Most pilots never outlive the effect of that first flight instructor, which can be good or bad news. For that reason, choosing a good instructor who is best matched to your learning style is the single most important decision you'll make in aviation. What is the definition of good instruction, and how do you go about finding that instructor?
Notice that so far we haven't mentioned "flight school," even though the instructor usually (but not always) comes bundled with a flight school. On the surface it would appear as if they are a package -- if you want an instructor, you first have to decide which flight school. To a certain extent, that is true. However, in the final analysis, the instructor -- not the flight school -- is the conduit through which learning flows.
Good instructors can be found anywhere, both in and out of flight schools, but instructors generally work for schools, because the schools are a steady source of students. However, the way in which different schools staff their flight training departments warrants attention.
Some flight schools, especially those that specialize in training airline candidates, produce their own flight instructors. They take pilots who have graduated from their CFI training program and hire them as instructors. In some schools it's a formalized plan where those instructors teach at the school until they have accumulated around 1,500 total flight hours (about 1,000 as instructors), by which time they have their airline transport pilot certificate and move on to the airlines or another flying job. Let's examine that process.
When a school builds its instructional staff using its own graduates, good things and bad things can happen. The advantages are:
- The instructors will have uniform training that reflects the school's standards.
- They will probably use the same teaching methods.
- They will all have approximately the same experience level.
The disadvantages are:
- The uniformity of their training means the school's standards had better be high, because these instructors will be passing on knowledge in a rote fashion -- they haven't seen any other ways of instructing.
- It's likely that a high percentage of the instructors will be fairly new, and their students won't benefit from the tricks of the trade that only experience teaches.
- Some instructors are simply building time and may, or may not, be taking instructing seriously. (This can be a problem at any flight school, and it isn't unique to this type of school.)
This kind of system has been used for decades by many flight training academies, and even when they are working with extremely low-time instructors, they turn out good students. Also, there's nothing that says a young instructor can't be great and an old one tired and lazy. It comes down to the commitment of the individual instructor and the skill he or she brings to the table.
When choosing a school, you may not have many options. Perhaps you're in a smaller town with one airport and one operation that teaches flying as a sideline -- it may only have one instructor. If that instructor doesn't appear to be the one you want to learn with, you'd be better off driving an hour to the next airport where there are other choices. It's better to put off learning to fly than learn to fly with the wrong instructor.
Assuming there are several flight training options locally then there are some specifics you want to evaluate about each.
How to get started
You've decided to learn to fly. So how exactly do you begin the process?
One of the first steps is to find a flight school. The Yellow Pages of your phone book might be a good place to start, but success may be elusive (we suggest you begin your search by looking under the decidedly unintuitive "Aircraft Schools" heading). Or you can sit down at your computer and go to AOPA Flight Training's online flight school directory. There we have a comprehensive, regularly updated database of more than 3,400 flight schools across the country.
In fact, AOPA Flight Training Online offers a comprehensive resource for prospective new pilots, as well as those already in training. Information available here includes explanations of how an airplane and its primary components work; descriptions of popular training aircraft; additional suggestions to help you find the right flight school and instructor; and even suggestions for sources of flight training scholarships and loans.
Before you get too far into your flight training, we recommend that you look into the FAA's medical certification requirements for pilots. They're pretty straightforward, but some extra steps may be required if certain conditions appear in your medical history. You must obtain an FAA airman medical certificate, which also serves as your student pilot certificate, before you can legally solo an aircraft as you progress toward a private pilot or recreational pilot certificate. There are only a few medical conditions that will permanently disqualify you from holding an FAA airman medical certificate -- but it will be frustrating to be ready to solo, and find that your physician must submit a report or that you have to undergo a test.
Validate the coupon (opposite p. 16) in this magazine or visit the Be A Pilot Web site to receive an introductory flight lesson for the discounted price of $49. As a student pilot you can sign up for a free six-month AOPA introductory membership, which includes six issues of this magazine -- produced each month to help you succeed in your quest to become a pilot. |
Proximity. Because all of us are busy people, there's a tendency to home in on the closest airport and for good reason: If you have to drive a long distance, you'll schedule fewer lessons. However, balance that against having the right instructor, in the right airplane, at the right airport, and consider the drive time an investment.
Airport type. Bigger, busier airports obviously mean a more complicated learning environment. Smaller, grassroots fields often breed a friendlier, warmer, and fuzzier learning experience. However, a big airport often means a pilot isn't comfortable on shorter runways, and training at a smaller airport can produce a pilot uncomfortable flying into high-traffic airports. Also, big airports will almost always be more expensive than smaller ones. However, the quality of the school and instructor should drive your decision, and that's not dependent on the airport.
