Acme Aviation

INSTRUCTOR ROULETTE
by Jay Hopkins (Flying, August 2001)
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In my 35 years as a pilot I have probably flown with most of the different types of instructors found in aviation. My first instructor fit in the eccentric category. While he was basically a good instructor and had the good sense to hire me as a lineman when I had absolutely no experience, his approach was quite off the cuff. He enjoyed smoking cigars while instructing and would sometimes smoke up the cockpit enough that it was hard for me to see. I had several instructors whose indifference to instructing was evident. They never seemed interested in me or the lesson. Some clearly stated that they didn't particularly like instructing and were just waiting for an airline job or any flying job other than instructing. At the other extreme, I had instructors who seemed to border on Hyperactive. Their incessant chatter made it impossible to think, and their propensity for pointing out errors before I realized I was making a mistake meant that I did not experience the process of recovering from that error.

The responses I received from Flying readers about the instruction they received show that some things never change. Finding a good instructor is still very much a hit-or-miss proposition. The current instructor shortage only seems to have made things worse. This month I will share a few of the horror stories, followed next month by responses about what makes a good instructor and how to find one. The problems consistently encountered by the pilots who responded about their training experiences fell into nine general categories:

Dangerous Situations
"I found one of the fuel tanks in the Piper Warrior II I was preflighting to be critically low on fuel, obviously because of fuel mismanagement. After I told the instructor, who had flown the airplane previously, he just said 'Oops!'"

"A student with an instructor in a light twin had an actual engine failure in the pattern due to fuel mismanagement."

"The next incident was with my fourth instructor, the previous ones all having moved up to the airlines. He provided the opportunity to get into a spin from a stall he requested at about 1,500 feet. I didn't have to request a new instructor because they let him go."

Lack of Experience
"So far my third flight instructor was the worst. From the very start, I never felt comfortable in the cockpit with him. I could never seem to do anything right, and he would yell at me when I did something wrong. He also sent me up solo to practice stalls and slow flight without going over them together. I had not practiced stalls or slow flight in over six months, and I wound up in a spin. The only time that I heard 'good job' was when I suggested using the GPS for heading guidance because the magnetic compass broke. Before I could put in a change of instructor form he got a job with a commuter, and I was assigned to a new instructor who taught me a great deal."

"The first instructor I had almost led me to give up on attaining a goal I've had for a long time. The instructor was relatively new, with only a year-and-a-half total training. He had zero personality and never had a post flight conversation with me I was looking fro feedback (positive or negative) on how I accomplished the task but got nothing. He seemed more interested in getting to his next lesson to build the hours he needed."

"When I had completed about one third of the training syllabus I began to fly with an instructor who seemed very unfriendly and not at all interested in developing any kind of mentoring relationship. As the training progressed, I began to feel absolutely persecuted. Each mistake seemed to receive amplification in tone and words used to purposefully add insult and increase the stress. When I made a good instrument approach, absolutely no praise was forthcoming. I received a phone call from another instrument student who was having the same problems with this instructor. I came to the conclusion that this instructor would have been more satisfied to see me wash out of the program than to complete it."

Low Currency
"What was really disturbing to me was that my instructor hadn't landed an airplane for several months. He related this to me because he obviously felt that he had to give an explanation for the more than poor landing he had performed."

Too Strict
"On a biennial check ride to get back in the air after 14 years of not flying, the instructor presented me with a printed sheet of instructions, while in the air, for each aspect of the check ride (i.e. slow flight, stalls, etc). It was a bumpy summer day, so reading, flying and controlling the aircraft was difficult at best. During his debriefing he noted that I appeared lost while returning to the field. (I was close to the five-mile limit, so I flew away while listening to the ATIS.) He noted that my approach to land was four knots above the POH speed. (After 14 years of not flying, and being in a strange aircraft, I thought I did very well for a bumpy day.) He will probably make a great airline captain someday, with his discipline of performance numbers. I wonder if he has or will ever enjoy flight as much as those of us who started in a J-3 Cub. After admonishing me for my lack of perfection, he signed me off to begin a new two years of flight. He is now flying commuters, and I am boring holes in the sky, give or take a few knotsÉ"

High Instructor Turnover
"Since I began flight training two years ago I have had five flight instructors."

