barney said:
First, I would suggest you detail what exactly you want, Then choose how you want to get there. Do a bit of research starting at the local airports. Ask around to find the person who has the reputation that most nearly meets your requirements.
Barney makes a good point...you've already indicated that you want to learn a few things along the way. Well, what do you want to learn? That's basically how I start the conversation when scheduling a flight review or IPC. Do you want to know your GPS inside out and backwards? Do you already know your GPS inside out and backwards, but for the life of you, you can't remember how to fly a DME arc without GPS Steering? Do you only fly ILS's in real life? How often do you circle? What operations have gotten little or no emphasis since you got your instrument rating way back when?
As you implied, a good instructor will probably find something to teach you just by doing the "standard" things that are required for an IPC, but identifying your strengths and weaknesses ahead of time will allow you to find an instructor that meets your needs and desires, and he or she can put a plan together to work toward your goals while completing the IPC. Talk about these things when you are looking for an instructor.
You also want someone who is willing to learn the idiosyncrasies of YOUR airplane one way or another. By "one way or another", I mean on his time or yours. I tend to do it on my time, but I don't make my living instructing, and I can generally get keys to the hangar, read the manuals at my leisure, and talk to the avionics techs that did all the installs. You want a good instructor, a good instructor should know your airplane, expect to pay something for that professionalism. Be appreciative if you don't have to pay for it.
And, to be perfectly honest, I've worked with people who say, "I'm comfortable with everything, I just need to get current," but who don't have a clue how weak they really are because their normal operations involve the same airports, approaches, and operations all the time. They're comfortable with those, but take them just a little bit out of their "comfort zone", and they can't fly a nonprecision approach regardless of whether it's GPS-, VOR-, or NDB-based. In those situations, the good instructor then deviates from the plan to get you to where you need to be BEFORE you can learn the stuff in the plan.
Then, once you find this guy, build a relationship. Call him up every six months and do some work, whether you think you need it or not. It's not a one-time deal that makes you a proficient pilot. It's regular, conscientious training. If you can find somebody locally, great. If you call PIC for one of their instructors, great. But make it something you can do on a regular basis.
Fly safe!
David
