How many instructors have you had??
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: belgium
Age: 49
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Thanks a lot for all the helpfull comments!
I did have a flight today with an instructor (new one at the school) whom I had flown with once before. I had a chat with him about this issue and he did admit that it is best to keep to 1 main instructor initially and eventually another one as a back-up, certainly in the beginning. But he explained however, that the new trend with large FTO's these days is this continuous rotation between instructors and students... (I just cannot imagine that is a good thing though...) as was mentioned before, it is not only the fact that everyone teaches in a different way but also the fact that when you are passed on between instructors, it becomes increasingly more difficult for an instructor to judge where your weak points and strong points are, as well as generally attitude of the student when confronted with different situations. All this will, I think, stretch the number of hours students will need to not only learn but also the stage at which eventually one of the instructors will feel confident in you to let you solo etc...
I hope all this makes sense!
Also, as has been mentioned above, there are sadly always instructors who simply want to log another hour....
So, I have decided that I am going to "choose" 2 instructors and work around their schedule... (now, after so many I don't know who that will be!! the new chap I flew with today seems very motivated though..
At the end of the day, I started feeling that I had to prove myself over and over again to the new guy...
oooof! sorry for the long blurt out!!!!
I did have a flight today with an instructor (new one at the school) whom I had flown with once before. I had a chat with him about this issue and he did admit that it is best to keep to 1 main instructor initially and eventually another one as a back-up, certainly in the beginning. But he explained however, that the new trend with large FTO's these days is this continuous rotation between instructors and students... (I just cannot imagine that is a good thing though...) as was mentioned before, it is not only the fact that everyone teaches in a different way but also the fact that when you are passed on between instructors, it becomes increasingly more difficult for an instructor to judge where your weak points and strong points are, as well as generally attitude of the student when confronted with different situations. All this will, I think, stretch the number of hours students will need to not only learn but also the stage at which eventually one of the instructors will feel confident in you to let you solo etc...
I hope all this makes sense!
Also, as has been mentioned above, there are sadly always instructors who simply want to log another hour....
So, I have decided that I am going to "choose" 2 instructors and work around their schedule... (now, after so many I don't know who that will be!! the new chap I flew with today seems very motivated though..
At the end of the day, I started feeling that I had to prove myself over and over again to the new guy...
oooof! sorry for the long blurt out!!!!
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Europe
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I used to have just one, all the way, and I enjoyed it... 
My wife is doing her PPL now, changed the instructor just before
first solo flight, and it was a HUGE stress for her...
She almost failed the pre-solo test.
I belive, just one instructor, at least until first solo, is a MUST.
My wife is doing her PPL now, changed the instructor just before
first solo flight, and it was a HUGE stress for her...
She almost failed the pre-solo test.
I belive, just one instructor, at least until first solo, is a MUST.
The Original Whirly
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Belper, Derbyshire, UK
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As an instructor, I know that standardisation is only possible up to a point. To a large extent, it's not what you teach that is important, but the way you teach it. Some teaching styles suit some students better than others. A good and experienced instructor will vary his/her style of teaching to suit the student. But not every instructor does that, and it's nearly impossible to do if you don't know the student. So constantly switching between different instructors sounds to me like a recipe for disaster, from the point of view of both instructor and student! As an instructor, I'd hate it. How am I supposed to know the best way to teach someone, when I never get to know them? What I learned, and the rest of us learned, on our instructors' courses, is only a starting point; after that we've learned the best way to teach by...doing it!
Learning from different instructors now and then may have its advantages, but only now and then. But most importantly, it's YOUR money, and YOUR choice as to who you learn from. And if the school won't let you decide, it's time to change to a different school.
Learning from different instructors now and then may have its advantages, but only now and then. But most importantly, it's YOUR money, and YOUR choice as to who you learn from. And if the school won't let you decide, it's time to change to a different school.
