My new Challenge :: CFI - CFII

TopGunn

TopGunn

Well-Known Member
So, i have decided to get my instructor license, as i have potential employers that need CFI's. I have decided to go to American flyers and knock out a 15 day course. The price for the course is the best i have found. I am planning on Attending the New Jersey Campus.

Question i have for the current CFI is on getting used to right seat. I flew last night on a right seat and i had all kind of issues ranging from being low on the glide slope to not knowing my airspeed. Landing was a little rough too. Believe it or not i had an instrument rated kid with low hours help me do the landing. It was embarrassing nonetheless. :o

Also, i just think to my self. What if i do not become a good CFI? What if my first student fail and or what if i am unable to teach someone as good as my CFI taught me?

Did you guys ever run into the aforementioned dilemma? and if yes, how did you over come?

Thanks guys!

:beer:
 
It took me a few flights to get used to flying from the right seat. My first couple of landings were absolute crap. Same thing happened to my roommate when he started his CFI training. So I wouldn't sweat that - you'll pick it up.
 
Xiph said:
It took me a few flights to get used to flying from the right seat. My first couple of landings were absolute crap. Same thing happened to my roommate when he started his CFI training. So I wouldn't sweat that - you'll pick it up.
Click to expand...

:yeahthat:

My first few were absolute crap until I realized "there's nothing really that different here: put the centerline underneath your anatomy". After that it was smooth sailing and I can land the airplane just fine from either seat.
 
takes about 3 hours to get used to the right seat. after you do that for a while it never seems to matter after that what seat you're in.
 
TopGunn said:
Also, i just think to my self. What if i do not become a good CFI? What if my first student fail and or what if i am unable to teach someone as good as my CFI taught me?
Click to expand...

Every new CFI runs into this. The feeling starts to go away after the first 100 hours or so.

As far as teach as good as your original CFI. Strive to do better and you will be fine. Believe it or not, the CFI you had teach you may not be as good as you think, so don't hold that against yourself.
 
TopGunn said:
So, i have decided to get my instructor license, as i have potential employers that need CFI's. I have decided to go to American flyers and knock out a 15 day course. The price for the course is the best i have found. I am planning on Attending the New Jersey Campus.

Question i have for the current CFI is on getting used to right seat. I flew last night on a right seat and i had all kind of issues ranging from being low on the glide slope to not knowing my airspeed. Landing was a little rough too. Believe it or not i had an instrument rated kid with low hours help me do the landing. It was embarrassing nonetheless. :o

Also, i just think to my self. What if i do not become a good CFI? What if my first student fail and or what if i am unable to teach someone as good as my CFI taught me?

Did you guys ever run into the aforementioned dilemma? and if yes, how did you over come?

Thanks guys!

:beer:
Click to expand...

If you are so unsure of yourself, then why are you giving yourself only 15 days to get one of the most important certificates? Study on your own (it's free), and don't go anywhere near the airplane until you are confident with your ground knowledge & ability to teach.

I understand you're probably in a rush so that you can earn employment as a CFI, but when you give yourself only two weeks and you haven't done any studying/flying in preparation for the course, you're setting yourself up for failure, in my opinion.
 
I never said i am not ready. I am working on the material and i know much of it. It is just the matter of time for me to get used to right seat. I will fly on my own few times before i go and do the crash course. This way i dont waste time getting in the habit of flying from the right seat.

My only other concern was my ability to teach. That confidence will come once i start instructing. As many here said, those concerns are normal and nothing hard to overcome upon.
 
So you can't fly from the right seat and you have concerns on whether or not you can teach. Yeah two weeks should do it.:rolleyes:
 
mikecweb said:
So you can't fly from the right seat and you have concerns on whether or not you can teach. Yeah two weeks should do it.:rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Seems KIND of harsh. This guy may be a badass. Seems to me he is slightly nervous about something he has never done before. I've met a lot of instructors who are super nervous the first few hours of instruction given. As for the flying from the right seat...that just takes some practice. I sucked at it before I did it a few hours.
 
poser765 said:
Seems KIND of harsh. This guy may be a badass. Seems to me he is slightly nervous about something he has never done before. I've met a lot of instructors who are super nervous the first few hours of instruction given. As for the flying from the right seat...that just takes some practice. I sucked at it before I did it a few hours.
Click to expand...

