CFI's - Have you ever told a student you don't want to fly?

Re: CFI's - Have you ever told a student you don't want to f

flyboywbl said:
Also looking over and seating the word "Heroin" eched into their arm with a razor blade pretty much made up my mind that I don't want my signature in their log book anymore.
Click to expand...

Montana?

Haha I guess that is more meth but they are nearly one in the same ;)
 
Re: CFI's - Have you ever told a student you don't want to f

drunkenbeagle said:
Technically, you can fly a constant speed prop retractable single if it didn't have flaps. Which makes me think it is a rather pointless endorsement.
Click to expand...

Yeah had a student that wanted to buy a 182RG and put a fixed prop on it to get around having to get an endorsement.
 
Re: CFI's - Have you ever told a student you don't want to f

It took you that lon to get a freaking complex endorsement? Wooooooooooooow.
It took me a flight of .9, that guy has issues.
 
Re: CFI's - Have you ever told a student you don't want to f

Random logging questions aside...

This strikes me more as a customer service issue. It doesn't seem appropriate to me that a CFI "fire" a student unless there are serious personality conflicts that affect safety. Being annoyed at your student's work or study habits (not to say the OP has those issues) isn't a good excuse for dropping a student. It's your job to teach, so teach. If the guy is a freelancer, there isn't really anything you can do; however, if I'd have dropped a student at the flight school I worked at when I was a CFI, I probably would have gotten a meeting with the boss over it.
 
Re: CFI's - Have you ever told a student you don't want to f

Ayork62493 said:
It took you that lon to get a freaking complex endorsement? Wooooooooooooow.
It took me a flight of .9, that guy has issues.
Click to expand...

At the end of the day, flying a complex piston comes down to "Can you read a checklist, and use it every time?"

Forget gear or prop, and there may will be damage to an engine or airframe
In a non-complex aircraft, forget carb heat and get mean look from CFI...
 
Re: CFI's - Have you ever told a student you don't want to f

Why would it take more than four or five flights for a complex endorsement?
 
Re: CFI's - Have you ever told a student you don't want to f

I got my HP endorsement in a 200 Arrow and I'm legal.

Jeopardy music fades in...
 
Re: CFI's - Have you ever told a student you don't want to f

Sounds like this guy did you a favor by cutting the cord. Also, LOGGING is not ACTING. 61.51:

(e) Logging pilot-in-command flight time. (1) A sport, recreational, private, commercial, or airline transport pilot may log pilot in command flight time for flights-

(i) When the pilot is the sole manipulator of the controls of an aircraft for which the pilot is rated, or has sport pilot privileges for that category and class of aircraft, if the aircraft class rating is appropriate;
Click to expand...

If you hold an airplane single engine land rating, you can log PIC on a pilatus PC-12 right now if you wanted to. You could not ACT, meaning someone else has to have full final authority, but if you are flying the airplane, you can log it as PIC.
 
Re: CFI's - Have you ever told a student you don't want to f

Radu38J said:
I realize this is off-topic, but:

would you report a drug using student to the FAA? I'm a new CFI so I never encountered this situation, but the FIM recommends that you report them. Or just encourage her to take the medical exam to get the student certificate?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't report someone for doing that. He could be all talk. If I suspected that person of being drunk or high, it is a different story.
 
Re: CFI's - Have you ever told a student you don't want to f

Back on topic, realize that you will have personalities that you won't get along with in your flying career. It happens to us all. I dumped a flight instructor once and I've had students be pushed to other instructors. Only one time did I have an american student I just couldn't work with anymore. It was about a 6 month period where homework wasn't done, showed up late, wouldn't take instruction (hey, winds are a little above what we should be doing for a crosswind here, student pushed for over 10 minutes to do it anyways, certain point we put our foot down), but the biggest thing was scheduling 1/2 my day, then cancelling 10 minutes prior and refusing to pay for time missed. After about 40 lost hours (no joke, I stayed to this point hoping I would recoup it later down the road) that's when I dumped him.

So if you're late by 30min, willing to pay and willing to do the work, I see no reason for why he would dump you. However, be honest with how much flying you can do, what you can take on in terms of studying and be on time or willing to pay extra. Nothing irritates an instructor more than the perpetual not getting paid. I love teaching, but I need to eat and find shelter before I go teaching.

However, if you don't get along with your instructor, find another. I've had students that we're friends and I still mentor them, and I have students that if I never see them again it will be too soon. Get with someone that you mesh well with, and I do encourage changing instructors often. If you find one that's perfect, fine, stay with them till ATP. Otherwise change it up!
 
Re: CFI's - Have you ever told a student you don't want to f

Jacob Wall said:
Howdy,

How often as CFI's do you tell a student that you would rather not fly with them anymore?

Today, I was sadly one of those students. Today would of been my last flight before getting my complex endorsement with a new instructor I'd been flying with recently when today he misinterpreted what time to meet at the airport as 9am, although the reservation system, my voicemail, and conversation over the phone said 10am, and when I arrived early at 9:30 he went off telling me that everything I do irritates him, and that he no longer want to fly with me. Seriously, after dropping all this money on getting my endorsement ONE flight away he did this. Last night, he called me at 10 and made me do all these quizzes to verify I understood what I was doing which took me until 1am, granted I started at like 11:30pm, to then make me rearrange my whole day for a flight and then once I drive all the way to the airport tells me he will not fly with me again and wouldn't be kind enough to fly with me one more time to just get the endorsement.

Yes, I understand I can get a new instructor but the fact is that I spent all this time with him demonstrating to HIM that I know what I am doing and now I must do that all over again(although this time around it'll be much faster) with a new instructor and spend more money.

