Time for a new school
I am a newbie here, but I have been browsing the PPRuNe forums for a number of years. I am wondering if I could pick your collective brains about training.
I am not new to GA flying but have only recently (in the last 18 months), decided to take the plunge and get finally get my PPL. I have flown extensively in the past (more than 20 years ago) with a friend but have had no formal flight training. I consider myself to be a complete novice however - I could do most basic flight manoevres - turns: climbing, decending, etc S&L flight, take-off and landing, navigation etc. before embarking on training
I started my training in late 2019 and progressed relatively quickly until Covid came along. I was able to continue throughout 2020 albeit at a much reduced pace. I now have about 26 hrs under my belt but I am still stuck circuit-bashing for the last 8-9hrs because my instructor insists that I am "not ready" to move on.
The problem I have is that I do not feel that I am learning anything anymore and that when I turn up for a lesson, we are only going-through-the-motions, as I always end-up with the same conclusion on the de-brief and he gives me a list of things that are "wrong". These things seem to be different each time however, and no matter how much effort I put in, it seems as though the instructor always picks holes in my flying of the circuit. The thing is, because the reasons he provides are so inconsistent, I am beginning to think that it isn't my performance but rather the instructor.
To test this theory out, on my last lesson I deliberately did not do one of the important items on the checklist (a box-check) to see if he would notice - he didn't! (Before anybody piles-in to say that that is stupid - I did do it, but I left it to the end).This is not the only inconsistency, and I often get very confusing instructions from him which contradict each other from one lesson to the next. This leads me to suspect that he isn't really instructing any more - he just sits-in for the flight. I know that we are all human however and that nobody is perfect but I feel that consistency should be an important (essential?) part of training.
So my question is: should I just stick with this flying instructor until things are "right" or am I wasting my time? I am leaning towards the latter, but I do not want to be hasty in my decision to move to another school...
Any advice greatly appreciated.