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Hey Guys,

I wished I had a CFI who is as precise and detailed like Jason Miller to train me, I also had some e-mail conversations with Gordon Henrie also a CFI that really cares about training people properly, a real genuine man.

I have 65 hours of flight time, a training bill of $6000 and no private certificate yet. I say yet because I already know I will have it this year but I wanted to share some tips or warning signs that your trusted CFI may be wasting your time and money and you might want to kick him or her to the crub.

I had 2 CFI's (the names of the people in this story have been changed as to protect the innocent) :lol CFI #1 we'll call him Capt. Young Wings, got fired for creasing some aluminum and it was no secret that he had heavy iron aspirations, the other one and we'll call him Capt What You Wanna Do? as that's what he would ask me before we went flying also a nice guy and was more passive when it came to training.

You may have heard simular stuff before but it bares repeating,
I think both of them meant well but possibly they were young not over 25 is my best guest, maybe not as experienced or as seasoned as a pilot with 10 years or more of experience as a CFI. Both of them shared some of the same attitude attributes when it came to training so here you go:

1. Follows loosly to or dose not strictly adhere to any flight training syllabus or curriculum.

2. Gives you the impression that if his weekly 40 hour work schedule hasn't been reached for the week yet, exhibits more enthusiasm for you to go flying than usual, even on a day that may be okay for another student but you don't feel comfortable. ie, a very windy day or more clouds than you would care to deal with.

3. Ask you more than usual "what do you wanna do today" I don't know aren't you're the instructor... duh.

4. Gets offened if you tell him you'd like to fly with another instructor just to get some better clarification on certain maneuvers.

5. Rushes you through ground school or doesn't spend quality time drilling you on certain aspects of the previous flight, espeacially when it's time for him to go home or he has a hot date or something.

Well that's are some of the main things that would continue to irritate or make me angry if I allowed it to but I count it as a lesson learned so if you get an attiude if you have a instructor that insist that you do call outs before every training flight and oh by the way my CFI never asked me to do that, but anyway I'd like to leave you with this quote.

The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting goals and achieving them. Even the most tedious chore will become endurable as you parade through each day convinced that every task, no matter how menial or boring, brings you closer to fulfilling your dreams.
Og Mandino
1923 - 1996

Sorry about your experience..unfortunately many instructors that are out there are not there to instruct, they are there to gain hours to get to the next job. A source of controversy, and often you, the student, are the victim of this system. Just because someone can fly, certainly does not mean they can teach.
The only way to prevent this is always remember you are the paying customer. We are all smart enough to know when someone is there to teach, or not there period. Interview, absolutely tell a CFI if you are not happy, and don't be afraid to move to another. There are a lot of passionate and devoted CFI's out there that care a lot, it just takes some time to find the right one for you.
Good luck and keep your standards high.
a

Not everyone is lucky enough to get to be taught by grand master Jason himself. I definitely feel fortunate that I can count myself among those who have.

<sniff> <sob>

Good times, man! Good times!

_________________
Jeff Klug
RV-8A prebuild

One other thing I wanted to say though, is have faith. $6000 isn't that much yet, nor is 65 hours. I have heard numbers like $12,000 and 120 hours. Good luck and keep working hard.

To Anais' point, when I got my PPL last year I did come in at 60 hours or so, and total costs were about $10,000. Plane rental was $100/hour, tack on CFI of $39/hour, the various sundry supplies, testing fees, etc. and it all added to a cool $10K.

It's worth it, though, so keep plugging. Then, you'll want to get your own plane...that's where the real costs start!

Jeff

ImFlying4004,

Try not to get irritated with your current or past CFIs until you are CERTAIN that it is they who are actually holding you back. First, no CFI wants to see their clients frustrated or not enjoying flight. Being a CFI trying to teach to a disgruntled student is worse than trying to be a band performing for a displeased audience, and trust me, the CFI has a proverbial finger very close to the pulse of how you're feeling about the day's lesson. Enthusiasm and Fun are the order of the day.

