Originally Posted by
triadic
Where are the experienced CFI's now? Even in the '80's and '90's there was not more than a dozen in the country with over a decade of experience in the job! It would be even less now I expect? It would seem that some of the recent accidents may relate to training standards (or lack thereof?).
I would be interested to know where 'airmanship' fits into the current training syllabus. If you apply the 'iceberg rule' of what you can see, I suggest it is either not taught or the culture of students these days does not understand it.
The bottom line is that the standards have dropped over the past 20 plus years. My suggestion if you are considering learning now is to find a school with a very experience CFI that supervises his instructors and their products closely. And look outside the major cities. Sure you can train with a Gr3, but it is the senior instructor/CFI that will check you for solo and conduct your PPL test.
The answer to this question is always the same. Pay experienced people appropriately to remain instructors, and you shall see experienced and senior instructors. Otherwise your suggestion of instructors with a decade of experience means staying on an instructor's salary for a decade. In this economy, hard sell.