Renewing interest for discouraged students

DBrown

DBrown

Well-Known Member
I have a student that went from flying once a week to once a month and eventually not at all, so I cornered him, asked him to come to the airport diner and eat breakfast with me. At breakfast I learned that flying had become more frustration than it was worth for him he said "why would I keep spending all this $ when its all work and no fun" I got him to commit to one more flight where I told him I would not charge him dual, we would not do any lessons and I would split the plane rental with him. The following Sat we met up, I had him fly me to a nearby airport that i knew was having a fly in breakfast, something he never experienced before. He was very excited meeting pilots, seeing different planes and talking with a couple students. It totally renewed his interest in flying showing him light at the end of the tunnel so to speak and he has been flying every week since then and will be taking his check ride next week.

It's hard for us CFIs to keep students motivated and on task, but at the same that's our job. This is just a way that helped get a student out of the dumps, and I thought I would share.

What are some things that work for you?
 
Make it fun. Unless you work at a pilot mill (which I understand most people on here do, and that's different), your students are not rushing to get their rating done so they can catch the next big wave into the right seat of an RJ. They are spending money they've saved long and hard in order to pursue a dream they've probably had since they were a kid (which might be a 20-40 year old dream). That dream is about seeing the world from the air, and maybe going places to escape the monotony of every day life in their house and job routine. You need to ask them about their dream, what do they see themselves doing with the plane. Even the most reserved and quiet students at one point sneak in a "some day I'd like to see ____ from the air". Bam! Fill that need, find fun ways to teach fundamentals. Going to the same practice area time and again while barking "airspeed, more bank, watch your altitude" again and again is brain numbing. I sometimes have students work on ground reference maneuvers by following a twisty meandering river, do turns around a point over a boat on a lake. We do spins. We do a lot of hops to other airports for our lessons. Landings are pretty much always a contest/challenge of some sort. Even in the slow 150 we can hop to four different airports in a typical 1.5 lesson, get in some landings, stop and grab a coke, watch other airplanes, etc.
 
All of my students are getting into flying as a hobby, not a career. Each time we fly, I try to remind them that flying is serious business, but it's also a lot of fun. I find that occasional flights to other nearby fields for stuff like pattern work instead of staying at the home drome tend to keep them more engaged/lessen burn out.
 
You did a good thing. The challenge is to find the ways to make it fun, incorporate meaningful training, and make it cost effective all at the same time.

It often seems that flying is way down the list of talents a good instructor must call upon. It's more a matter of being a counselor, a mentor, a teacher, a friend, and of course, a role model.
 
rframe said:
Make it fun. Unless you work at a pilot mill (which I understand most people on here do, and that's different), your students are not rushing to get their rating done so they can catch the next big wave into the right seat of an RJ. They are spending money they've saved long and hard in order to pursue a dream they've probably had since they were a kid (which might be a 20-40 year old dream). That dream is about seeing the world from the air, and maybe going places to escape the monotony of every day life in their house and job routine. You need to ask them about their dream, what do they see themselves doing with the plane. Even the most reserved and quiet students at one point sneak in a "some day I'd like to see ____ from the air". Bam! Fill that need, find fun ways to teach fundamentals. Going to the same practice area time and again while barking "airspeed, more bank, watch your altitude" again and again is brain numbing. I sometimes have students work on ground reference maneuvers by following a twisty meandering river, do turns around a point over a boat on a lake. We do spins. We do a lot of hops to other airports for our lessons. Landings are pretty much always a contest/challenge of some sort. Even in the slow 150 we can hop to four different airports in a typical 1.5 lesson, get in some landings, stop and grab a coke, watch other airplanes, etc.
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You'd be surprised. I've seen a few non career students in a big rush for some reason.
 
drunkenbeagle said:
I am non career, some things, like a CFI rating - better to get it done and not get stressed out for an extended period about it.
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That actually makes sense though, especially for a rating like the CFI and especially for people that bust ass extremely hard to get it done. It's just kinda funny when people do minimal work and say "I wanna get this wrapped up real quick now!" I think a lot of people go into flying thinking it's like getting a driver's license.
 
JordanD said:
That actually makes sense though, especially for a rating like the CFI and especially for people that bust ass extremely hard to get it done. It's just kinda funny when people do minimal work and say "I wanna get this wrapped up real quick now!" I think a lot of people go into flying thinking it's like getting a driver's license.
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I've come across a few of those. "You mean I have to take a test and that's it"
 
When I was working on my instrument my instructor would bounce us between KGRR and KMKG, with a few trips down to KCVG at night. He would always ask if there was somewhere I wanted to go first. We did the Club Mooney checkout flying down to KSUS as it would be a route I would fly a lot to see my daughter. He's taken others to Sun and Fun to do IFR work and checkouts.

