say so.

My new demands of a CFI:
Some type of assigned assessment in my weaker areas.
Something on paper besides a checklist.

I finally read my Jepp. Private Pilot Manual cover to cover after starting 2yrs ago. In that time not a single CFI recommended any books. I find that 4.2lbs of book is a decent beginner's book.
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And the CFI things I sent too right?

Just kidding. The first thing mine did, however, was show me all the books to buy (everything in the PTS). Didn't read some, read others cover to cover, but I plan to keep them all for reference.
 
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