Loosing Skill As A CFI

Beech90

Well-Known Member
As a CFI is it possible to lose a little flying skill since you don't fly the plane as much? ( Atleast I don't, my students fly 100% of the time unless safety is a issue).

Even though I'm flying 20-30 hours a week, I feel as if I lost some of my "skill " ( My knowledge has increased 100%) . How much did you actually fly the plane back when you instructed? Would it be too much to ask your students to do a pattern, stall etc
 
When I instructed I tried to fly a little bit every flight even if it was just for 30 seconds while a student looked at his chart or whatever.

Yes you will feel like you have lost a little skill, but after the fact when your the one flying full time again it will come back naturally. You wont be starting over at square one again.
 
Yes, it is.

However the skill of actually hand flying the airplane is the easiest part to learn and also to refresh. Whatever handflying skills you loose, you will gain 10X in airmanship, decision making, and judgment.

I agree.

Some of the things I do is just ask your student if you can demonstrate a maneuver. It never takes more than a minute or two, but it keeps your skills there. Also, with my advanced students, when we go on cross country flights, and they want to use the auto pilot, I just fly it for them. I act just like the auto pilot would, and make them call out the different modes to keep it realistic. Oh yeah, and don't forget about intro flights. I try to get as many of those as humanly possible.
 
I have noticed that my knowledge has improved, but yes flying skills will deteriorate unless you go up solo every once in a while, or go on a dual flight with another instructor.
 
You don't really. in fact you see so many mistakes from your students that you will pull your hair one by one...

And many times you need to retake the stick before the nose gear landing or too early flare.

I did 135 and flight instruction.. U learn much more as a flight instructor than just cruising on a Victor airways in a turboprop at night with 97%on autopilot.


Teaching is a real pleasure. And lot of fun.... I love it....
:)
 
I found it was entirely dependent on what kind of instruction I was doing. I went a year and a half straight of nothing but instrument students. I picked up a student pilot randomly and I went to do a x-wind landing when the winds picked up one day and it as horrible. I found other areas were lacking as well, particularly smoothness. What doesn't help is going long stretches in the right seat and switching back to the left.

When I did aerial survey, I had double the flight time in the right seat vs. the left and it showed it's ugly face on occasion.

I echo renting a plane every once in awhile, particularly on a day with challenging winds.
 
I'm surprised so many on here feel their skills deteriorated as CFIs... I thought mine would, but I found just the opposite. I became a much better pilot when I started instructing, both in terms of airmanship and stick and rudder skills. Of course, I was always a big proponent of teach one, show one, watch one.
 
I'm surprised so many on here feel their skills deteriorated as CFIs... I thought mine would, but I found just the opposite. I became a much better pilot when I started instructing, both in terms of airmanship and stick and rudder skills. Of course, I was always a big proponent of teach one, show one, watch one.
+1agreed.
 
As a CFI is it possible to lose a little flying skill since you don't fly the plane as much? ( Atleast I don't, my students fly 100% of the time unless safety is a issue).

Even though I'm flying 20-30 hours a week, I feel as if I lost some of my "skill " ( My knowledge has increased 100%) . How much did you actually fly the plane back when you instructed? Would it be too much to ask your students to do a pattern, stall etc


See, another great reason NOT to be a CFI!!!!!!!!! :D:bounce::sarcasm:
 
I think it's possible, but I'm a better pilot now after having given some dual. There's a lot of learning that happens through teaching others and observing mistakes. When I fly alone now I'm much more attentive to small things, more precise throughout my flight, I set more goals for myself. Altitudes, airspeeds, and headings I hold myself to a much higher standard. Landings have to be right on the spot, approaches have to be the right airspeed and right profile for what I'm attempting to do, etc. Holding myself to a much higher standard just pushes me as a pilot and I find I get a lot more out of my time in the air than I used to.

Also, while instructing, its often more productive to demonstrate maneuvers once or twice during a lesson than it is to just keep explaining what was right and wrong and making the student do them over and over again. Often the student needs to "see it" done right to help them get a little external perspective. You know that difference between flying and observing... there's a very different type of learning and thought process, you can be much more reflective when observing... so giving your students that experience also means you get some "stick time". It's productive all the way around.
 
All instructors are horrible at everything.

Don't flight instruct.

Additionally, don't get a degree.

(Have I covered all my bases for career advancement?)
 
Back
Top