CapnJim
Well-Known Member
"Stop using so much rudder! God you're ham-footed!"
"Watch your altitude. WATCH YOUR ALTITUDE!!"
"You've got so many bad habits, I don't know where to start."
"Oh god. Forget it. MY AIRCRAFT."
Believe it or not, these are all things that have either been said to me or I have heard said to other students. Why I'm writing this is not because they were from one or two instructors, but because I've seen this behavior from instructors all over the nation, at all levels from instructors at ATP all the way up to regional airline training (!). It seems to be some kind of culture of arrogance and bullying, especially from the younger instructors, and we need to put a stop to it. To that end, I'm going to write this in two parts, one for instructors and one for students:
Instructors:
Your students want to do well, and they are looking to you for encouragement. It is unconscionable and unforgivable to abuse that trust by playing 'drill instructor', gratifying personal ego issues, or bullying him because you feel 'superior'. A student is in an unfamiliar, dangerous, confusing, and challenging environment. In order to succeed, he needs a confident and calm presence in there with him. A screaming, belittling, abusive personality is destructive to the learning environment, and it's tantamount to stealing: You're robbing the student of valuable flight time with your behavior. By shutting down your student, you're shutting down the learning process. If you lack the emotional and intellectual fortitude to realize that ten different students are going to make the same mistake ten different times, and it's your job to figure out ten different ways to show them how to do it properly, then do us all a favor and turn in your CFI certificate. You clearly don't deserve the title Flight Instructor, and don't deserve the job. A real instructor treats his students with dignity, respect, and infinite patience. If you don't measure up, take a hike.
I have over 1200 hours Dual Given. I also have a pass rate of better than 90%. I taught the best students and the worst. I taught Italian kids that barely spoke English when they started. I taught people who were airsick. I taught people that were afraid to fly. I taught the cocky ones, and the arrogant ones. I taught them all, and I did it well. I also taught student that had been abused by people like you, and it made me sick. I could see it in their eyes when they came to me, and I could tell it from the way they tried to hard to make me happy, instead of learning how to fly. It made me remember how I felt when I was belittled by my instructor. I fixed them and made them confident, safe pilots, despite your behavior.
There is no excuse for abusive behavior, so please don't post any as rebuttal; I'll tear them to pieces for the pleasure of the students you have mistreated. Moreover, you will have singled yourself out as one of the insecure, abusive instructors who feels the need to defend his poor behavior, so we'll all know who not to schedule ourselves with. Grow a pair: Treat students properly, and don't tolerate other instructors who behave badly.
Students:
Always remember that you're the customer. If an instructor is abusive, belittling, or is making you feel uncomfortable in any way, speak up. If they don't respond, don't waste any more time in the cockpit with them. Stop the flight as soon as possible. Land and taxi to park. Make it clear to the bad instructor that the lesson is over. Once on the ground, demand another instructor from the owner or supervisor. Make sure you voice your complaint to the instructors superiors. The bad instructor will probably try to point out all the mistakes you made, and marginalize your complaint by calling you a bad pilot. This is standard bullying behavior. Don't let him/her get away with it! You're a student, you're going to make mistakes. Your performance is not the issue! When he tries to point to your flying, refocus him and his superior on the real issue: His abusive behavior in the cockpit. When flying, make mental notes of specific things the instructor is saying or doing that are abusive. Often times, simply saying "He said 'xxxx' to me in the cockpit!" is enough to settle the argument. If you're given a new instructor and it's more of the same, perhaps with retaliation for "getting his buddy in trouble", then it's time for round two. If you just can't get satisfaction, get a refund and find a new flight school. If necessary, get an attorney. But whatever you do, don't let them get away with it. You're effectively the front line: If it ends with you, then the next guy won't have to go through the same thing.
If you're having trouble with an instructor or school and don't know how to deal with it, post here! I and others will be more than happy to help in any way we can. There's a lot of experience and knowledge on this board, and like most things in aviation, knowledge is power. Feel free to PM me if you don't feel comfortable posting publicly.
"Watch your altitude. WATCH YOUR ALTITUDE!!"