/upset
Click to expand...


To answer your question I did tell a student I wouldn't sign him off and he could get another instructor because this one student never showed up or studied. So I told him well you need to seriously ask yourself if you want to be a pilot because this student had the attitude "Flying is easy and you don't have to work for it." Needless to say I gave up on him as he wasn't worth my time, but that is the only student I have ever had to do that too.

Plus his attitude of I don't give a about making you wait for an hour, while I had other students lined up for the day ticked me off.

I'm not saying you did this but my student did this like every lesson so I let him go
 
Re: CFI's - Have you ever told a student you don't want to f

In case someone doesn't know better 61.31(f)(1)(i) says it has to be MORE than 200hp. The Arrow is just 200hp, and the PA28R201 isn't 201HP either.



fholbert said:
I got my HP endorsement in a 200 Arrow and I'm legal.

Jeopardy music fades in...
Click to expand...
 
Re: CFI's - Have you ever told a student you don't want to f

usphsfnp said:
In case someone doesn't know better 61.31(f)(1)(i) says it has to be MORE than 200hp. The Arrow is just 200hp, and the PA28R201 isn't 201HP either.
Click to expand...

fholbert probably got grandfathered in. They changed that requirement to read MORE about a decade or so ago....used to be 200 was enough.
 
Re: CFI's - Have you ever told a student you don't want to f

To the OP, how old are you? It's rare but if you are a younger guy sometimes you might run across a CFI that practices age discrimination (or worse has an issue with your race/gender/whatever), or think it's their job to teach you some convoluted tough love life lesson that has nothing to do with flying airplanes. Don't fall for it, you're the customer, you don't owe them anything especially if there are personality conflicts (and all that aside I loved my PPL instructor and still tried to fly with other CFIs occasionally because I thought learning from different people with diverse backgrounds would help me become a better pilot). Study your butt off and show up with a complete mastery of your aircraft's systems and limitations and a GOOD ATTITUDE, be ready to learn and there's no reason it should take that long, and keep that in mind when flying with the new CFI. Finally don't be afraid to commute further away than the closest airport if you find an instructor or flight school that's worth it. The furthest I commuted was 1.5 hours from home to do a tailwheel endorsement/aerobatic checkout, because the flight school was just THAT cool and one of the instructors was a JC member (and still is).

Finally, here's an old thread on how long the endorsement should take. Remember that it varies based on how often you remember to read checklists (and thus lower your gear/push the prop forward before landing) and generally doesn't absolve you from sucking. :beer:

P.S. I fired an instructor once who tried to convince me that gross weight was just a "suggestion" rather than an operating limitation so we could fly the airplane over gross and he could get paid. "Uh huh, cool story bro."
 
Re: CFI's - Have you ever told a student you don't want to f

I have never fired a student. I was a one man flight school with an office, insurance and my own mouth to feed. I was willing to work with anyone. I had a good group of focused and motivated students I was able to get their ratings fast, I also had the group of wanna-be-pilot losers. Its a sad way to describe them but I somehow attracted the people that wanted to be a pilot when they grew up, but did not have the focus or maturity to ever make it happen. As an example one student who started flying at 18 was still working on his solo at his mid 20s. He'd give me a big chunk of money (to him) and then show up late and unprepared, then spend a lot of the session talking about things other than aviation.

I would sit them down for an LF conversation. Subjects covered: I have you scheduled for two hours, I will be billing you for two hours, you can show up when you want and talk about what you want. I would describe how hard it is to become a career pilot. A college degree is easier than an aviation career, this is not an easy way out. I am willing to take your money but I won't sign you off for anything until you are up to my standards. If you are not ready to focus and commit to this you should quit wasting your money, spend it on your car, in a bar or on your flight sim computer. A few I managed to get them a rating, some quit, some just kept muddling along. Even though I needed the income flying with people who did not put the effort into it, was the worst part of my day and I often came home complaining to my GF.

Among the people I never signed off for anything was my business partner. After owning a flight school for 3 years he was never more than a student pilot. I had to cancel his checkride at least 2 times that I can remember because he did not show up for the 3 flights I told him it would take to get him ready. He'd call up 9 months later expecting to be ready for a checkride with one more flight.

Unless you are unprepared, or unsafe I feel your CFI owed it to you to complete your training and not waste your money. NAFI has a code of conduct, probably worth the paper it is written on. Your club may also have a way to make sure this guy does not give someone else the run around. Look for more feedback from your instructors after each flight, you should have realized this guy was impatient with you and looked for another instructor before it came to this. I would suggest staying away from grumpy old instructors. Come in very focused and knock out the sign off with a new instructor and move on.
 
Re: CFI's - Have you ever told a student you don't want to f

///AMG said:
fholbert probably got grandfathered in. They changed that requirement to read MORE about a decade or so ago....used to be 200 was enough.
Click to expand...

I read here in another thread the FAA screwed up and thought the 201 stood for HP and not the 200 with the new wing. So people were getting an HP and complex sign off with this aircraft until they figured out their screw up.
 
Re: CFI's - Have you ever told a student you don't want to f

Should've taken one flight. Done and done. Seriously.
 
Re: CFI's - Have you ever told a student you don't want to f

FlyingScot said:
I read here in another thread the FAA screwed up and thought the 201 stood for HP and not the 200 with the new wing. So people were getting an HP and complex sign off with this aircraft until they figured out their screw up.
Click to expand...

It's a common mistake, even the AOPA still has articles up on their web site assuming that the 201 qualifies as HP.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top