New Instructor

NotCoolEnufToFly

NotCoolEnufToFly

Well-Known Member
I've been unhappy with the level of service that I've been recieving from my old instructor for about the past 6hrs so I decided this week to ask Ryan, an instructor that I've had two lessons with to take me on as his student. I didn't want to cause any problems for them as coworkers and I also don't want anyone to be upset with me but I felt it was the best thing for my training.

Some of the issues I had with my old instructor that brought me to this decision were that she and I were just not connecting on any level. I was scheduling 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hr blocks for lessons and I had never logged even a full hour with her. We had still yet to sit down and have ANY ground instruction. I realized after one lesson with my new instructor that she had never taught me to set the carb heat after pulling power back past a certain point. She didn't like teaching go arounds and ground reference manuevers so we had yet to begin them. The list actually goes on believe it or not.

Ryan, my new instructor is a gold seal instructor who has been flying for over 15yrs. He has flown corporate and made the big bucks but, as he tells the story, he didn't like the lifestyle and realized that he never felt as fulfilled as when he was instructing. He loves instructing. He is very thorough and passionate about it. He and I clicked from the beginning. He's very detail oriented and huge on ground instruction which I think fits my learning style. Many of the things that I feel I have had a struggle with since the beginning he has helped me correct in just the two lessons I've had with him.

I'm not upset with the other instructor. She is still very new. I don't even think she has sent anyone off for a checkride yet. I know she will find her rythme. But I have to keep a second job and work very hard to pay for those lessons and want to get the most out of every one of them that I can. I'm very happy with my decision to speak with them and begin my training with Ryan.
 
Bottom line, you're a customer buying a service. If you're not happy with the service, it's your option to switch instructors. I've always told my students that if they felt I wasn't performing the way they expected me to to let me know and we'd try to fix the issue. If that didn't work, moving to another instructor wasn't a problem and there would be no hard feelings. Sometimes people just don't click in the plane, and it's difficult to learn in that type of environment.
 
GREAT MOVE Pam, seriously. I went through the same thing (and still kind of am). Don't worry about switching and getting looks in the office, business is business and if she can't accept that then she would be better off somewhere else. People just don't click, or are just not organized enough for the certain student (as was in my case). CFIs should be used ot people leaving them and going on to someone else, it happens. Again, people just don't mix or feel they're getting theirs money worht from that particular instructor. I work at the office at my airport and see my old CFI all the time, no problem at all.

Never the less, don't get frustrated because you get set back a bit in your training. It happened to me for the last two lessons. It is better in the long run that you are switching now, obviously if your putting down for 2 1/2 hours in a plane w/CFI, you are serious enough. In the end you will be a better pilot, and save money while doing it.
 
:):yeahthat:
kellwolf said:
Bottom line, you're a customer buying a service. If you're not happy with the service, it's your option to switch instructors. I've always told my students that if they felt I wasn't performing the way they expected me to to let me know and we'd try to fix the issue. If that didn't work, moving to another instructor wasn't a problem and there would be no hard feelings. Sometimes people just don't click in the plane, and it's difficult to learn in that type of environment.
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You are going to do just fine! FLY SAFE T.C.
 
NotCoolEnufToFly said:
...Some of the issues I had with my old instructor that brought me to this decision were that she and I were just not connecting on any level. I was scheduling 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hr blocks for lessons and I had never logged even a full hour with her. We had still yet to sit down and have ANY ground instruction. I realized after one lesson with my new instructor that she had never taught me to set the carb heat after pulling power back past a certain point. She didn't like teaching go arounds and ground reference manuevers so we had yet to begin them. The list actually goes on believe it or not...
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Wow, sounds like she should find a new line of work.
 
GatorFC said:
Wow, sounds like she should find a new line of work.
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Well, she's still very new to instructing and I have no doubt that she knows these things, but I think you may be right. She's not interested in flying professionally anyways, and she's not motivated about instructing. She's really cool and she does want to work for the airlines but not as a pilot. I can't remember what it is that she said she wants to do.
 
Yeah those maneuvers are kind of fundamental. I've known of instructors that have been uncomfortable with teaching power-on stalls but go-arounds?

Actually even with my instructor, I remember him only making me do power-on stalls with wings level. Then I got to my stage check and the chief flight instructor told me to do them with with a 20 degree left bank. It was kind of freaky but I managed not to put us in a spin.
 
Mahesh said:
Yeah those maneuvers are kind of fundamental. I've known of instructors that have been uncomfortable with teaching power-on stalls but go-arounds?

Actually even with my instructor, I remember him only making me do power-on stalls with wings level. Then I got to my stage check and the chief flight instructor told me to do them with with a 20 degree left bank. It was kind of freaky but I managed not to put us in a spin.
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I think go arounds are kind of fun actually. Anyways, Ryan, the new instructor is going back over everything she's taught me to make sure I have a thorough knowledge and understanding of the maneuvers and we've started working on all of the things that she wasn't getting to.

She made a comment at one time that made me think she was thinking it was going to take me until sometime in 2008 to solo and I was like WTF. I mean, I know I'm not the star student that soloed at 7-10hrs here but there's NO WAY it should take me that long. I'm picking up everything she puts down in a timely manner, so I asked Ryan if he thought my learning curve was decent/normal and if he thought it would take me that long to solo and he said h3ll no. He said that I was right where he would expect a student with about 10hrs to be considering my previous training. I'm not in a hurry with this. I don't know if I want to fly professionally yet but I DO know that I don't want it to take me 100 hours longer than it has to because of my freaking instructor.
 
No go arounds? My fith hour I felt uncomfrotable on final because i turned too early. "I'm going around" my CFI said sure. IT is not much to practice, youll know what to do after a good 4-6 of them, but they are vital to safety and good aviation practice.
 
n57flyguy said:
No go arounds? My fith hour I felt uncomfrotable on final because i turned too early. "I'm going around" my CFI said sure. IT is not much to practice, youll know what to do after a good 4-6 of them, but they are vital to safety and good aviation practice.
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Oh, well now I've worked on them with Ryan. We worked on those and forward slips for most of the lesson yesterday.
 
forward slips are da bomb!

Seriously, that's awesome Pam. Sorry for not respond to your txt but I just forgot, I swear :)
 
I'm sorry. She is a very lovely lady but I don't want to pay $110/hr to look at an attractive person all day when I can look in the mirror for free! ;) :D
 
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