8 Secrets that Your Flight Instructor Doesn't Want You to Know

[drgwentzel]

Flyers and Students,

A friend of mine sent me something called 8 Secrets the Airlines Don't Want You to Know. I, in return drafted him the following, 8 Secrets Flight Instructors Don't Want You to Know. I thought maybe it might be interesting to the members, and would love to hear from other instructors what they might add to the list.




1) When we first meet a student, the first thing we're really trying to ascertain is, does this person truly have enough money to do this?

2) When we first meet a student, the second thing we're trying to ascertain is, does this person have enough brain cells to do this?

3) When we first meet a student, if number one is true, we don't really care about number two.

4) When we first meet a student, we are sizing them up immediately to ascertain their personal hygiene. After all, we are going to be in tight quarters with them for many, many hours. They have to pass the smell test!

5) If they fail on number four, we couldn't care less about number one OR number two. We will find them a new instructor or a new hobby.

6) We are 3x's more terrified than the student during power on stalls, their first landings and their first solo.

7) We really believe we remain entirely stoic and emotionless while we contain our frustrations, swallow our fury, grit our teeth and restrain our desire to grab and shake the student by their shirt collar while we scream, "WTF could you possibly have been thinking!." We are truly shocked when the student points out the little tortuous, throbbing vein that keeps protruding out of the left side of our temples.

And last but not least…

8) Our greatest secret is, we hope and pray that you never figure out that if you didn't pay us, we would just do it for free, because we just love flying with you.

Gene Wentzel - CFI, CFII

 

[Archammer]

If I would have known that my instructor was as scared as I was the first time the bottom fell out on that first Power On stall, I would have quit!

They don't bother me much now, but that first one puckered me up tighter than a birthday balloon.

 

[denverpilot]

The stall thing is kinda weird. I can't think of a single CFI in my logbook who's bothered by them. Is that more a thing with younger less experienced CFIs or those without spin training?

My first CFI went well past stalls into spins though. And then spins from various sorts of entries. And then spins to assigned headings.

 

[poadeleted21]

The stall thing is kinda weird. I can't think of a single CFI in my logbook who's bothered by them. Is that more a thing with younger less experienced CFIs or those without spin training?

My first CFI went well past stalls into spins though. And then spins from various sorts of entries. And then spins to assigned headings.

18P, spin left to a heading of 090.

 

[lolachampcar]

and another thing....
A lot of CFIs are in it for you to pay for their hours so they can go do something else. I do not say this to offend anyone, especially CFIs. Its just a common practice for young pilots to use the CFI to build hours towards an ATP. They are not teachers and normally have little interest in teaching. They are often new pilots as well with just enough hours to have their commercial and CFI......

It is odd that you need to make a very important decision about who to work with to learn how to fly at the point were most know the least about flying. Picking the right CFI that matches your abilities and method has the single greatest affect on what kind of pilot you become. Getting it right is not easy but the pay off for success is tremendous.

 

[flyingron]

Instructors only need three things in their vocabulary:

1. More right rudder.
2. My Airplane.
3. You can pay me now.

 

[RyanShort1]

Dislike

 

[SixPapaCharlie]

Students can smell CFIs too.

I flew with a guy the always smelled noticeably like fresh laundry.
One CFI I flew with briefly smelled noticeably like cigarettes.

It is something about which everyone in the plane should be considerate.

 

[HouTxPilot82]

and another thing....
A lot of CFIs are in it for you to pay for their hours so they can go do something else. I do not say this to offend anyone, especially CFIs. Its just a common practice for young pilots to use the CFI to build hours towards an ATP. They are not teachers and normally have little interest in teaching. They are often new pilots as well with just enough hours to have their commercial and CFI......

It is odd that you need to make a very important decision about who to work with to learn how to fly at the point were most know the least about flying. Picking the right CFI that matches your abilities and method has the single greatest affect on what kind of pilot you become. Getting it right is not easy but the pay off for success is tremendous.

My CFI was a young guy working towards his ATP. He let me know on Day 1 that it is a high turnover industry for this very reason, and he had plans to move on within the next few months. I was working on an aggressive schedule and he worked with me to get me through all of my training.

