Question about a poor CFI
 

Greetings all (first post).
I am currently working on my PPL. I have a CFI in his late 40's who has done nothing but instruct the entirety of his career. He is extremely knowledgeable; but in flight, an absolute nightmare. It is not uncommon for him to suggest his students are stupid, yell, and create a simply nerve wracking environment during training. As obvious as the "hey, chill out for a second" method sounds, it does nothing but make the situation worse. I do not want to come across as someone who cannot handle a tongue lashing when one is due, but I am beginning to become somewhat of a paranoid pilot. If anyone has advice as an instructor I would love to hear it, because if I did not love aviation more than I hate him, I would probably be posting in a different forum right now.

Switch. The instructor is as important to your training as any other part and if you honestly don't feel you can learn effectively from this guy then find a different instructor. Its your money and your training, so if it isn't working out and you feel you have given it an honest chance then tell him that you don't think you are a good fit for his teaching style and are going to find another instructor.

As an instructor I know my students are paying good money and come to learn something new each flight so I do whatever I can to facilitate that learning. Yelling and adding stress, is, IMO, not needed.

I agree, switch instructors...now.

X

Dump the dude
 

I also think you should switch. You are spending a lot of money on this, so you should not stay with a CFI that hinders your learning.

I would switch asap. I switched CFI's after the first 5 hours of flight instruction when I was working on my PPL. My first instructor just didn't seem to know what he was doing. It made a huge difference switching CFI's. I learned more in my first lesson with a new CFI than I did in the first five with the old CFI. Why spend 160$ p/h to get yelled at?

Ditto. No need or excuse for that, and someone with that much experience should already know better.

He's probably a career CFI because he knows he could not get away with that behavior in most other professional flying jobs...and he gets his kicks by berating people.

There are a VERY few occasions where you might need to raise your voice for emphasis. Basically only when you are trying to break the student of a potentially fatal bad habit, after other methods fail (like the guy who always gets slow on final, or tends to overshoot and cross-control :eek:)

Flying is fun and that is what he should be teaching you. I have been teaching for nine years and not once had to yell. You will get nothing from a screamer. I agree switch. He won't make money either and maybe he will see the light.

Right-on. I've had instructors that yell at you and I vowed to not be one of those. There is a difference between being nitpicky to get it right and yelling at a student. The only time I will raise my voice to a student is if they are doing something that could get them and a couple of pax killed.

Here will be the true test to your instructor when you tell them you're switching because of incompatibility. If they freak out, you definately made the right move. I'd say 80%+ would encourage your departure since you feel you would learn better with someone else, and they would still offer help if needed, but this guy sounds like the 20% that will never want to see you again.

He works for you. It's your money. Fire him.

If you have a bad flight, you will know it. A "tongue lashing" is not constructive criticism and it is not going to teach you how to improve your skills.

As said before... find another CFI.

Switch ASAP. Its a business, just tell him you don't agree with his method of training. Nothing personal, its your money and you are entitled to do what you wan't with it.

..........

Something about "Careless and Reckless" in part 91 seems to come up.

Everybody else got the point across. You're spending a lot of money. An instructor shouldn't spoon feed you, but at the same time they should work with you to achieve your goal.

At first when I saw this thread line I thought for sure it would have something to do with Top Ramen or Cup o Noodles.

Anyways just curious how the situation has panned out for the OP.

Switch. The sooner, the better. I switched once simply because we didn't really get along. He was a different type of person, did his job just fine, but our personalities didn't quite mend in the cockpit/sim/oral room. When he found out I put in a request to switch, he was understanding. Hopefully your current CFI will do the same, and hopefully he'll learn from it.

CFI's are to be professional, carry a positive demeanor and be able to critique their students in a way that enhances learning opportunities.