Later when I needed commercial time I was lamenting that I never got to do a KLAS flight when I was flying out of KLGB, so he suggested we do it from KMKG. That was some great winter IFR experience and a great confidence builder.

He's moving on to teach helicopters now that he bought one, but I'll try to use his style of instructing after I pick up my CFi.....hopefully by September.
 
JordanD said:
That or

"I almost have 40 hours I should be wrapping up soon."

Yeah.. let's work on getting you to not almost kill us so I can solo you first.
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Yup, I hate how most schools advertise the mins as gospel. Another one to watch out for are the tightwads.
 
40-45 is pretty reasonable but I instructed out in the sticks. I don't know how it gets done at busy places where you waste an hour jacking around with ATC and flying 30 miles to the practice area.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
 
flyingbum said:
Yup, I hate how most schools advertise the mins as gospel. Another one to watch out for are the tightwads.
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Bleh, don't even get me started.

"It says the plane was X price on your website."
"Oh, what page?"
"Well.... uhh, I know I saw it somewhere."

My favorite was the widebody captain that ran around complaining I charged too much (the average CFI rate on the field... which is probably too low) and how ATP's instructors were cheaper. This is after I spent a good hour getting the airplane ready for a ~.7 flight and only charged him for the .7.
 
JordanD said:
You'd be surprised. I've seen a few non career students in a big rush for some reason.
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Oh I've had a couple guys who were rushed. One was a missionary who had to go back overseas in a month for a 12-18 month stay, so we rocked it but still had fun. Another was a kid leaving for college. I've got another who I'm supposed to start next month who travels overseas for a month at a time. But their motivations are still different than someone who's looking to get their private done so they can start their instrument so they can do their commercial so they can built multi...etc etc etc.
 
DBrown said:
I have a student that went from flying once a week to once a month and eventually not at all, so I cornered him, asked him to come to the airport diner and eat breakfast with me. At breakfast I learned that flying had become more frustration than it was worth for him he said "why would I keep spending all this $ when its all work and no fun" I got him to commit to one more flight where I told him I would not charge him dual, we would not do any lessons and I would split the plane rental with him. The following Sat we met up, I had him fly me to a nearby airport that i knew was having a fly in breakfast, something he never experienced before. He was very excited meeting pilots, seeing different planes and talking with a couple students. It totally renewed his interest in flying showing him light at the end of the tunnel so to speak and he has been flying every week since then and will be taking his check ride next week.

It's hard for us CFIs to keep students motivated and on task, but at the same that's our job. This is just a way that helped get a student out of the dumps, and I thought I would share.

What are some things that work for you?
Click to expand...



That story makes me very happy. :>

Let us know how he does! ^.^

-Fox
 
drunkenbeagle said:
I am non career, some things, like a CFI rating - better to get it done and not get stressed out for an extended period about it.
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Indeed.

I did both in the worst way. I've been stressing about CFI rating for years now. I'm down here in San Diego working on it, and I actually had a chance to come 'burn it out' ... but instead, I'm just a big fluffball of stress.

Doesn't help that my work exploded and had me working 70-80+ hour weeks for the past few months, and my lesson plans weren't done, and the ones that were done weren't really right... :P

... and I haven't done private maneuvers in over a decade and a half. :\

Oh well! Checkride postponed 'til 08/01. I'll have a couple extra weeks to prepare.. unless, of course, work succeeds in eating my soul before then :\

Anyway, long story short... I've been looking forward to doing my CFI for years, but stressing a bit over it ... so now that it rolls around, I'm too stressed to have much fun.

-Fox
 
Acrofox said:
Indeed.

I did both in the worst way. I've been stressing about CFI rating for years now. I'm down here in San Diego working on it, and I actually had a chance to come 'burn it out' ... but instead, I'm just a big fluffball of stress.

Doesn't help that my work exploded and had me working 70-80+ hour weeks for the past few months, and my lesson plans weren't done, and the ones that were done weren't really right... :P

... and I haven't done private maneuvers in over a decade and a half. :\

Oh well! Checkride postponed 'til 08/01. I'll have a couple extra weeks to prepare.. unless, of course, work succeeds in eating my soul before then :\

Anyway, long story short... I've been looking forward to doing my CFI for years, but stressing a bit over it ... so now that it rolls around, I'm too stressed to have much fun.

-Fox
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Settle down. Its about 180% less difficult than you think its going to be.

I'm a big dumbass and got mine, you can too.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
 
I always try to make the lessons fun. I love the days when there are just a few big puffy clouds around, and it really gets a student excited just to fly around the clouds and get some practical use of VFR cloud clearance requirements at the same time. It somehow rocks their world. :) Doing pattern work at another airport and actually stopping to take a break also makes a student feel accomplished.
 
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