CFI Critique
Moderator: drseti
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zdc
CFI Critique
I would like to hear from students, or recent students whose memory is fresh, what they liked/disliked about their instructor, and what the instructor did that was helpful/counter-productrive.
I've been 'almost' licensed for two days
I say 'almost' because I need a signature before the paperwork is complete.
I flew with a variety of instructors in a variety of LSAs out of a number of aircraft. Some were familiarization flights, rather than true instructional flights, but I never made a flight during which I didn't learn something. So lesson number one from me would be to fly with a variety of CFIs.
I never had a bad instructor, but I did have some instructional flights that weren't as productive as they might have been (in hindsight). The best flights I ever had (from a pure instructional perspective) started with a detailed pre-flight briefing, which meant our air time was highly focussed and productive. I had one CFI who diligently sat me down after the flight and de-briefed me, followed up by a subsequent email reviewing what we discussed.
Yesterday I started taildragger training with a former Airbus 330 captain; he had prepared a handwritten list of about 19 things we were going to work on during the flight (so much for the 'taildragger' part - I think he understandably wanted to see if I could fly before trusting me to approach the earth with his aircraft). He asked me a ton of questions, and if my responses were in any way deficient we discussed the subject in depth. We went through the list item by item, and by the end of it I was undoubtedly flying with greater precision. The great thing about this is that my instructor had clearly spent some mental time preparing for this flight, which in turn meant that the flight was packed with productive airwork.
Lumping all of this together leads me to lesson two, which is to insist that you have an instructional plan and thoughtful pre-flight briefings. Time spent pre-flight can be just as valuable as time spent in the air.
And lesson three would be to fly in as many different aircraft as possible. I trained in Evektor Sportstars, and every one of them flew a bit differently; each even taxied and braked a bit uniquely.
Finally, blow your brains out reading everything you can find. Books like STICK AND RUDDER are invaluable, and the internet is full of resources that will make you a better, more thoughtful pilot. This entire business is less about flying than it is about properly using your brain and your judgement. A monkey can be trained to juggle a stick and a foot pedal; it's your mental acuity and discipline that'll make you a safer and more competent pilot.
I flew with a variety of instructors in a variety of LSAs out of a number of aircraft. Some were familiarization flights, rather than true instructional flights, but I never made a flight during which I didn't learn something. So lesson number one from me would be to fly with a variety of CFIs.
I never had a bad instructor, but I did have some instructional flights that weren't as productive as they might have been (in hindsight). The best flights I ever had (from a pure instructional perspective) started with a detailed pre-flight briefing, which meant our air time was highly focussed and productive. I had one CFI who diligently sat me down after the flight and de-briefed me, followed up by a subsequent email reviewing what we discussed.
Yesterday I started taildragger training with a former Airbus 330 captain; he had prepared a handwritten list of about 19 things we were going to work on during the flight (so much for the 'taildragger' part - I think he understandably wanted to see if I could fly before trusting me to approach the earth with his aircraft). He asked me a ton of questions, and if my responses were in any way deficient we discussed the subject in depth. We went through the list item by item, and by the end of it I was undoubtedly flying with greater precision. The great thing about this is that my instructor had clearly spent some mental time preparing for this flight, which in turn meant that the flight was packed with productive airwork.
Lumping all of this together leads me to lesson two, which is to insist that you have an instructional plan and thoughtful pre-flight briefings. Time spent pre-flight can be just as valuable as time spent in the air.
And lesson three would be to fly in as many different aircraft as possible. I trained in Evektor Sportstars, and every one of them flew a bit differently; each even taxied and braked a bit uniquely.
Finally, blow your brains out reading everything you can find. Books like STICK AND RUDDER are invaluable, and the internet is full of resources that will make you a better, more thoughtful pilot. This entire business is less about flying than it is about properly using your brain and your judgement. A monkey can be trained to juggle a stick and a foot pedal; it's your mental acuity and discipline that'll make you a safer and more competent pilot.