The good, the bad, and the unknowing
OK, here's a problem that has had me vexed since I started flight training (and successfully completed my private pilot) at my local fixed-base operator. Like many others before me, I have been bounced from one instructor to another (a half-dozen in all) because they took new flying jobs, moved on to another FBO, moved out of state, etc.
My question is, why do CFIs--at least those I've dealt with--have so little training in offering a ground school curriculum for their students besides, "Oh, buy the XXX test study book and get to know it," or "The flight school does have a ground school every six months or so." Only one instructor, my first (to her everlasting credit) produced a few photocopied references regarding aerodynamics and the airport pattern.
That's it!
If someone had given me even a one-page diagrammed explanation of VOR tracking I would have "got it" months ago! How much time I wasted that could have been better directed at actually flying, rather than struggling on my own to understand concepts and procedures that were never fully explained or backed up with any kind of printed reference material!
In your experience, is this common? I'm speaking of teachers who are excellent pilots but don't necessarily know the best methodology for teaching or using teaching aids. And what is a student advised to do, besides check out other schools and instructors? I think CFIs often forget that they already know all this stuff, and someone walking in off the street, regardless of passion and purpose, is starting from practically zero knowledge.
Sincerely,
P.D.
Greetings P.D.:
Your frustration with CFIs is palpable, and I understand it. The fact is that any professional CFI will always be prepared with the proper materials to convey the essential elements of each lesson. This might mean pictures, graphs, and even portable mini-instrument panels with moving plastic dials. I've even known one CFI to carry a small white board, easel, and portable chair in which his students would sit as he conducted ground school under the shade of a wing. There are many flight instructors out there who come very well-prepared. Unfortunately, there are also many who aren't. This is why the best advice I have for anyone wanting to learn how to fly is, It's better to search for a good instructor for three years than to fly even three minutes with a bad one.
The sad fact is that not all CFIs are equal. Some are real pros, and some aren't. Unlike a schoolteacher, there is no extensive educational requirement for a CFI. The result is like Camel cigarettes--unfiltered. As you've found, a CFI may have a world of knowledge but not be capable of sharing it very easily or very well. That often makes finding a good CFI a hit-or-miss proposition.
If you're an educated consumer (which all students need to be), then you know to look for a CFI by reputation. Once you think you've found a good one, commit yourself to no more than three lessons up front. If after those three lessons you are satisfied with this person's professionalism, then sign up for more lessons. If you aren't happy with the way things have worked out, it's relatively easy to break off the relationship so that you can continue your search.
This is a sad fact about aviation. For years, many have tried getting more people into aviation by extensive and expensive advertising campaigns. That's fine, but not helpful if we don't keep those people in aviation. Aviation would be swelling over with potential new pilots if we could find a way to keep already-interested students from giving up for reasons similar to those you've expressed.
The CFI is the key. Unprofessional CFIs drive people away from the airport. Good CFIs are the connective tissue holding general aviation together. These folks are worth their weight in slow-running Hobbs meters, and they aren't paid a fraction of what they're really worth to the aviation community.
A disappointing career move
Dear Rod:
I am faced with a dilemma. Here's my situation. I was a CFII until a little more than a year ago, when I quit and got hired by XXX Airlines as a ramp agent (now a customer service agent). The company I worked for as a CFI was not doing that well, and I had lost quite a bit of my motivation.
I figured that getting hired by XXX Airlines would boost my motivation to continue flying. Well, a year and a half later, I have flown perhaps 10 hours. I like what I'm doing here, but I certainly do not intend to make a career as a customer service agent.
XXX Airlines has always been my goal since I first learned to fly several years ago. I'm not interested in flying for any other regional. I still have about 85 hours to go to meet their requirements. I am no longer instrument current, and the prospect of getting current again (along with renewing my medical) does not help my motivation.
Another thing is that I have always been a very conservative pilot throughout my years of flying. I'm not willing to fly anything, anywhere, just to get an airline job. I see many of my former students and fellow instructors take any kind of job just to get to the airlines, and I'm beginning to wonder if maybe I don't have the right approach to flying.
With the state of the airline industry these days, I thought about possibly changing careers. That, plus I'm thinking about the future, of course.
Would you have any advice for me? I have lost much of my motivation to fly--maybe I need someone to push me back on the tracks. I am afraid that if I do change careers, I may regret it down the line.
N.R.R.
Greetings N.R.R.:
Let me be frank about my perception of your situation. To me, it seems like you've all but given up on a flying career. I'm not sure most folks would have let the failure of one flight school knock the motivation out from under them. At least most folks I know who really wanted to fly wouldn't let this happen. They would have simply found another school to work with.
Recent flying time and experience are essential to upward mobility in the aviation business. So why are you not searching for another flight school? Sure, if economics and financial responsibility are issues, then I can certainly see working with XXX Airlines as an agent to maintain a basic income. But I would at least assume that you'd be flight instructing part-time if you were truly interested in aviation. You can bet that any airline that interviews you will make the same assumption, too. You'll certainly be asked to explain the long lapse of aviation activity.
Getting through all it takes to attain a professional career in aviation requires motivation, devotion, and determination. These qualities, as well as hours, are things the airlines look for. It appears that you may not have the intensity of desire needed to make flying your major focus. If so, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Just find yourself a career you enjoy, and have fun. On the other hand, it would be terrible to find out 20 years down the road that you really wish you had stayed in aviation. These are questions no one can answer for you. A bit of soul-searching is in order.
Even if you decide to change careers, all the flying experience you have to date still will have been worth the investment you made. No doubt, flying and flight instructing have made you a better person in many ways. On the other hand, your behavior over the last year (in terms of not flying) may reveal more about your true motivations that you suspect.
This probably isn't what you wanted to hear, but it's my take on your situation.
What's logged, what's not
Dear Rod:
I have taken instrument lessons from a few different CFIIs. When logging simulated instrument flight time in my logbook, some CFIs have deducted the time for startup and taxi, while others have not. Is there a set rule for what's logged and what's not as far as simulated instrument time in an airplane?
Best regards,
Dan
Greetings Dan:
Technically speaking, simulated instrument flight time is the time that you are simulating "flight" by reference to your instruments. It's perfectly reasonable for a CFI to log in your book only the time that you are actually "flying" on instruments. I don't suspect that you're starting the airplane while wearing Foggles, much less taxiing around while wearing them. So it's not unreasonable for your instructor to not log startup and taxi in your logbook, since it's not considered simulated instrument time.
Rod Machado is a flight instructor, author, educator, and speaker. A pilot since 1970 and a CFI since 1973, he has flown more than 8,000 hours and owns a Beech A36 Bonanza. Visit his Web site.
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