"You've got so many bad habits, I don't know where to start."
"Oh god. Forget it. MY AIRCRAFT."
Believe it or not, these are all things that have either been said to me or I have heard said to other students. Why I'm writing this is not because they were from one or two instructors, but because I've seen this behavior from instructors all over the nation, at all levels from instructors at ATP all the way up to regional airline training (!). It seems to be some kind of culture of arrogance and bullying, especially from the younger instructors, and we need to put a stop to it. To that end, I'm going to write this in two parts, one for instructors and one for students:
Instructors:
Your students want to do well, and they are looking to you for encouragement. It is unconscionable and unforgivable to abuse that trust by playing 'drill instructor', gratifying personal ego issues, or bullying him because you feel 'superior'. A student is in an unfamiliar, dangerous, confusing, and challenging environment. In order to succeed, he needs a confident and calm presence in there with him. A screaming, belittling, abusive personality is destructive to the learning environment, and it's tantamount to stealing: You're robbing the student of valuable flight time with your behavior. By shutting down your student, you're shutting down the learning process. If you lack the emotional and intellectual fortitude to realize that ten different students are going to make the same mistake ten different times, and it's your job to figure out ten different ways to show them how to do it properly, then do us all a favor and turn in your CFI certificate. You clearly don't deserve the title Flight Instructor, and don't deserve the job. A real instructor treats his students with dignity, respect, and infinite patience. If you don't measure up, take a hike.
I have over 1200 hours Dual Given. I also have a pass rate of better than 90%. I taught the best students and the worst. I taught Italian kids that barely spoke English when they started. I taught people who were airsick. I taught people that were afraid to fly. I taught the cocky ones, and the arrogant ones. I taught them all, and I did it well. I also taught student that had been abused by people like you, and it made me sick. I could see it in their eyes when they came to me, and I could tell it from the way they tried to hard to make me happy, instead of learning how to fly. It made me remember how I felt when I was belittled by my instructor. I fixed them and made them confident, safe pilots, despite your behavior.
There is no excuse for abusive behavior, so please don't post any as rebuttal; I'll tear them to pieces for the pleasure of the students you have mistreated. Moreover, you will have singled yourself out as one of the insecure, abusive instructors who feels the need to defend his poor behavior, so we'll all know who not to schedule ourselves with. Grow a pair: Treat students properly, and don't tolerate other instructors who behave badly.
Students:
Always remember that you're the customer. If an instructor is abusive, belittling, or is making you feel uncomfortable in any way, speak up. If they don't respond, don't waste any more time in the cockpit with them. Stop the flight as soon as possible. Land and taxi to park. Make it clear to the bad instructor that the lesson is over. Once on the ground, demand another instructor from the owner or supervisor. Make sure you voice your complaint to the instructors superiors. The bad instructor will probably try to point out all the mistakes you made, and marginalize your complaint by calling you a bad pilot. This is standard bullying behavior. Don't let him/her get away with it! You're a student, you're going to make mistakes. Your performance is not the issue! When he tries to point to your flying, refocus him and his superior on the real issue: His abusive behavior in the cockpit. When flying, make mental notes of specific things the instructor is saying or doing that are abusive. Often times, simply saying "He said 'xxxx' to me in the cockpit!" is enough to settle the argument. If you're given a new instructor and it's more of the same, perhaps with retaliation for "getting his buddy in trouble", then it's time for round two. If you just can't get satisfaction, get a refund and find a new flight school. If necessary, get an attorney. But whatever you do, don't let them get away with it. You're effectively the front line: If it ends with you, then the next guy won't have to go through the same thing.
If you're having trouble with an instructor or school and don't know how to deal with it, post here! I and others will be more than happy to help in any way we can. There's a lot of experience and knowledge on this board, and like most things in aviation, knowledge is power. Feel free to PM me if you don't feel comfortable posting publicly.
However, I found myself running out of patient with my student sometimes, especially at the end of day. 
As a new instructor at FBO, I have few primary students. I constantly heard myself saying - "small corrections, small corrections" for using too much rudder, alierons...etc.
