Adapting Instruction to Student Goals

Cloud Surfer

All Roads lead to Trantor
How do you CFIs who have students hailing from diverse backgrounds tailor your instructor in order to help your students fulfill their own particular aviation goals? Do you approach the training of aspiring professional pilots differently than that of the student who only wants to fly for personal leisure or business purposes? What are some things that you do differently in each case? Thanks in advance for replies/comments.
 
I, like you, always heard that you were supposed to remember each student's individual goal and remind them of it along the way to keep them motivated and stuff but as far as a syllabus goes, or anything along those lines I just really kept it all the same. Wanna solo? Yeah, you're all gonna show me this, this and that before anyone solos. Schedule your checkride you say? I expect to be as equally impressed by all of you whether it's grandma checking something off her bucket list or some 16 year old that wants to get the edge on military flying. I feel like the amount of ratings they end up going for will do the tailoring. My job was just to teach the PTS for that particular rating and make safe pilots.
 
My students have tended to be those interested in personal or personal business flying but even then, the student who anticipates a lot of xc flying or night flying or mountain flying will receive a bit more extensive training in those areas. The Part 61 requirements and PTS are a baseline, not the ultimate goal.
 
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