Originally Posted by
ejericson
yes there are faster ways. but you will learn way more as a CFI then doing VFR aerial surveying. Not that you wont learn anything, but when you are teaching something you will know it better.
Teaching certainly has value and I agree that teaching something over and over drills it into your brain; but teaching a particular thing, over and over, in the same area, with little other experience is the genesis of that 'same hour a thousand times' idea that you hear spouted about on the forum when discussing the value of CFI'ing.
Aerial surveying brings it own set of challenges to a new pilot. S/he may not be teaching anything, but s/he is experiencing a WIDE range of challenges while operating on the road in a WIDE range of circumstances and environments.
As usual, the best approach probably lies somewhere in the middle.