What makes an instructor good?

farmerbrake

farmerbrake

Line Up and Wait
Joined
Aug 21, 2014
Messages
578
Display Name
Display name:
farmerbrake
Excluding the guy with hundreds of thousands of millions of hours, what makes an instructor good?
 
They understand how to diagnose a problem and suggest the correction.
They don't wear strong aftershave/cologne/perfume in a small, confined area
They recognize when the student is having problems understanding a concept and has a second/third way to explain the concept
They're not merely building time and resentful of the time spent teaching
 
Likes boobies. Well if the CFI is male, although...
 
I did not yell at the student as I was yelled at many moons ago. I also encouraged them to try again and tried very hard to remain positive.

I would like to think I was a good CFI but I am no longer participating in aviation.
 
A good instructor is nice, imparts useful (and correct) information, and doesn't kill the student. A great instructor knows when the student is stressed out and needs to just go have fun and not focus on the planned lesson.
 
# hours does not equate to quality of instructor (or pilot). Plenty of people experienced in their fields suck at teaching or simply aren't good at what they do. Sometimes the new grad student is smarter and more capable than the seasoned professor.

Patience is a biggie. Willingness to adapt teaching style to student's learning needs is another. Also important is that they take safety very seriously. You'd think that'd be a given, but my first CFI didn't get the memo.
 
A1Topgun said:
When asked: "Why did you become an instructor?" Their answer is NOT: "Because I don't want to die alone!"
Click to expand...
My answer was that I enjoyed teaching. I never got enough students to get enough hours to move up, something happened with my "boss" and I gave up on it.
 
I appreciated that my CFI could show confidence without arrogance. He was also very good at getting through the lesson by letting me fly and learn. He was very hands off in the air and I understand that's not always the case.
 
Best instructor showed me how to do something, then let me work through maneuvers while talking as little as possible.

Worst instructor wouldn't shut up.
 
  • They are good pilots themselves regardless of the number of hours or ratings
  • They are professional and mature and remember all in aviation are on a learning curve, including instructors
  • They like people and like to teach
  • They are not arrogant or know-it-alls and are diligent about making sure what they assume is correct is in fact correct
  • They are current in the science, technology and art of aviation and do not insist on archaic ways of doing things
  • They do not over compliment but are also not stingy in offering a kudo when learning has been demonstrated by a student
  • They listen and observe before speaking
  • They come prepared for each lesson as they expect a student to come prepared with specific goals and expectations
  • They remain calm and avoid arguments or brow-beating.
  • They do not abuse/waste time and “milk” students for needless hours of training
  • They provide a thorough briefing and de-briefinghttp://upperlimitaviation.edu/6-must-read-tips-for-your-first-airplane-flying-lessons/
  • They are patient and try to be articulate and be clear and not blame students when the student appears to "not get it"
  • They keep their hands off the controls and always want and expect the student to fly the plane (sans emergency)
  • They never forget the student is the boss who pays their fee and are expected to provide a service that leads to success
  • They are cognizant that sometimes the chemistry between student and instructor is poor and they readily help the student find someone else if need be
 
Not only should an instructor not grab the controls but I also think it useful that they shut up for a while. You don't have to be filling the student's ears for the entire lesson to earn your keep.
Demonstrate and explain the maneuver, answer questions - then hand it over and wait, wait, wait. Certainly if the student is way off the mark, floundering - it is time to discuss.
But always let the student make the control inputs, feel the result, have the brain register all this info as much as possible before audio (over)stimulation.

Oh, and rapping them on the head with a hefty wood ruler for a bad maneuver as one instructor did nearby is frowned upon now.
 
Keeps their hands in their laps unless necessay. I hate an instructor that is all over the controlls. Unless of course I am in the process of killing us then by all means have at them.
 
a good instructor must wear a good pair of socks on their hands.
 
The big ones to me are that they don't pretend to know everything, and aren't so dead set in there ways as to refuse to entertain alternatives. Some people take everything their instructors taught them as absolute gospel, when often it is absolute crap.

I prefer that my instructors help me figure stuff out, rather than just teach me everything. It sticks in my head better that way.

During my PPL training, I had three different instructors. The first one was a nice guy, easy to get along with, but left a few lessons in for an airline gig. The second was an older guy who used to fly for United. Talked so much that preflight briefings often turned into ground school days. He knew a lot, but he got angry rather quick. (Probably why he died of a heart attack a year later.) The guy that finished my PPL and helped me with my IFR (he isn't a CFII) is great, and I still fly with him occasionally for tune-ups and for fun. He doesn't know everything, but he damn well knows where to look it up, and he is very good at analyzing and figuring out an answer when there is conflicting information. He's young, but has about 4,000 hrs. (He's been avoiding going to airlines because he loves 'real flying'. But he'll probably make the jump this year.)

The kid that did my IFR training was fresh out of ATP in Arizona. (I think we both had the same number of PIC hours in our logbooks.) But he was nice and easy to get along with, and very smart. Again, he didn't pretend that he knew everything, or that he was some super-experienced guy. I might have gotten better instruction and more 'real-world experience' insights from someone older an more experienced, but overall I think I got decent training from him. (And yes, we did go up in actual a few times.)
 
farmerbrake said:
Excluding the guy with hundreds of thousands of millions of hours, what makes an instructor good?
Click to expand...
Experience outside of the training environment? An instructor whose whole career consists of primary training at local airports cannot pass on how things work in the real world. S/he will train you to pass the checkride, though.

Bob
 
My training style when I was an IP:

1. Be knowledgeable. Nothing worse than an instructor who BS their way around instructing. "Oh not sure about the answer but it's not important anyway."

