Is it prejudice to prefer to be in a very cramped cockpit for weeks on end during a very stressful course, with someone who is [female]
No, definitely not prejudice.
But it does occur to me that, after doing the FIC, chiplight2005 will be spending many months or years in a very cramped cockpit, mostly with men. If he/she has a very strong reason not to want to do this at this stage, he/she will have to overcome that before starting an instructing job.....
For what it's worth, I've flown with two female instructors. One was absolutely the worst instructor I've ever flown with. Because I was a little "different" (she was an FAA instructor, used to teaching night flying to low-hour students, and I was a couple-of-hundred hour PPL doing a UK night qualification, so far more experienced than the students she normally did night flying with) she was at a complete loss as to what to do with me, and I pretty much told her what exercises to do when.
The other female instructor is very good. I immediately took to flying with her, remained friends with her after I completed my PPL, and asked her to instruct me for other courses before she got herself an airline job.
So, based on my very small sample of female instructors, it's not possible to generalise!
FFF
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