David,
I got my ppl last summer, and since then got checked out on a differnet airfcraft, and got my FAA PPL based on my JAA PPL, which involved getting a biannial flight review, and used it the opportunity to get checked out on another aircraft.
After the us trip, I came back home and for various reasons decided to get checked out on another "simple" (fixed gear and prop) airplane. Anyway I wound up with a different instructor, who critised just about everything I did, and really put me off.
I was confident in my abilities, and am a confident person, but all his nagging really did have a bad effect on my flying that day. Anyway I was determined not to let it affect me, and to sort it out the next day. The next day was no better, and after a few lessons with him, my confidence was really damaged. Damaged to the point that I could no longer fly properly at all. On about the 4th or 5th flight with him, in the debrefing he was really giving out to me and eventually said "I don't know why you can't do it! I don't know what's wrong with you! It's easy! Do you know why you can't do it?" That was about as much as I could take, and told him exactly why I couldn't fly with him. We agreed to part company, and I took my next flight with a instructor I'd flown with once before, and felt comfortable with.
I told me in outline only, what had happened with the other instructor. He told me to put behind me everything that had happened and to foget everything that the other guy had told me, and to just fly the airplane like I'd been thought. Low and behold, two perfect circuits and landing.
He looked around at me and said that there was absolutely nothing wrong with my flying other than the fact that someone had gone and ruined my confidence! We spend the rest of the lesson practicing emergency proceedures.....flapless and glide approaches etc, and I was signed off afterwards and haven't looked back.
I've had another checkout (new club) and a currency checkout since and had no problems.
I might have given up had I not already had my ppl, and knew how good it is to be free to fly on your own licence, and to be responsible for your own decisions, and not have to answer to some ignorant instructor!
If you are so close to your skills test you would be mad to give up now. You are too close to the best of flying; flying on your own licence.
As far as not knowing some of the answers go, don't worry too much about it. None of us know it all, we are always learning new things....just look at my met thread, to see that even someone with a ppl can still ask a stupid question
In any case when I did my skill test, the examiner asked me questions, some of which I didn't know that answers to, and some of which I felt I did, but the examiner pointed that there was more conditions etc than I'd said. I didn't matter. They don't expect you to know everything, just enough to be safe and competent. So don't worry too much about not knowing the answers.
But the one piece of advise I'll give you, is that if this instructor is ruining your confidence, don't make the mistake that I did. Can instructors straight away and don't try to pesevere with him. Confidence is easier lost than it is got, so don't ever let anyone take yours away. If the next lesson is going the same way, stop it early, and tell him you'd prefer to take your next lesson with someone else. It says more about him than it does about you.
dp