rickair7777

True, but under the circumstances the OP most likely needs the refresher training and shouldn't take the ride unless a competent CFI (which is to say not the one he has now) thinks he's ready.

If it were me I'd take the CFI-I ride instead... even though the jet is all glass I at least do fly instrument procedures when I go to work. As opposed to chandelles, lazy-8's, etc.

CRJJ

I don't care if we're talking about aviation, sales, engineering or any other field....if a professional is not on time every single lesson / appointment / etc...that person doesn't deserve your time and/or money. You are the client, nobody is making you a favor, you're paying for it.

TiredSoul

This instructor feels he’s stuck at the bottom rung of the ladder amd you’re coming from above where he wants to be and it’s making him feel inadequate.
Definitely talk to the Chief.
Matter of fact I’d ask to speak to both of them at the same time.
You have all the CRM experience and knowledge to deescalate the situation.
State your complaints and give him an opportunity to fix his attitude and gently remind them you like to be there but you don’t need to be there as formally you don’t even need the sign off.
All you need to do is rent the plane and bring it back.

Now....from personal experience, I’ve had one retired Airline Capt try and get his CFI reinstated.
After 15-17 hrs of training with me he pulled out.
He never got to Commercial standards from the left seat even and for the life of me he couldn’t fly single pilot.
So yeah they’re out there.
I don’t think you’re one of them though lol.

DontLookDown

What is a non-regular flight school?

TiredSoul

Let’s give this CFI the benefit of the doubt for now. He’s depending on this for an income, maybe his only one. Maybe the owner owes him a raise that he didn’t get “because of COVID”. Maybe he’s barely making ends meet and he’s been assigned to someone that wants to do it “for fun”.
I’ve worked for the good the bad and the ugly myself. Schools that don’t pay for ground instruction, schools that lie to students and instructors alike about maintenance and insurance.
Lets not burn this kid to the ground just yet.
I wouldn’t go “the customer is always right” route. Show your background and experience and sit together with the both of them and do some “teaching”.

rickair7777

Meh. He's the service provider, and supposedly a professional. Needs to act like it.

That said, as an experienced grownup pro pilot I might be inclined to do some mentoring if the kid seems personable and motivated. But I wouldn't work very hard to tell a square peg how to fit in a round hole. And tough love doesn't work with snowflakes, will probably get you cancelled.

JayMahon

I thought that training for your CFI required you to work with someone that had been doing CFI work for more than 2 years. The timebuilding guys are usually out by then. As far as flight training, isn't it just "commercial from the right seat" mixed with "instruction while flying"? Doing the commercial maneuvers could be done solo or splitting time with another pilot instead of paying for a CFI, either you can meet the standards from the right seat or you need to practice more.

I guess I'm confused about why a pilot at your level would be leaning so heavily on the crutch of letting the CFI plot the course of your training? Own it, partner with a CFI who will help you accomplish your objectives.

If you had it out with your CFI without resolution, talk to his boss. If you feel the problem is endemic to the flight school, use a different flight school or work with a CFI that's unaffiliated with a flight school. Most FBOs can give you a list of local CFIs who might take you on as a student.

Good luck and congrats on the retirement.

Bat2210

I’m dismayed and a little shocked that Cargocapt with his experience as a pilot, is having such a difficult time with a simple procedure as reinstating a CFI.

rickair7777

Re-instating a CFI does not require a 2-year CFI (or technically any CFI), that's only for your initial CFI rating (whichever one you chose to do first).

Crewed jets are a completely different animal from GA. I don't do enough GA to stay current, so I lean on CFI's who actually do a lot of it.

TCAS and ATC back you up on collision avoidance. Cessnas don't do that for you.

The other pilot always gets the radios, Cessnas don't do that either. ATC always gets a laugh when I do GA, and they always know what airline I fly for.

Then there's the whole auto-pilot thing. And try not to flare at 50'. Different animal.

Duffman

Sounds like you're dealing with a CFI whose trying to milk you for money and hours, or whose just completely checked out. You called him out on it, but because he's very ill-equipped with the emotional tools to handle it (immature, arrogant, naive, insecure, self-centered, inexperienced, etc) he defaulted to getting angry. People get angry when they feel threatened. You're paying him for feedback, he's not giving it to you, and the fact he arbitrarily increased the number of required flights from 1 to 5 means he's either stringing you along, or he knows he can hang this over your head and he's reaffirming his 'position of power.' I've met about a dozen pilots like this. Worse yet, slime balls will preemptively start bad-mouthing you behind your back to hedge 'your side' of the story.

I wouldn't be surprised if he's already bad mouthing you to his management so they think they're dealing with an arrogant, entitled, crappy airline pilot (not saying you are, but that picture would serve his interests best). You caught him in the wrong and he chose to dig in and tried to pull a power play on you. This isn't a one-off event, it's a trend from multiple flights, so I'd tread forward knowing this could be going on behind the scenes. The other alternative is he's so angry and burnt out that he's about to rage quit anyway and he's taking it out on the students, in which case, he either needs a new job or a massive attitude adjustment,

I switched careers to be a pilot and a few of the flying organizations I've been around are toxic like this. My theory is that the "lost decade" caused a lot of people to get stuck in places where management, instructors, etc just abused them, so they think it's acceptable, and even propagated the behavior to new generations.

My recommendation is to pay special attention to how management and instructors interact with each other, how they talk about students, etc. Also, pay attention to other students' debriefs to find good instructors. Some people just shouldn't be CFIs, but they need it as a stepping stone, so instead of rising to the challenge they just bring others down (make the world fit you instead of vice versa). Sometimes it's just one person, sometimes it's the entire organization, but it isn't Active Duty or a legacy where there's a massive system ensuring accountability. If it's just one person, you can work around them, but go into it knowing you'll likely be starting from a disadvantage and understanding what those disadvantages may be. If it's the whole organization, cut your losses as soon as you possibly can and get out of there without giving them things to gossip about. Who knows, maybe you'll start your own flight school and if they're a slime ball organization, wanna guess how they'll undermine you?

I'm not saying this IS the case, but it certainly MIGHT be, and it certainly wouldn't be the first or last time.