So I don't want to flight instruct...

GX said:
"Bob Hoover doesn't have a single hour of dual given, and I'd say he's a pretty darn good pilot."
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Quite possibly one of the dumbest arguments in this topic that I've ever heard.

I agree with him that being a USAF fighter pilot, combat veteran and POW, then USAF test pilot, then four decades as an airshow performer, and thereby becoming probably the greatest living all-around aviator makes a better airman than simply becoming a CFI. Of course it does.

Unfortunately, 99.9% of pilots aren't able to build their airmanship and judgment like that -- Hoover lived in unique times and had a one-of-a-kind career path. Today, it would simply not be possible to even replicate that career path. 99% of airmen don't have Hoover's experience, skill, competence, or knowledge either. There are probably only a dozen or three aviators in all of aviation history that have that kind of competence.

So, for the rest of us, we'll have to find methods of building airmanship that fall short of Hoover's list of experiences. CFIing happens to be an excellent method for low-time pilots to quickly build meaningful airmanship.
 
I often find that "I don't want to instruct" can be translated as "I don't want to instruct because it is hard and takes effort." My friend, come suffer with your fellow airmen who choose to instruct. It is worth it.
 
Hacker15e said:
Quite possibly one of the dumbest arguments in this topic that I've ever heard...........

.....CFIing happens to be an excellent method for low-time pilots to quickly build meaningful airmanship.
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+1


The same argument applies to a lessor degree to the "Well, the military has pilot's flying fighters at 250 hours TT" argument.
 
Hacker15e said:
Quite possibly one of the dumbest arguments in this topic that I've ever heard.

I agree with him that being a USAF fighter pilot, combat veteran and POW, then USAF test pilot, then four decades as an airshow performer, and thereby becoming probably the greatest living all-around aviator makes a better airman than simply becoming a CFI. Of course it does.

Unfortunately, 99.9% of pilots aren't able to build their airmanship and judgment like that -- Hoover lived in unique times and had a one-of-a-kind career path. Today, it would simply not be possible to even replicate that career path. 99% of airmen don't have Hoover's experience, skill, competence, or knowledge either. There are probably only a dozen or three aviators in all of aviation history that have that kind of competence.

So, for the rest of us, we'll have to find methods of building airmanship that fall short of Hoover's list of experiences. CFIing happens to be an excellent method for low-time pilots to quickly build meaningful airmanship.
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Simmah dow nah.... I didn't say I agreed, or disagreed, just relaying what my CFI said about his own profession. Call him if you have a gripe.

I do, however, agree with you that the times that Hoover flew in are days gone by, and that, barring a significant stroke of good fortune, financial, or otherwise, the vast majority of us will be required to seek other avenues to gaining our experience.
 
Naah, not pointed at you GX, but at your CFI's nonsensical statement and assessment of the central point of this thread. It looked to me like he was trying to show an example of how it is possible to be a great pilot and never have instructed. I absolutely agree that is possible, but his choice of an example of an alternate path was poorly selected.

I will say, however, that even with a Bill Gates-sized fortune, it would be impossible to fund the kinds of experiences a man like Hoover had.
 
My current employer utilizes my CFI to do aircraft check outs, yearly training, standardizing our flight department, and assistant to our CP who isn't a cfi so that's where I step in. It also came with a pay raise. I did the CFI thing for 3yrs in mostly multi. I say do it if you're serious about aviation and a career in it. It opens doors to more than just flying a line.

Sent from my Android mobile device.
 
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