Choosing an instrument instructor
I've trained for my private pilot certificate and now want to work on my instrument rating. I hear from others that I should switch instructors and not train with the instructor who provided my primary training. My primary instructor is a good teacher and an excellent pilot. We get along fantastically. Should I switch or stay with this one? Signed,
Tammy
Greetings Tammy:
This is one good reason to wear earplugs when hanging around the pilots' lounge. If you have a good flight instructor, and I do mean a good one, then you're sitting on a pot of gold. Why trade in gold, on speculation, hoping for platinum -- especially when you might get tin instead? My advice is to not do anything so foolish as getting rid of a good instructor when you don't know what you're getting in return. You always have the option of taking an occasional flight with another instructor, just for a taste of variation. If you're worried about having only a limited exposure to the skills offered by a larger assortment of instructors, consider this point. The worst that could happen is that you'd end up flying as well as your instructor does. And if you trained with him to become an instructor, you might just end up as a good instructor, too.
How low should we go?
Dear Rod:
My CFI has me go to about 200 feet above ground level (over an open field) when practicing engine-out emergencies before restoring power. Is this a good idea? Should I switch instructors? Is a 1,700-hour instructor safer than a 600-hour one?
Thanks,
No Name Provided
Greetings Mr. Anon Omas:
I've been known to take students down to five feet off the ground as long as there were no obstacles nearby that would present a problem. On the other hand, 200 feet agl over a forced landing site is sufficient to let you know if your landing strategy would or would not work. My guess is that your instructor is just trying to give you some practical experience here and not behaving irrationally or irresponsibly. On the other hand, if during the approach he says things like, "Don't worry, our shields will protect us" or "Prepare to beam out if the engine coughs," then you've got to cut the cable to this guy's TV (and I mean that both literally and metaphorically).
As far as whether a 1,700-hour CFI is better than one with 600 hours, well, it all depends on the individual. Some people are just great teachers, so you might learn more from a person like that who has 600 hours of experience than from a less-proficient teacher with 1,700 (or 17,000) hours.
Note that I'm talking about a person's teaching talent, not his or her piloting ability. Being a good pilot and being a good teacher are two very different things. As a generalization (and without generalizations we would have no wisdom), flight time has less to do with a CFI's overall competence than the personal qualities of that individual.
On the other hand, experience must count for something, and it does. Generally speaking, experienced CFIs are better problem-solvers because they've encountered more problems. They're also more likely to give their students greater leeway when learning to fly (such as letting them bounce and recover on their own) because they have a better understanding of the airplane's performance limits. In other words, their hands aren't as likely to hover over the student's flight controls like a hungry duck ready to pounce on a June bug. This helps students build confidence much more quickly.
My advice is to fly with the person you trust and respect, and whom you find is enjoyable to learn from.
Training in a complex aircraft
Dear Rod:
I'm a CFI. Is there any problem in giving a student more dual than typically necessary before he solos? I'm training a student to fly in his Beech F33 Bonanza, and it's taking a lot longer than usual to get him soloed. I want to spend a little extra time with him before letting him fly alone.
Sincerely,
R.D.
Greetings R.D.:
I've never been a big fan of teaching primary students in their complex airplanes, despite having done so a few times many years ago. There are two problems with this approach. First, as you've found, it sometimes leads to a long presolo period. And second, students often get overwhelmed and quit, because all the complexity can be too much at one time.
The purpose of solo isn't to give the instructor a rest and allow time for his or her nervous system to regenerate (though such healing is a nice unintended consequence). Solo is intended to build a student's confidence. Give too much "unnecessary" dual instruction before letting a student solo and you end up with a student who doesn't feel confident in his or her ability to control an airplane. That's a fact.
When training a student in a complex airplane, you often have no choice but to give extra dual instruction, either because of insurance company mandates and/or because the airplane demands the extra time. Either way, this doesn't produce a better overall pilot. It just produces a pilot with a greater dependence on his or her instructor.
During the process of presolo dual instruction, students reach a point where they feel they can control the airplane on their own. Not letting the student solo at or near this point -- whether because you're extra protective or you're unsure of their ability or because of insurance company requirements -- results in students who begin feeling that you don't trust their ability to fly. Enter the law of diminishing returns. With each additional and unnecessary hour of dual instruction, your students become more and more dependent on you for their comfort. There's no redeeming value in this condition at all.
If you can't solo this person soon, then I suggest you put him in the simplest airplane you can find and solo him in that. This would have been the best thing to do from the start, in my opinion. Once a person has soloed in a less complex airplane he has learned the essentials that will allow him to transition more easily to a complex machine.
Rod Machado is a flight instructor, author, educator, and speaker. A pilot since 1970 and a CFI since 1974, he has flown more than 8,000 hours and owns a Beech A36 Bonanza. Visit his Web site.
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