Instructors at the Flying School

[MARZ]

I had my first lesson yesterday and it was awesome although I did feel a bit queasy on the descent but Im sure i'll get used to the bumpiness!! The flying school which I am going to has 4 instructors and when I was arranging the next lesson, my instructor (who took me up for the first time) casually said that one of the other instructors would be taking me up for my next lesson. Is it usual for students to have a different instructor each time?

I asked if I could have the same instructor for each lesson because I think I am suited to learning from one style of teaching. I also think that my progress can be monitored closer if I have one instructor.

I find it hard to learn from more than one person... although on the other hand, it am thinking would be beneficial to learn things from a different point of view.

Did you have multiple or single instructors when you were learning to fly?
cheers- marz

[PILOTGAL]

It's probably a good idea to have the same instructor whilst you learn the basics and you have every right to request that your school respects this wish. It's not an unreasonable request.

Some instructors teach the same things in slightly different ways and at your stage, you'll be suffering information overload for the first few lessons. You don't want to be sorting out different nuances from different instructors at this stage of your training.

Once you have the basics covered, you may well find that is a beneficial thing to have a different perspective on your flying. A lot of people experience one, or more likely, several plateaus at times of their training and often a change of instructor can work wonders. Often, just one or two flights with someone explaining something in a different manner can make all the difference.

You will have to weigh all this up for yourself. Find someone you feel comfortable to begin with & cover the basics. Then if you feel the need, try flying with someone else, otherwise, stick with the one instructor.

Just my 2c cents worth. Good luck:ok:

[Eee Tee]

These days most flying schools have a pretty good standardization system in place, meaning they try to ensure their instructors are all teaching the same thing. Having said that there will always be differences.

I definitely wouldn't advocate flying with a different person each lesson, however don't write off the idea of having a few different instructors. Flying with different instructors exposes you to a broader knowledge base, and what one might not teach you the other will.

There are benefits to both situations, but ultimately the choice is yours. After all you know what suits you best, and its your money!

Good luck :ok:

[Woodend1]

If you are happy with your current instructor then by all means stick with them, especially during the early phase of training. But further down the track you may come across part of the training syllabus which you struggle with. A slightly different perspective from another person could be all you need. You'll get a feel for who you like and don't like to fly with. Most people have multiple instructors, especially those going thru to CPL etc. Enjoy the flying, it's lots of fun!!!:)

[engine out]

I agree that initially you should as much as possible stick with the same instructor if you get along with them, and you may find this the case from lesson 2 onwards. In several companies I have worked with the CFI liked to fly the first lesson with a new student to see which instructor they would be best suited to fly with (that way there was a fair allocation of students per instructor), it may also have been that the instructor that you had flown with was not working, or already busy with another student at the time yhou wanted to book. Hopefully however the enthusiastic instructor keen to keep you informed and coming back should have told you why the instructor change. I certainly found it frustrating changing instructors all the time (12 by the end of my commercial) whilst you yourself are looking for consistency in your flying. If you are looking at flying as a career get used to it though as flying schools often have to make last minute changes due to people running late from Nav's, other lessons and unexpected situations, flying is a very fluid world. If you then make it to an airline you will be flying with lots of differen't people who ALL have differen't ideas how the same thing can be done. Just go with the flow and if after a while you find the school keeps messing you about find one that doesn't.

[Wheeler]

MARZ,

You should decide which instructor you want and insist - you are the paying customer after all and dont forget that. Sometimes its better to go for the most experienced you can find, sometimes you get on fine with a young entusiastic but newly qualified grade 3. (There are 3 grades. 1 being the most experienced, and often the most grisley too.)

Many (most?) schools employ instructors on a flying hour by flying hour casual basis and it is the individual instructor's role to go and find their own students in many cases. This can lead to the 'this student is mine' attitude (- until one day they feel they have something better to do and then you might be off loaded at the first convenient stop.)

If you want to change instructor, as you may well do as you get further into your training, you might be resisted. Actually, you are extremely valuable and have quite a lot of clout to pull both school and instructor into line if you see fit. Don't let any instructor or school pee you around because it is convenient for them - and make sure your instructor is the one you want at whatever stage you are at.

[GA Driver]

Find the instructor that you feel the most relaxed/comfortable with and who is the clearest in your mind.
Different people learn from different instructional techniques and although the end result is the same, getting there can cost you a lot more $$$$ if you don't understand the instructor very well.:confused::ugh:

Following along from the last post, Grade 1 - 3, don't be disheartened if you are flying with a freshly qualified GR3 instructor (No I'm not a Grade 3 either! ;) ) They are generally right up there with all the theory and will be eagre to fly with you. They also get monitered very closely and their students get checked more frequently by senior staff. So if they are doing something wrong or stupid it will be quickly picked up and rectified.

In the first couple of lessons it won't matter too much if you fly with a few different people and if you can, try the different types of trainers that the school offers (i.e. 152/172, or pa38/pa28)
once you're comfortable with the instructor and aircraft type stick with the same one. Constantly changing instructors can lead to inconsistency.

Once your satisfied with the instructor and aircraft, enjoy! :=

Hope thats somewhat helpful!
GA Driver:ok:

[MARZ]

OK thanks guys for the info. The next lesson is with the same instructor as before and after that i'll address the situation again depending on how the lesson goes. Cheers again