"I went through three instructors in six months."

"I was now with my fifth instructor. As can be expected, I had to pay for a checkout flight with each new instructor."

Lack of Attention
"A friend was told by an instructor to 'go do some solo work today; you need it. I have something else to do.' Unfortunately, the instructor did not ensure that the student had the proper solo endorsements at the time (he did not), and he also didn't have the keys to the airplane. My friend didn't go up that day."

Unprofessional
"First, the instructor was 45 minutes late to even unlock the door. The CFI said 'just wait' and proceeded to pull out all the aircraft by himself. My booking was only for one-and-a-half hours. By the time the CFI got himself organized, I should have been on my way home. The next booking arrived and asked me if the airplane was broken since we were not yet flying. I replied 'No, we're just a little slow this morning.' He said he would wait if I still wanted the airplane, so I bought his breakfast as a thank you. Now the fun part. I was to be in the circuit today, potentially my first solo. Everything up to joining the first final approach was as advertised except that the CFI has not said one word since we took off. I figured that maybe he was just seeing what I was capable of. HE WAS ASLEEP! The CFI WAS SLEEPING! I couldn't believe it. I was paying for instruction and the safety of having an instructor on board and this is what I got. He woke up as I flared, yelled ' I have control' and ballooned the airplane so high that we had to initiate an overshoot. He said to focus on what I'm doing and try it again. As his adrenaline faded, he promptly fell back asleep.

The next five circuits went the same way. Flare, have the controls yanded out of my hands as he takes over, assume control, listen for snoring, flare, pass back control. I called for a full stop, as I'd had enough of this. He seemed rather upset at my performance and wrote it in my logbook as 'CONCENTRATE ON FLARE' in big bold letters. I think it went through the two pages below."

"One of the worst parts of instruction was the beginning of my IFR course. The attitude quickly became 'This is the way to get away with it.' And that said to me, keep away."

"My first instructor was a rather young pilot (about 27), who had another job and taught in his spare time. His view was that this was a lark. He sought couples in the grass and we did turns around them. One day we did turns around a point at 300' agl. I said, 'This is a lot lower than I think we should be.' 'Nonsense,' he replied. I started to stall and he saved us. A few weeks later he and another student died as the airplane went 39 inches into the ground doing---you guessed it---turns around a point at 300' agl."

Uncomfortable as Pilot
"My first instructor, on our first flight, was actually sweating when there was a strong crosswind for our landing. I decided that I wanted an instructor with more experience."

"The CFI was flying and had to deal with partial panel. Frankly, he freaked out. He talked about descending through the clouds without an AI and getting into a spin. He insisted that I watch the turn and bank indicator for him. He did not know the no-gyro vector procedures and ATC had to explain them to him. I knew about no-gyro vectors as I had recently read the Jeppesen book on instrument procedures. In general, he was very uncomfortable flying in the clouds and insisted that I 'pester' ATC for higher altitudes so as to get above the overcast throughout the flight.

"My instructor hates to fly in IMC, when it is windy or at night. I crave actual IMC. Night flying is great. When I told her one quarter of my total time is night flying she seemed amazed. She was noticeably nervous when we flew in gusty winds and uneasy when we flew cross-country at night. Why she is even a pilot, let alone an instructor, I will never know. And of course she wants to word for the airlines eventually. Because 50 percent of my instructors have been this way, it is no surprise to me that accidents with instructors on board are where they are. Anyone can get ratings. Anyone can be an instructor. Then, just build the time and get hired by the airlines. The scariest part for me is that these folks could be hired by the airlines and I'll have to share a cockpit with them. Hopefully, the airlines are doing a good job of weeding out people like this!"

Summary
While this was not a scientific study and every field has its bad apples, the fact that a student can say that half of his instructors were uncomfortable in the cockpit shows we have a serious problem in general aviation. Most of the people who described their training experiences to me also talked about the good, even excellent, instruction they received. Next month I will focus on what makes a good instruction and provide some timps on how to find one.

September 2001 Issue Flying Magazine


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