The class lasted 50 hours. He spent another 10 hours after class drawing power curves and little airplanes over and over, ending each explanation with "Does that help?" "Let me try it this way...." He never lost his sense of humor or patience. As I struggled to understand and got frustrated with my inability to absorb the information, he said, "You need to go fly. You need to see that learning to fly is more than books and multiple-choice questions. It's the thrill of leaving the Earth behind for a while." He introduced me to this world, and from the first "ooh" and "aah," I was hooked. After an exhausting 10 weeks, I was amazed to find myself with a passing grade on the written test for my private pilot certificate.
Since he was completely booked with students, as most great instructors are, I started my flight training with someone else. He continued to try to help me over the rough spots, and there were many. My new instructor was a very nice guy who tried his best, but after a few lessons it became apparent that frustration was building on both our parts. My ground-school teacher encouraged me to stick with it and try to find ways to work with my primary instructor, but I was getting more and more discouraged. I simply couldn't "get" landings. Other flight instructors tried to offer support, saying all the usual things, "Someday you just get it" and "Don't worry, everyone struggles with landings," but nothing helped.
Finally, my ground school instructor's schedule cleared, and he agreed to take on this challenge - and a challenge it was! Not only was I a very "nontraditional" student, but also I had a habit of writing about my experiences. Every lesson was followed by a journal, sent to all my friends and other flight instructors, poking fun at myself, my progress, my shortcomings - and more often than not, my flight instructor. It is no exaggeration to say this was the most difficult thing I had ever attempted.
For my part, I spent every single night studying. I never showed up for a lesson unprepared. I worked hard, studied hard, and never gave a half-hearted effort. For his part he called on patience and teaching abilities he may not have known he had. He taught me about learning styles, and he worked to accommodate my somewhat intense combination of kinesthetic and visual learning styles. I had to "feel" everything as well as be able to "see" it in my mind. He taught me about primacy and why it was easier to learn it right the first time rather than have to "unlearn" and relearn the correct way.
One method he used in the airplane that made all the difference for me was his "my plane" times. Some instructors will try to explain about technical parts of a maneuver as the student is trying to actually do the maneuver. He would say, "I have the plane, I need you to listen to me." Initially (and for a long time) it took every bit of concentration I had to fly the plane, and, as he told me later, I had nothing left over to process information. His flying the airplane allowed me to just listen, observe, and process what he was telling me. He used my love of writing as a resource. He had me write out maneuvers and procedures at night to help me visualize and internalize them.
In spite of his more than 10 years as a flight instructor, I don't think anything had prepared him for the new and unexpected challenges that accompanied each lesson. He brought a bicycle tire to explain left-turning tendencies and, in the dead of winter, sat in a cold airplane on the ground to work on cockpit management problems. No matter what the rough spot, he pulled me through. He seemed to sense when the hard work became overwhelming, and we would take a break from the work and go for a flight in the mountains or just a fun flight for breakfast. This made it possible to keep focused on the goal and not just the struggles. After a few months, he sat with me one night and with as much compassion as he could, said, "I know you're discouraged, but if you are willing to keep working at this, so am I. You're not going to be a 75-hour pilot, but if you are willing to do what it takes to get there, I'll see it through as long as you will." He made a commitment to never give up on me, and he never did.
Was it easy? No! Was it smooth, steady forward progress? No! Sometimes it was more like one step forward, and two steps back, but this is what separates ordinary flight instructors from truly great ones. There were times when I wanted to quit. There were times when he probably wanted me to quit. We had schedule problems, airplane problems, and lots of weather problems. There were nights of utter frustration and tears, and late nights after long days of work where the frustration became arguments over stupid, unimportant things. But, through it all, he never once let me leave a lesson thinking that I was stupid or incompetent because it was taking me longer than other students to understand something. Every time I said, "I'll never get this," the response was the same: "Oh yes you will!"
From time to time, due to work commitments, I spent time flying with other CFIs. I chose each one carefully and never got in an airplane with an instructor I was uncomfortable with. The "old-timers" at my flying club laughed and shook their heads at this "strange, unpilotlike" behavior. But I held fast to my right to only fly with people I was comfortable with. Since my aviation goals do not include flying for an airline, I'd argue, I am going to be able to choose who I fly with. A benefit of age is the wisdom you gain about yourself. I know myself, my limitations, my strengths, and abilities better than most 20-year-olds do. One of the first rules my flight instructor taught me was to "Preflight the Pilot," and it's a step I never skip. I don't fly if it doesn't "feel" right, and I never push my own limits. I probably hold the record at my airport for most returns from the run-up area. As I work on my instrument rating I preflight the airplane with the same intensity and caution that I did when he first taught me.
I've spent many hours with instructors who were just out of school and on their way to an airline. Never rule out a flight instructor based on his or her years of experience. Two of the best instructors I ever flew with were brand-new and brought enthusiasm and great teaching skills to my efforts. They shared my excitement and passion for flying in a way some more experienced instructors did not. They understood the "wow" factor of each flight. I truly experience a thrill with each takeoff and never lose the wonder of where I am. I wouldn't trade a minute of these experiences. I learned something from each one.
In the end, my primary instructor's workload necessitated my actually getting the endorsement from another instructor, but he never lost touch with my progress and continued until the very end to provide support, encouragement, and the proverbial shoulder to cry on when the going got tough. (This included a late-night phone call in full-blown panic mode the night before my checkride - to which he re-sponded, "Go to bed, get a good night's sleep. You either know it or you don't. And you do.")
When I came in from my checkride, he was waiting on the phone to say, "See, I told you that you could do it!" Because of this truly exceptional CFI, I achieved a lifelong dream.
From preflight to landing, I love that I never fly "alone." Every time I return from a flight, I hear this very calm voice in my ear saying, "nice, shallow turn to final," and when I make a less-than-perfect landing, that same voice is always there to say, "Don't stop flying the plane."
When I finally got my private pilot certificate, I had more hours than most people with years of flying, and I joke that it cost me more than the budget of a small country, but you know what? I wouldn't trade one minute or take back one dollar. It is worth every single minute of pain and frustration. It brings a joy and wonder so few people get to know. Don't ever give up. If a 50-year-old grandmother who had no idea what a combustion engine is or what makes an airplane fly can do this, so can you.
The key to success is hard work, determination, and the right flight instructor. Keep looking until you find the right one. Don't let anyone tell you that you can "learn from anyone" or that you should "stick it out" in a bad instructor/student relationship. Find an instructor who understands your enthusiasm and excitement. Find one who fits your personality and learning style. They are out there, and it's worth the search.
Now, with that goal achieved, I have a new goal: to become a CFI and continue the tradition of sharing this love of aviation with others. For the CFIs out there who teach because they love it and daily share their love of aviation with others: thank you, you change lives!
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