"Green" Instructor...Sigh
 

So I have a situation, I was assigned a "green" a.k.a New Flight Instructor , pretty young, no more than 4 years older than me...I'm 22 years old.

I subsequently flew with another instructor who was much more mature, before we set off he asked about my previous experience etc. (Only 10hrs logged)... for that entire flight, I basically did everything preflight, taxi, takeoff, land (It felt like an actual lesson, he just sat next to me and told me what to do and basically corrected me. Etc)

Now with this "Green" Instructor I get the sense that he's a bit hesitant with me, E.g. he would ask what I've done already, I'd tell him and it feels as though he's for better words (hogging the controls) he went through the checklist, basically himself while I just sat there like an idiot pretending like I don't know what to do, but with the more mature Instructor it was the complete opposite...It's like I'm doing over stuff that I already know! And it's frustrating!

I'm on a time constraint and I feel like I'm getting nowhere with this youngin..what do you guys think?

get a new instructor, done, period.

It's your money, you choose who you want.

Thanks fr the input, I made the necessary changes this afternoon after I posted this.

Never EVER accept substandard performance here. Make sure you ALWAYS do your part, but a good instructor should have you doing everything that is practical for experience. They shouldn't be too concerned about time and be balancing a good amount of experience with what they have to work with. They should be planning for this.

You are the customer when you are a student.

No harm no foul at this stage. When a student teacher relationship is low in hours it is perfectly ok to say hey, I just don't feel right working with this person and would like to try another one. Later on when you have tried another one or more and selected one you can work with, beware of the mental pitfall of thinking the plateau you find yourself in is your instructor's fault. Chances are it is simply a learning plateau, and they tend to occur when the instructor raises the bar to send a student to a checkride and the student to wonders why previously they were doing so well and now they are so incompetent. That's your instructor trying to groom you for your checkride. Pony up some more effort, stick it out and push on to the finish. Get a second opinion if you like, but do not change instructors late in the training game.

One of my concerns would be that a student so new to training might not even realize which CFI is actually giving him/her the better instruction. Remember the 'Karate Kid'. Didn't even realize he was being taught muscle memory! ;)
But like others have said; its the student's time and money. Do what feels right and reap the rewards/or suffer the consequences!

Asking a CFI you approach for their pass fail rate and total hours of dual given would be some basic things to know, and the Gold Seal is another way to show the same. None of those metrics are guaranteed, you can have a mediocre Gold Seal instructor. You could call NAFI and ask them, and the local FAA district office always knows some names. They will give you the most expensive names most likely because they will know who has been around a long time, raising their rates accordingly. Some of the better deals are found at local colleges with flight training departments, they often have new instructors who just need a chance to get started. The most reliable thing would probably be to enroll in a part 141 school with a good reputation, but do some homework on that first. Part 141 takes a lot of the guesswork out of it by teaching a standardized curriculum. Part 61 ad hoc training can be good too, but I would try to find it through a flying club. The least likely method to show consistency would be a local CFI who has a day job, unless they have a really good reputation. I have also seen some strong Part 61 schools run by former airline pilots who lost their medical or just like teaching. Some of those can be excellent.

Don't feel bad. I had to let go of 2 instructors. One was stringing me along, I think to make himself more money. The other just wasn't working.

I always told my students that they were the most important person. If they had an issue, I would take it as high as I could to resolve it, but I would also tell them that this would just be "one channel" and they would also need to discuss their issues with the manager if I couldn't resolve them. This way it wasn't just one person talking to them, because management would often think that if they weren't hearing from students, they "must be happy". I told them that at the end of the day, they are the customer and though management might not like it, they aren't going to turn away a motivated paying customer, even if they aren't able to pair him up with the instructor that would be most "convenient". As an instructor it's to your highest interest to do the best you can. I've known plenty of low-time instructors that did an amazing job. They had the drive and motivation as students. Stopped and took the time to really understand things. Really knew how to explain things and provide useful learning.

On the other hand, don't judge an instructor by how "fast" they get you to a certain rating. Rate them on how quality they teach you and how much you learn. It's about quality of instruction and value.

All the advice given here has been excellent so far..Just for reference, I'm doing the training PPL Part 61...Ive had some training and have an understanding of what's going on with the aircraft etc.

To be fair, I understand where the new young instructor is coming from as he basically maybe wants to get a feel FOR HIMSELF of what I can/cannot do.

It's like this...I'm being run thru things that I already went thru lol I have already passed my FAA written and have my Medical all before coming to the school, Feels like im going thru a loop! *pulls out hair* think I should just be focusing on mastering my skills IN THE AIR and preparing to solo and move forward.

That 1 lesson with the first more mature instructor just felt right, certain things were explained better, the instructor was humorous and got the point across, and the more hands on fundamental with the instructor actually trusting your ability to carry out tasks in and outside the aircraft...IMO it all helps the student build confidence, there was no tension it was FUN but at the same time...You Learn!.... so I'm gonna explore my options some more as advised before I get too far in

I've been Instructing for the past 12 years.

My students always have the right to change instructors and I let them know of that at the beginning. It's their right.

HOWEVER, I would be very reluctant in being someone's 3rd or 4th instructor during their PPL license. Let's face it, if you have to go thru handful of instructors, the problem isn't the instructors. Yes there are exceptions to this such as instructor leaving the school or simply a poor match between the CFI and student.

When we have a student in our school on their 3rd/4th instructor for a SINGLE license, some of us CFI simply ask "what's the problem with the student?"

That, is so very true! Couldn't have said that better, I'd wonder the same thing as well. I ain't about jumping from Instructor to Instructor, I lost my first Instructor because the school where I trained closed so I came to the US to finish up basically

If you are pre-solo, the absolute minimum is you getting yourself to a point where yuo can use all the checklists, have a good working knowledge of why every checklist item is the way it is, and the instructor (after a couple flights) should sit quietly while you take them from a cold start to the practice area, only stepping in to help look for traffic, offer random pointers and ocassionally help with difficult radio calls. In the last few flights before your actual solo, your instructor should be nearly silent except for critiques after your performances.

Intro flights should be the last time an instructor is doing the majority of the work, because CFIs aim to only introduce you to how awesome flying is, and on an intro flight it doesn't matter if you can explain how and why we check magnetos.

Give him a few more chances. If he still insists on doing everything on your 3rd lesson, ditch him fast AND evaluate yourself to make sure you're meeting him in the middle.

I am kinda playing devils advocate. But when I am teaching a new student the first 5 lessons or so I was much more hands on. Also at about 10 hrs I like to send my students up with a different CFI. Gives the student a confidence boost. And lets them show what they have learned. I would normal ask the other CFI to be as hands off as possible.
I have over 800hr dual given.

My instructor is younger than me and has only 300 hours instructing, but he is fantastic. Great teacher and excellent at constructive criticism. He is patient, yet firm, with his students. Some people have a knack for teaching, and some don't.

All in all, it is your money and your education, which is very important. You can choose any instructor you want.

Personality Types play a huge role in how well a student-teacher relationship will unfold, and in turn how much the student will recall and hence learn at the end of a lesson. Uneasiness caused by an instructor can also narrow your perceptual field, and hamper your progress with learning what you really ought to know.

If you feel that one instructor is helping you to relax and be at ease more than an other, then I reckon that you've made the right choice by switching.

I have a feeling that this green CFI is just uptight because he hasn't had much experience. That can play a big part.