Digital.poet,
Just reading this thread, I am interested to know if any of you instructor types have ever actually gotten to the point where you have advised a student that they should give up learning to fly
In the world of PPL training, no.
People (on the whole) train towards the PPL for a hobby.
I had one particular student, a really lovely 80-year-old bloke. Couldn't fly to save his life. About 15 hours in, he was just starting to get the hang of climbing and descending. It was clear to everyone, him included, that he was never going to solo, let alone get his PPL.
One foggy day, I was chatting to him in the clubhouse. He told me: "I know I'm not a natural pilot, and it's going to be a very long time before I go solo, but I spend my life looking after my sick wife. The highlight of my week is coming for my flying lessons."
As far as I'm concerned, as long as a student understands the progress (or lack of progress) that he's making, and he's enjoying what he's doing, I'm happy to teach him.
For commercial students, though, who are spending money in the hope (or expectation) that they are going to get a job at the end of it, it's a different matter, and one which I have discussed on the odd occassion with my CFI but do not entirely agree with him on. But regardless of differences of opinion, one thing the CFI and I do agree on is that the student must be made aware if they are well below average.
FFF
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