What is it with my luck and CFIs.

[mmilano]

this is my second CFI. i got flaked on the last 2 times we have scheduled time. it takes me 45 minutes to get to the airport so it completely sucks, especially if i use vacation time to go!

so i get a 'text message' saying we can fly mon tues or wed and he will be gone for the rest of the week for the holidy. wtf? we've never used text messages before.

i left a message monday and have not gotten a response. it is tuesday night.

i just wanna do my mock checkrides so i can make my appointement with the DE get this over with. looks like i won't be flying till the weekend after this.

what a bunch of bull****.

sorry, had to vent.

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

That sux, Mike. I have been blessed with instructors that were dedicated to... flying and/or instructing. I can't recall but a few that were time-builders, all did it for the love of flying, often they would arrange to fly in spite of family events. Maybe you can find some more dedicated types in your area? Keep plugging at it. Sometimes you have to fight to make good stuff happen in your life.
Lots of communication up front when you get a new one, explain what has disappointed you in the last ones?

 

[gismo]

Does the FBO where you are training have a Chief pilot? If so you need to call him on the phone and explain how you've been treated. If you get no satisfaction there then go to the general manager of the FBO.

 

[mmilano]

no, it's a club with a bunch of CFIs i can choose from. he's really a good guy and decent instructor, he's just been a complete flake this last week. i'm so close to finishing up that i don't want to think about having to switch again.

 

[Richard]

no, it's a club with a bunch of CFIs i can choose from. he's really a good guy and decent instructor, he's just been a complete flake this last week. i'm so close to finishing up that i don't want to think about having to switch again.

Allow me to pre-empt any arguement about putting yourself in the CFI's shoes. Either he can or he can't, period. No excuses.

With that out of the way I have to believe this CFI has poor communication skills. The irony is that he supposedly teaches those same skills vis a vis learning how to fly. How is it that one who instructs in the importance of effective and timely communications can also be lacking in those same skills? One answer is that the CFI compartmentalizes his job from other facets of his life. He sees it as a job, nothing more. Having become aware of this perspective on the part of the CFI it then becomes clear that this CFI is not as involved in being an instructor as the student should hope for.

IOW, he doesn't seem to care too much about his students. The question then becomes, what are you prepared to do about it?

Also, it sounds like something is afoot. If this is like my past experiences with some CFIs he is about to dump you for a 'higher' calling. Perhaps he is avoiding the uncomfortable situation of having to inform you of this and he has rationalized it in his mind that since there are other CFIs who would pick up the slack it's okay for him to not inform you in a timely manner.

Rest assured, it's not just you.

 

[spiderweb]

Dump him. Even if he is good, you need to finish up right now. You can always go back to him when you want a one or two-time deal, like a checkout or HP signoff.

 

[Dave Krall CFII]

If your doing mock check flights I'd go do a mock check ride with ANY 1 or 2 other CFIs even if he was available to fly (and also fire him) because the different atmospheres of any new CFIs in the cockpit is more realistic to that of the DE giving the test.

 

[mmilano]

good points, thanks. it's so disapointing. i think i will start looking today.

 

[Dave Krall CFII]

good points, thanks. it's so disapointing. i think i will start looking today.

No need to even be too picky about looking too hard at your point in training unless you're perhaps you're planning on further flight training in the near future. Just find some CFI with time open and ask them to sim a comprehensive check ride.

 

[mmilano]

honestly i'm gonna need some brushing up on the basics too. it seems like i've been in XC and night mode for so long that little things like 'the proper way to enter slow flight' are going to need some work. my original instructor is the one who taught me 'the basics' and he was a horrible instructor ... so who knows. if only i knew then what i did now

thanks for the advice though. it makes a lot of sense.

 

[judypilot]

This is a basic form of common courtesy that seems to be going by the wayside. If I can't make an appointment, I fall all over myself to let the person know and apologize profusely, the profusion increasing the closer to the appointment I have to cancel, just short of groveling if I cancel at the last minute.

I have recently had more and more common experiences where people just don't show up. No word. No call. No nothing to indicate why the person isn't showing up. It ****es me off royally. I let them know I'm ****ed off, but other people must be accepting this behavior or it wouldn't continue. If it's a business, I let them know in no uncertain terms that their behavior means that not only will they not get my business, but they won't get the business of anyone I know, either.

I don't know what leads people to believe they can treat others this way. I think the guy's completely out of line. If there isn't a chief pilot to report to, you can get at the issue sideways by asking the other CFIs if this is common, and why it is so aggravating without at least an explanation. The message will be delivered.

The flip side to this coin is, why have we become such weenies? If you act like a weenie (this is not directed at you specifically, but at our evident collective reaction to this kind of stuff), you'll be treated like a weenie. Is complaining about service too judgmental? I don't think so.

Really, common courtesy seems to be less and less common.

[Rant off.]

Judy