flyforfun

My question is to what expectations should i hold my instructor at? Can somebody tell me about any of the good and the bad experiences with their instructor?

thanks

Cubdriver

Can you explain what exactly you are after a little bit better? Narrow it down to some concern, fear, or issue... or you will not get very clear answers. Also it might help to say where you are in the flight training process. Have you soloed or taken a discovery flight yet?

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loyolacub68

What is your instructors background, how many hours does he have, and how much teaching experience does he have. I like an instructor who is thorough, safe, and does not think he is Maverick.

And I'm not trying to be rude to anyone here or start a fight, but the only two instructors I had that I did not like were from Embry-Riddle. Very arrogant and belittling.

IFly17

The biggest thing in looking for an instructor is finding someone who you can relate to, and can find out how you learn and be able to teach you that way.

Don't be afraid to talk to instructors before the first lesson to see if you like the person. Down the line if you find out you don't work well with the instructor be sure to ask for a new one.

The instructor and flight school staff works for you! The large investment you are going to make in them says make sure you get your money's worth!

ny311

This flight instructor once said to me "I've been doing this longer than you, I know what I'm talking about" . that sounded cocky to me.. not sure what you guys think

Cubdriver

You did not indicate what you want to zero in on so here is a broad list of topics you would want to look for in a professional flight instructor. This list does not include everything of course:

1) motivates and challenges the student
2) informs the student of their progress
3) individualizes the lesson material to suit the student needs
4) gives credit to the student when they are successful
5) critiques student performance in a constructive manner
6) demonstrates consistency in their actions and behavior
7) admits errors when aware of them and tries to correct
8) demonstrates sincerity in purpose
9) accepts the student as they are in order to help them reach the goal
10) demonstrates professional standards of appearance, demeanor, and punctuality
11) does not distract the student from the goal
12) insures the safety of the student and adherance to regulations
13) uses clean language
14) strives for continual improvement in teaching skills
15) shows regard for the high cost of training and offers tips on how to reduce it

Does this help?

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flyforfun

yes that helps. But my question is should I tell him/her (because i am starting my flight training at the University and i don't know who is my flight instructor yet ) my expectations. Like not looking at me like a bag of money and stuff like that.

Cubdriver

Flight instructors as a group can be categorized as organized, scrupulous, capable, caring, enthusiastic, professional, motivated, highly trained individuals that are as interested in the subject as you are. They generally do not enter the flight training bsiness to get rich because it is almost impossible to do so for one thing and because it is rather hard work, for another. Although they are reasonably paid in most cases and wish to be paid fairly for their time they do not seek to victimize a student; on the contrary, most flight instructors are genuinely interested in helping their students to reach their goals. I encourage you to talk to a few instructors at your school and see which one you like first if you can. Ask them how busy they are, what their timetable is for accepting a new students, whether they like teaching, how many students they passed so far, and what is the best thing they can say about their skills as a teacher. If it seems like the answers you get are less than encouraging, then you should move on and not waste too much time worrying about it. You may be able to get another instructor right away, or find another one simply by taking the flight training course a few months later. College students do this all the time in order to avoid a less desirable instructors. You may also be able to find something about a particular instructor of interest using one of the online review services.

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cfii2007

Yeah....don't **** off your instructor.........

BigFellor

Yea .. I'm a dispatcher for a regional, and told one of my first instructors that about 7 times. We would chat about the job and such. So about two weeks into training, he was looking at prog charts, and METARs before our flight and says "Eh, dont worry about this for now, you'll be able to read all this soon enough." That was my cue that he really wasnt all that into instructing ME. See ya!