I once had a client who loved to go flying. LOVED it. Showed up for every lesson early, had the plane preflighted before her lesson was scheduled to begin, an hit the books in ways even I envy. When I last heard from her, she had been through every CFI our flight school had and STILL hadn't soloed. She was probably pushing over 80 hours at that point. What stood between her and her progress was her inability to overcome her fears in the cockpit. With an instructor with her she was fine, but the mere uttering of the word "solo..." and she lapsed back into the "turning the yoke left causes the plane to turn to the left" days.

I state these two points only as a reference for you to apply to your situation. I'll continue...

Any instructor will agree that primary Private Pilot flight training can be broken up into 3 phases. They are:

1. Getting ready to solo
2. Preparing to do your solo cross countries
3. Putting the finishing touches on your skills in prep for the FAA checkride...your "drivers test".

Another phenomenon I always noticed was that in the pre-solo days, a student pilot relies HEAVILY on the guidance of the instructor as to what gets done during the lesson. You're so dizzy with books, this thing called "the written", checklists, regulations, theories, policies...PTS...you just don't know where to start first, so you look to your instructor for that direction.
After you do your initial solo and begin to learn how to plan a cross country flight, the instructor starts to pull back a bit...putting more of the responsibility on you to gather all of the necessary information you'll need to make your own "go, no-go" decision. Oh, they're still very much paying attention, but now they doing more observing to see how you'll handle it and to see where your weaknesses lie. This is a good thing because we all have weaknesses and it helps to make the most of your paying dollar when I can easily and quickly identify the places where a client needs help.
The phenomenon to which I was referring to is the one in which the student pilot becomes more autonymous, not just in their flight planning, but also in their ability to self-critique and ask themselves "OK, how ready am I for the checkride, and what do I need to work on?"

After the cross countries are done, it's time for us to go dual to revisit some maneuvers and regs to make sure they don't get owned by the examiner on the basics during the checkride. It's during this time where I would always encourage the client to work WITHOUT me on the knowledge areas...using the PTS and Oral Exam Guide for guidance, study and try to learn as much as they can, and then when we meet I can quiz them on the more notoriously misunderstood concepts of the Private Pilot training. I just never got over feeling guilty as I sat in the FBO quizzing them on knowledge areas that they could have easily learned if they had just spent a few minutes of quiet time with the Airplane Flying Handbook or the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical knowledge. Studying alone is FREE and I found it to be one of the most underutilized training techniques a student pilot can use.

Based on reading your post, it sounds like you've soloed, and quite possibly even done with your cross countries. If that's the case, then your instructor isn't so much a "teacher" at this point, but more of an "evaluator". If you were my client and you've reached this level, I wouldn't say "So what do you want to do today?", but I would definitely be leaning heavily and encouraging you to decide what you feel you need my help with in prep for the checkride. You're close to the day when there won't be an instructor with you to ask, and you're going to be constantly engaging in a personal conversation , asking yourself "How am I doing?"
The purpose of flight training is to teach you stick and rudder skills as well as some very important decision making skills. This isn't exactly dance class! If you feel like your time is being wasted, ask your instructor (in a nice way of course) "Jim, where am I weak right now? Is it my steep turns, or my ability to explain a stall?"

Make him earn his money! Ask to set a date for your checkride, that way you both have a common goal: you to be prepared for your big day and it will make him more attentive to what needs to be fixed (in a timely manner).

Oh, and one more thing before I go: I would always send my people on at least one "dry run" checkride with another instructor so they get a feel for a "stranger" in the cockpit, and to give me some honest feedback as to where my clients weaknesses would lie. Made them better prepared, and it made me a better instructor.

Best of luck to you. It sounds like you've got all of your ducks in a row.

_________________
Inst: "So how far out so we make our initial call-up?"
Student: "10 miles"
Inst: "OK, let's make that call"
Student: "Airport Traffic, Cessna 172, 3 miles east..."