Originally Posted by
dera
I've paid 2.5 hours of ground from 0 to CP. That was my oral prep for my checkrides and oral part of my complex endorsement. So I'd say these numbers could be slashed to 10th _if_ the student prepares correctly. I can only imagine how many don't. It's a lot of work.
In my experience, CFIs with ONLY CFI experience, no matter how much of it, don't have much to teach. Real experience comes from flying in the system, for real. (this wasn't aimed at you, just a general observation).
I agree, that’s the problem with most flight instructors, they don’t have much real world experience, and unfortunately their students need to find out how things really work by trial and error. Not the best approach when it comes to flying airplanes. I make a good effort to impart all the knowledge needed to reduce the amount of risk a new pilot will encounter. I don’t think spending an extra 5-10k on ground when it’s going to potential save your life/ticket is too much to ask for. To the OP, find a well qualified CFI and get all you can out of your training. Ask tons of questions, especially the most important one, “why?”