Mav, totally agree regarding instructors giving a dam! Teaching/instructing is something I enjoy and have been doing in my last profession since I was 19. I can imagine there is a lot of guys out there just for the time building and couldnt careless, which hurts the more people than they may think. I do get great enjoyment watching someone use or suceed with something I have had a part in teaching them how to do, which is why I considered it.
How often do you have to have a check ride to keep the IR current? From memory I think its 3 months? Is it just a matter of paying for rental cost or is there a check fee involved as well?