School size. Generally, a bigger school means more standardized instruction. However, it still comes down to the instructor. Bigger schools often, but not always, pay their instructors more, keeping them longer. Also, bigger, busier schools often operate newer, better airplanes. All of the foregoing is why the prices are higher, but none of it means you'll automatically get better instruction from a larger school.
School reputation. Check out the school's reputation by talking to graduates. Do they report that the school actually cares, or is it processing students like a chicken farm? Also find out whether the school has a high instructor turnover (that may say something about its management and pay levels).
School longevity and payment system. Find out how financially responsible a school is and how long it's been around. Don't prepay to a newly established school or one with a shady reputation. If you do prepay, use a credit card -- this may give you some protection if the school unexpectedly closes.
Type and quality of aircraft. Condition, more than age, is the critical factor in evaluating a training fleet. Although flying newer airplanes is a good thing, that doesn't mean a fleet of clean, well maintained birds from the 1960s and 1970s is a bad thing. Give points for an operation that keeps its airplanes clean (not raggedy looking), inside and out, as this is an indication of its general attitude toward its hardware.
Instructor pool. Evaluating a flight instructing staff isn't easy because young isn't necessarily bad and old isn't necessarily good. The same thing is true of part-time versus full-time instructors, and you can't really evaluate an instructor until you fly with him or her. Seek recommendations for instructors from graduates.
What about instructors who freelance and aren't part of a structured school? This quite often works well, but there are some realities here that have to be carefully considered. Yes, the freelancer might work with you on a more personal basis and be able to give you more time. But it has to be recognized that, if teaching isn't a full-time job, then he has other time commitments, and scheduling can become difficult. Here again, ask for recommendations from former students. One area where freelancers really work out well is in secondary training such as instrument instruction, endorsements, flight reviews, and the like, because the time commitment is shorter. They also work out best if you are training in your own aircraft. Formal schools would rather instruct you in their airplane, not yours.
As we've said, once you've checked an instructor's reputation, there's really no way to tell how he's going to work for you until you strap into an airplane with him. Some- times in the first hour you can tell if there's a problem between the two of you, but that's seldom the case. Much more often it'll take a few hours for you to gain a sense of whether he knows his subject, is capable of transferring the information in a way that works for you -- and, above all, really cares that you learn right. An instructor's passion for what he is doing floats right on the surface and, of all the factors you are looking for, that is not only the most obvious but also the most important.
If you sense an instant mismatch with an instructor, don't wait too long to look for another instructor. Otherwise, you could pick up bad habits, and the experience will leave a bad taste in your mouth. If it's not working, it's not working; time to move on. As you go through that first lesson, here are some factors to consider about your new instructor:
The instructor as a person. There are lots of little clues that tell you about an instructor's professionalism. Is he clean and neat? Is he concise in his scheduling, and punctual? An instructor never has a right to be late, although once in the air it sometimes takes a lot of effort to maintain that schedule. An instructor who is habitually late disrespects his students.
Personal interaction. A student/instructor relationship can be a strain, because you're cooped up in a tiny space, doing something very intense, and a lot of understanding is needed on his part. He has to work on making that relationship succeed. No one, for instance, needs a screamer in the right seat. You also have to evaluate his ability to communicate and empathize with you: Does he understand you enough to see when you're drowning in new information and he needs to change his approach. And lastly, is the chemistry between the two of you working? Bad chemistry always results in a bad and ineffective learning experience, and it's the primary reason to start looking elsewhere.
His interest level in you and the learning experience. The ideal educator takes a personal interest in you and what you're learning. How do you evaluate that? You don't. It's one of those things you sense. Subliminally, you know when someone is truly interested in you and how you're doing, and you'll be more satisfied with that instructor than one who appears simply to be warming the right seat.
Preparation. There are two indications an instructor is unprepared and is winging it with you (pun intended): he hustles you into the airplane with no preflight briefing and, once in the airplane, says, "Remind me what we covered last time." Every flight should begin with a precise review of the last flight, what was right and what was wrong, what you're going to do on this flight to fix that, and what you're going to cover that's new. Then, after the flight, it is verbally reviewed to make sure you understand what just transpired and what the good and bad points were. You want to leave the airport with a firm understanding of any study assignments for the next lesson. Otherwise, too much of each session is wasted.
It's really unfortunate that flight instructing is usually seen as the mailroom of aviation -- the entry-level position through which everyone wants to transition as quickly as possible. It is primarily in the major flight academies that pay scales and working conditions make flight instructing look like a true profession in which a person can build a career and, therefore, can invest more of himself in it.
Even so, there are instructors and small flight schools that take what they do very seriously and really work to give a good aeronautical education. It's up to you to search those out. This is an investment in time that pays dividends the rest of your life.
Budd Davisson is an aviation writer/photographer and magazine editor who has written some 2,200 articles and flown more than 300 different types of aircraft. A CFI since 1967, he teaches about 30 hours a month in his Pitts S-2A Special. Visit his Web site.
