I know we have lots of pilots here on the boards. Anybody have their CFI?
I’m getting mine later this month (if all goes well), and I’d like to hear about experiences others have had.
If there are no CFI’s, how about the other pilots tell me some stories about flight instruction they have received. The good, the bad, things to avoid, things that worked well for you. Thanks!
Not I. I’d like to, though.
I am hoping for mine this summer, so the same goes for me.
I’m a CFIG (flight instructor in gliders). I instruct only occasionally, and not for pay. It can be interesting, especially when the student is eager and motivated. Apathetic students (I’ve had a few) are not worth the trouble.
Power pilots can be interesting. The high-time corporate and airline pilots usually assume that a glider will be a piece of cake for them, and often let this attitude show. But they usually learn otherwise on their first flight. The long glider wings require a lot more rudder than they are used to, and the instruments are much less important that the feel of the aircraft. Most have trouble with thermaling – they are not used to steep turns and the need to be sensitive to what the air is telling them.
I think one goal is to let the student make mistakes and learn from them, within the limits of safety. Knowing how to stay inside those limits, but not hoplessly far inside, is a skill you have to work on. I like to let students do the landing as soon as they feel willing to try and look like they have some hope of doing it about right. But I keep my hand quite near the stick until they have shown some consistency.