 

[sixpacker]

6) We are 3x's more terrified than the student during power on stalls, their first landings and their first solo.

My CFI was visibly TERRIFIED and for good reason probably. For my first power on stall I used no rudder whatsoever and was completely uncoordinated. When the stall happened we of course went straight into an incipient spin (half a turn). I can still hear my instructor shouting "my plane!" followed by verbalizing the spin recovery steps "opposite rudder, nose down", etc.

 

[jkgoblue]

I still hate stalls. I used to do them for practice but rarely now. I shouldn't be stupid enough it get into a stall anyway.

 

[48dodge]

My CFI was visibly TERRIFIED and for good reason probably. For my first power on stall I used no rudder whatsoever and was completely uncoordinated. When the stall happened we of course went straight into an incipient spin (half a turn). I can still hear my instructor shouting "my plane!" followed by verbalizing the spin recovery steps "opposite rudder, nose down", etc.

I felt bad for the CFI that went up with me yesterday. He's somewhat new as a cfi but has quite a bit of time in the air. He knew nothing about me other than I am done with my lessons, just need to fly some after having a month off. Winds were crazy. Rwy35 with about a 10kt from 040 but varying. Turns out it quickly shifted into a quartering tailwind. 35kts above the trees. So take off was... Interesting. Did maneuvers and listened to Wx before heading back. Still 35kts above the trees but Awos reported 7kts variable from 360 to 110. Windsock was stiff as a board though. Digital asi was bouncing from 55 to 75kts all the way down final. I actually ended up nailing the landing somehow. I told the CFI he could relax once I cleaned up the plane. He was a little ashen.

 

[Rigged4Flight]

1) When we first meet a student, the first thing we're really trying to ascertain is, does this person truly have enough money to do this?

This was probably not a prime concern for him, as I had assured the flight school owner that I would be flying as many hours as he would schedule me for the two weeks I had available.

2) When we first meet a student, the second thing we're trying to ascertain is, does this person have enough brain cells to do this?

This one might have been a concern. I was concerned enough about it to bring it up myself when we first met. I'm not young, and my brain's been knocked around a bit. But I focus and I'm not afraid to work hard at a goal.

3) When we first meet a student, if number one is true, we don't really care about number two.

We're all adults so we both know that this is a transaction where I provide money and attention, and he provides knowledge and instruction.

4) When we first meet a student, we are sizing them up immediately to ascertain their personal hygiene. After all, we are going to be in tight quarters with them for many, many hours. They have to pass the smell test!

I was well aware that I would be in a high stress environment in very close quarters with someone that might think I was trying to kill us both. I was sizing him up for the same thing.

5) If they fail on number four, we couldn't care less about number one OR number two. We will find them a new instructor or a new hobby.

If he had failed on #4, I wouldn't have flown with him either.

6) We are 3x's more terrified than the student during power on stalls, their first landings and their first solo.

I think I honestly scared my instructor only once. We were going to do a touch and go at a small airport, and when we got there the winds were gusting and I was all over the place - both in the air and in my head. I wobbled in ground effect and was probably a few seconds from breaking the plane when I said "Your airplane!" He was most likely about to say "My airplane!" at the same time, anyway. He punched in full throttle and we went around and I learned a few things. But yeah. I'm pretty sure we both puckered up a bit on that one.

7) We really believe we remain entirely stoic and emotionless while we contain our frustrations, swallow our fury, grit our teeth and restrain our desire to grab and shake the student by their shirt collar while we scream, "WTF could you possibly have been thinking!." We are truly shocked when the student points out the little tortuous, throbbing vein that keeps protruding out of the left side of our temples.

I only ever noticed one time when he let slip the "this idiot is a moron" look. I had issues with the radio. Tower gave me instructions and for the life of me I couldn't remember what they had just said long enough to repeat it back to them. I caught the rolling of his eyes out of the corner of mine. It didn't bother me. I picked him because he was harder on me than the other two instructors I had flown with, not because he was easy. In my opinion, if your sense of self worth is so fragile that you can't take constructive criticism, or an honest straight-to-the-point assessment of your progress, then you have no business getting in a cockpit.

