Quality of instructors; on the way down!!!
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Ive seen very experienced airline pilots who made lousy instructors, the most important quality an instructor can have is the vocation to teach, the licence/ rating and knowldge is secondary to the attitude.
A good CFI manages his instructors and brings them on especially new ones. The main problem with schools and clubs is the lack of this professional management .
I remember a peculiar chap at Birmingham who spent ages studying for professional licences etc and eventually took over all the flying schools at Bham. He managed to blag his way through an IR and a CPL and an QFI rating but the one he never managed to get was a FIC rating -why because he just wasnt good enough.
A good CFI manages his instructors and brings them on especially new ones. The main problem with schools and clubs is the lack of this professional management .
I remember a peculiar chap at Birmingham who spent ages studying for professional licences etc and eventually took over all the flying schools at Bham. He managed to blag his way through an IR and a CPL and an QFI rating but the one he never managed to get was a FIC rating -why because he just wasnt good enough.
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Rather than have people required to hold the licence they teach for or above, they should be required to demonstrate experience in the field they will teach.
Thus people teaching at PPL level would have to demonstrate x number of hours including x hours crosscountry (to different fields), to teach the IMC, the person would have to show that they have held an IMC rating and have x hours as an IMC holder or have extra training required and so on.
Then we would not have the case of the integrated "graduate" teaching PPL flying, night and IMC while having absolutely no experience of anything they are teaching towards.
A perfect example I came across recently was a "graduate" who held an IR and was teaching the IMC rating to a student but had never done any IFR IMC flying outside of the airway system and did not know that for example IMC pilots generally plan their flights using the 1:500,000 chart and not an Aerad Chart.
The same instructor teaches PPL level including night but has only done one half decent crosscountry flight (CPL qualifier) outside the training system.
I am sure that they will make an excellent co-pilot and will gain experience under the watchfull eye of the Captain......but are they really equipped to teach subjects they know little about...i.e. operating as a PPL?
Why is it assumed that a CPL knows how to operate as a PPL?
Regards,
DFC
Thus people teaching at PPL level would have to demonstrate x number of hours including x hours crosscountry (to different fields), to teach the IMC, the person would have to show that they have held an IMC rating and have x hours as an IMC holder or have extra training required and so on.
Then we would not have the case of the integrated "graduate" teaching PPL flying, night and IMC while having absolutely no experience of anything they are teaching towards.
A perfect example I came across recently was a "graduate" who held an IR and was teaching the IMC rating to a student but had never done any IFR IMC flying outside of the airway system and did not know that for example IMC pilots generally plan their flights using the 1:500,000 chart and not an Aerad Chart.
The same instructor teaches PPL level including night but has only done one half decent crosscountry flight (CPL qualifier) outside the training system.
I am sure that they will make an excellent co-pilot and will gain experience under the watchfull eye of the Captain......but are they really equipped to teach subjects they know little about...i.e. operating as a PPL?
Why is it assumed that a CPL knows how to operate as a PPL?
Regards,
DFC
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Exactly. i remember on an Aztec charter meeting a PPL at Prestwick once who had just flown in from Bham but unlike me VFR. He thought I was a bit of a hero because I had flown up the airway in a twin with the autopilot engaged most of the way. I pointed out that it was in fact he that was the hero and had shown far more skill by navigating VFR over an assortment of terrain etc without an autopilot just reading a map in a SE a/c.
Most PPL flying is much more demanding than than its equivalent professional flying in protected airspace with ATC helping at every stage and so demands a totally different instructor with a different level of knowledge. I think anyway.
Most PPL flying is much more demanding than than its equivalent professional flying in protected airspace with ATC helping at every stage and so demands a totally different instructor with a different level of knowledge. I think anyway.
Autorise a L'atterrissage
Join Date: Feb 2003
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The truth is that there are some ****e Instructors, and there are some really brilliant ones.
I learned to fly with Cabair, and they had a plentiful supply of both variants.
It is (alas) up to the poor, unknowing student to find find for him/herself an instructor who (a) knows their subject, and (b) suits the student.
I spent a lot of money with Cabair before I found an instructor who met both criteria.
(If Cabair's legal team wish to take issue with me, all this is already well documented!)
That said, as a result of spending my money with Cabair, I have (so far) enjoyed over 300 hours of P1 flying which has taken me to Tenerife, Ibetha, US etc.
Caveat Emptor !
I learned to fly with Cabair, and they had a plentiful supply of both variants.
It is (alas) up to the poor, unknowing student to find find for him/herself an instructor who (a) knows their subject, and (b) suits the student.
I spent a lot of money with Cabair before I found an instructor who met both criteria.
(If Cabair's legal team wish to take issue with me, all this is already well documented!)
That said, as a result of spending my money with Cabair, I have (so far) enjoyed over 300 hours of P1 flying which has taken me to Tenerife, Ibetha, US etc.
Caveat Emptor !
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If Cabairs legal team do contact you let me know because I beleive they were formerly the London School of Flying at Elstree and their well known CPL GFT instructor at the time(1976) Brian something or other was the worst instructor I have ever come across.
Continuing with the thread standards seem to have improved on the sylabus and tests but there is the same old attitude around, in fact possibly worse--low hour self appointed experts!
Continuing with the thread standards seem to have improved on the sylabus and tests but there is the same old attitude around, in fact possibly worse--low hour self appointed experts!
On the subject of attitude, much of what's on this archived post applies.