Everyone does. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. I also don't think you can learn to be an instructor in two weeks. And THAT is my point. Harsh? I couldn't care less.
 
TopGunn said:
Also, i just think to my self. What if i do not become a good CFI? What if my first student fail and or what if i am unable to teach someone as good as my CFI taught me?

Did you guys ever run into the aforementioned dilemma? and if yes, how did you over come?

Thanks guys!

:beer:
Click to expand...

I think everybody faces that situation... I was very, very worried that I was not going to be experienced enough to offer good instruction to my students. I studied everything I could get my hands on about teaching, wrote and corresponded with Rod Machado (very cool guy BTW), and discussed many different scenarios with my instructor/mentor (a very experienced and accomplished pilot).

I think one of the best pieces of advice I got was from Rod... Rather than butcher his excellent advice by paraphrasing it, I've decided to just cut and paste the email I received from him a few years ago:

Greetings Sam:

It may seem cliche, but the fact that you asked these questions tells me you're one step ahead of most folks in terms of being safe aloft. Yes, it's easy to feel uncomfortable as a new CFI, wondering if you know enough to teach someone to fly safely. The fact is that you can at least teach someone to fly as well as you and as safely as you do, right? And what's wrong with that? Nothing! This is how to think about starting out as a CFI. You don't need to teach a new pilot everything. You only need to teach them the essentials, the basics of flying and safety. You've certainly learned how to do this yourself. When you obtain your CFI certificate and gain more experience you'll see that the objective of flight training isn't to teach a new pilot everything. Instead, it's to teach this person what they need to learn most. So teach the essentials of flying and pass along the things you've learned that keep you safe. You'll do a great job as a result.

Best to you,
Rod Machado
Click to expand...

Oh, and for the record... I still remember my first student like it was yesterday. As we walked out to the airplane, I was so nervous that I started to move towards the left door of our 172 before I caught myself and went over to the right side door, LOL!
 
mikecweb said:
Everyone does. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. I also don't think you can learn to be an instructor in two weeks. And THAT is my point. Harsh? I couldn't care less.
Click to expand...

and seriously you think i care of jibberish you type here?

oh oh wait you seriously hurt my feelings over the internet in a form.. i think i am going to go in a corner and cry... :(
 
TopGunn said:
Question i have for the current CFI is on getting used to right seat. I flew last night on a right seat and i had all kind of issues ranging from being low on the glide slope to not knowing my airspeed. Landing was a little rough too. Believe it or not i had an instrument rated kid with low hours help me do the landing. It was embarrassing nonetheless. :o
Click to expand...

Its all psychological, and a tad bit of motor. The right seat is really no different than the left seat, besides the throttle and stick being in the correct hands when in the right. You're 2 feet right of where you'd normally be. As for airspeed, feel the aircraft, glance over to the other side occasionally, and if the needle seems to be pointing to the 2-3 o'clock of the ASI (or wherever is normal that you see from the left seat), then its good. No need to note the actual number.
 
MikeD said:
Its all psychological, and a tad bit of motor. The right seat is really no different than the left seat, besides the throttle and stick being in the correct hands when in the right. You're 2 feet right of where you'd normally be. As for airspeed, feel the aircraft, glance over to the other side occasionally, and if the needle seems to be pointing to the 2-3 o'clock of the ASI (or wherever is normal that you see from the left seat), then its good. No need to note the actual number.
Click to expand...

Sir, you can have my vote.
 
MikeD said:
Its all psychological, and a tad bit of motor. The right seat is really no different than the left seat, besides the throttle and stick being in the correct hands when in the right. You're 2 feet right of where you'd normally be. As for airspeed, feel the aircraft, glance over to the other side occasionally, and if the needle seems to be pointing to the 2-3 o'clock of the ASI (or wherever is normal that you see from the left seat), then its good. No need to note the actual number.
Click to expand...
Mike, I am glad to see you say that. When I tried flying a G1000 sim it drove me crazy trying to keep track of the airspeed because I didn't have the circle to let me know if I was in the right area. Noone else seems to understand you don't need to think about the number as much, just where the needle is in relation to the circle. I'm not saying I never think about the number, just that I can tell quickly if I am getting too slow if the needle is getting too far down (or up for fast) without having to actually comprehend the number. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top