Have had students pretty much like the others mentioned here.
Only two ever got over 40 hrs prior to solo, both were taken over from other instructors who had given up and hand balled them.
Case 1 . Young bloke who just could not do things in the right order, or who would apply the opposite input to what was required. Progress sheets very interesting to read, very keen but seemingly no aptitude at all. Had a very long talk about relative cost for continued progress, and whether he may prefer to by a really nice car and or speed boat etc, maybe even very large cruiser and a Merc to pull it with, but if he really wanted to continue I would try my very best to give him best value for money I could, and maybe even get him solo at which pilont he may wish to accept the solo certificate and then cut his losses and buy a smaller boat with whatever was left of his funds. Told him to go away for a couple of weeks, have a good hard look at it all and come back with the answer (expecting, even hoping, to never hear from him again). He came back keener than ever and we didn’t progress much, despite my trying every passive and active reward scheme and lesson type I could, until I implemented an ‘aversion therapy’ method that involved the fuel dipstick and his knuckles – MIRACULOUS IMPROVEMENT from the first resounding ‘Crack’. Rapid onward progress and ultimately CPL and MECIR! Could hardly believe it myself!! – In general this method is NOT recommended due to potential liability issues and OH&S rules.
Case 2. 80 odd (very odd) year old woman who wanted to learn to fly in her late husband’s tailwheel aircraft. Very fussy and vocally critical old biddy that would only fly with instructor(s) who were family friends. Considered herself genteel and was from landed gentry, the miserable bag. I took her over when her part-time instructor ‘friends’ were utterly exasperated and fed up with her deciding what was going to happen at each lesson. I was not her friend (I was an ag pilot and instructor, I was a tradesman pilot who flew for a living) and I did not need to comply with her directions. I shortened her lessons and observed very carefully her performance and consistency for the next 7 or 8 lessons. Her consistency fluctuated on a regular cycle of three weeks and her performance varied on a normal distribution curve of about 45 minutes duration. I picked the right week and sent her solo exactly 15 minutes into the lesson and the result was one of the most perfect three point landings that I have witnessed, (when not flying the aircraft myself that is). We taxied back to the apron and I congratulated her on her achievement and what an outstanding performance etc. and that now she had ‘become a pilot’ she could return to a happy social circle at the CWA content in a job well done. She said that she always knew she could do it easily and that she intended to continue to PPL with her ‘friends’. Old Bat! She never once said thank you, but then again I suppose you are doing your job properly when the studes think that they have done it all themselves. I went back to full time ag work where I was master of my own cockpit.
I agree that the modern day GAAP environment is a very intense place to attempt to learn to fly from ab-initio. Regional airports that have the facilities but are less encumbered with the traffic, procedures and airspace issues are much better for good initial progress and getting on top of the – Aviate, Navigate, Communicate method, rather than the GAAP Communicate, Navigate, Aviate style
The Moorabbin Mercenaries that arrive in these regional circuits, treat the place like they own it, elbow their way into the circuit, nominate themselves as ‘number One’ when they are completely ignorant of the No-Radio traffic ahead of them, make four or more perfect radio broadcasts, often without listening to anyone else, fly big circuits with looong final legs for T & G landings with a mid field ‘ricochet’ then climb over the top for departure back to the big smoke are not doing their students much good as far as turning out someone that can actually fly, or even speak English for that matter.
Keep yer sausage machines in the cities, we can make real pilots out here and then dip them in the cauldron of GAAP when they have the fundamentals under control and have been into civilized controlled airports a few times ( not a reflection on the GAAP TWR people who have a job I do not envy)
HD