2. Don't enforce technique as a standard. Teach technique but allow the student to use technique to achieve the standard.

3. Be organized. Training should follow a progressive flow that builds upon the basics. Students can tell those that "wing it." Also make it very clear what's expected of the student.

4. Forget the positive vs negative reinforcement argument. It's feedback on the pros and cons of the flight. It's trying to be objective as possible. Oh, and being good has nothing to do with "regression to the mean." You get better because you either were made aware of your error, or you yourself knew the error.

5. Patience, patience, patience. Not everyone learns at the same rate. Rarely do you have rockstars that are naturals and rarely people that just can't get it. Most will eventually get it but tailor your instruction to varying degrees of ability.

6. Be professional but don't be a robot. If you're relaxed, it'll help them feel more confident. Probably doesn't happen much in civ flying but no place for yellers or those that talk down to a student either.

7. Don't hog the controls and avoid riding the controls. Let the student explore the limits of the aircraft and make mistakes but always be ready to take the controls. Don't hog the radios either.

8. Know when the student has had enough and is "brain fried." Keep the periods short (1-1.5 hrs) so they don't get too fatigued.

9. Don't ask too many questions while they're flying. It'll just affect their ability to maintain training standards and it's just unfair to a new student that is probably already overloaded. Multitasking will come on it's own.

10. Above all, be passionate about the job. Students can see an instructor a mile away that is just going through the motions and doesn't care about their students. As I always told them, it's a job but there's no reason why it can't be fun. Once you've lost interest in the job, it's time to move on to something else.
 
Last edited:
murphey said:
They're not merely building time and resentful of the time spent teaching
Click to expand...
Yeah... I had two instructors first who that was their goal as they built time to go work at an airline or a "real" flying job

Anyway, the instructor needs to have good practical experiential knowledge, be patient, not be panicky, and let the student make some mistakes here and there (safely). People learn the best from their mistakes

I had one instructor, the one who was very young and simply building hours, who was a "nervous nelly" (so to speak).. made flying and the lessons kind of stressful and frankly annoying. Once he left my new instructor was older (mid 50s?) and just flew because he enjoyed it. He let me mess up here and there and I learned the best from that, learning at my own pace in a controlled setting
 
There's a difference between building time and building time and not caring about students. I did the former. I had no intention of being a career CFI. Before I left, I gave my students ample notice and had them fly and "interview" different CFIs at the school to see which one would work best for them. I made sure I explained in detail to their new instructor exactly where they were in their training, what their strengths/weaknesses were, and their personality. Not all the time builders are bad! In my year of instructing I only signed off 7 people and they all passed on their first try. If no one gave me a chance at 280TT, I'd still be instructing
 
Last edited:
jordane93 said:
There's a difference between building time and building time and not caring about students. I did the former. I had no intention of being a career CFI. Before I left I gave my students ample notice and had them fly and "interview" different CFIs at the school to see which one would work best for them. I made sure I explained in detail to their new instructor exactly where they were in their training, what their strengths/weaknesses were, and their personality. Not all the time builders are bad! In my year of instructing I only signed off 7 people and they all passed on their first try. If no one gave me a chance at 280TT I'd still be instructing
Click to expand...
Thanks for the input!
I'm in the same boat as well. Building time working towards the airlines, but priority will be being there for my students.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
 
farmerbrake said:
Thanks for the input!
I'm in the same boat as well. Building time working towards the airlines, but priority will be being there for my students.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Exactly. As long as you are up front with them, they'll appreciate it. The ones that leave their students without notice give us a bad name.
 
What I liked most about my primary instructor was that he'd let me make mistakes on my own... and he'd let me have enough rope to fix them myself. Had I not fixed them before the point of no return, only then did he take over. If he thought something may happen, he'd put his seat forward ready, but I can only recall it happening once... and that was my first time landing with a 20kt xwind.
 
citizen5000 said:
  • They keep their hands off the controls and always want and expect the student to fly the plane (sans emergency)
Click to expand...


I agree with everything you wrote. I will add that even during an emergency if my student was handling the flying well they kept flying. To be honest it was easier on me to manage the situation and ensure a positive outcome if the stundent was flying. It allowed me to focus on the big picture while they focused on the stick and rudder. Ironically I found that I had by accident been managing emergencies in little airplanes in a similar manner to how I was taught later in crewed aircraft.
 
jordane93 said:
The ones that leave their students without notice give us a bad name.
Click to expand...

Well, you never know. I gave a former flight school that employed me a couple weeks notice and they deleted me from the system the next business day without notice. Ironically, exactly that kind of incompetence is one of the reasons I left.
 
dmspilot said:
Well, you never know. I gave a former flight school that employed me a couple weeks notice and they deleted me from the system the next business day without notice. Ironically, exactly that kind of incompetence is one of the reasons I left.
Click to expand...
Yea that's a special circumstance. I'm talking about the guys that get another job and dump the student almost immediately. Your situation was out of your control.
 
How well they mesh with you, a CFI that's great for me might not be great for you.

Also being hands off and letting you make mistakes and giving you the most amount of time to correct them yourself.
 
Their ability to relate useful information to a student in a way he or she can digest and understand it.

That attribute doesn't necessarily come with experience.

Also there is no such thing as a great instructor. Because it is only one side of a two sided problem. One student "best CFI" may well be anither students worst.

It's a lot like dating. You have to find a match, but a student doesn't have the knowledge to evaluate it all, so we go by feeling which may be misleading.

It's a crapshoot.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top