And last but not least…

8) Our greatest secret is, we hope and pray that you never figure out that if you didn't pay us, we would just do it for free, because we just love flying with you.

I believe my instructor really likes to fly, but I don't for a second think that his income came close to making him comfortable enough financially to do what he did for free. Nor would I have expected him to. The industry at the student/instructor level is about as lean as I can imagine it could get.

 

[BigBadLou]

My buddy CFI must have forgotten rule #4 because he was giving instruction to some individuals with not only questionable hygiene, they didn't have any at all. He wanted to drop them and have another CFI teach them but he was the youngest/newest CFI at the school so he was stuck with the "stinkos". I feel bad for him but he really needed the money so I guess rule #1 defeated rule #4 in his case.

 

[txflyer]

My instructor pulled the throttle at about 4000' and said " you just lost the engine"

So we windmilled down to the field I picked out and all was good so he said "o.k. that's good" and he shoved the throttle in. The engine sputtered and died.

I've never seen someone move levers and switches so fast. I continued to fly the plane and was prepared to land right where we intended. All was good, but after he got it re-started and we were climbing out, he said " that's good for today, let's head on back."

 

[wsuffa]

I only came close to making a CFI airsick one time. South Texas, very hot day, turbulence, doing chandelles, slow-flight and stalls in prep for the commercial practical test. He started to look a little green so we headed back to the airport from the practice area. Higher up where it was a couple of degrees cooler.

 

[Matthew]

9. When the CFI says, "It's tradition that when we stop for lunch, the student pays", there really is no tradition.

 

[OkieAviator]

How do you gauge #1. Anyone ever show up in a top hat and monocle?

 

[write-stuff]

Instructors only need three things in their vocabulary:

1. More right rudder.
2. My Airplane.
3. You can pay me now.

Haha! I agree 100%. Stalls and landings are a piece of cake - we're spring loaded and see the problems before the student commits the mistakes.

 

[LDJones]

If I would have known that my instructor was as scared as I was the first time the bottom fell out on that first Power On stall, I would have quit!

They don't bother me much now, but that first one puckered me up tighter than a birthday balloon.

I can't figure that one out. Stalls haven't bothered me since my second or third solo flight, so certainly never bothered me in in 33 years as a CFI.

 

[N801BH]

I still hate stalls. I used to do them for practice but rarely now. I shouldn't be stupid enough it get into a stall anyway.

+1.....

I am terrified of stalls.... And spins scare me to death....

Kept me alive for 35 years of flying...... so far.

 

[jesse]

I am more comfortable doing stalls with a poorly coordinated student than I am sitting in a car driving down interstate 80. Same thing when it comes to teaching them to land.

The student soloing the airplane bothered me a bit at first but no longer gets me worked up to any degree.

It's certainly true that when you're talking with someone interested in flying you're really trying to figure out if they can afford it. It's a nice feeling when you know they can afford it, know they are dedicated to it, and you go on the first lesson and they do really well.

 

[denverpilot]

+1.....

I am terrified of stalls.... And spins scare me to death....

Kept me alive for 35 years of flying...... so far.

That actually surprised me. The guy flying the most experimental of experimentals here, and he's scared of things airplanes all do.

Granted some don't like to STOP doing them as much as others... But in the right airplane I'd happily go out and spin the snot out of it until I got dizzy, for no other reason than because it could be done.

Perhaps I should have bought a Decathlon.

 

[txflyer]

Stalls power on or power off are a non-event in the skywagon for the most part.

Power on, it's pretty critical the ball is centered and you're coordinated or it will drop a wing. But not bad.

The sportsman cuff helped quite a bit with stall break. Power off stalls are candy cake.

 

[FlyingTiger]

Funny you say that, I just dropped a wing on the arrow yesterday doing a power on stall. CFI grumbled, "keep the wings level" as he kicked some rudder in.

The way I see it, it's my obligation to scare my CFI from time-to-time as payback for pulling landing gear circuits, forcing me to land engine out and starting conversations at strategic moments to get me off my checklists.

 

[coloradobluesky]

9. We'll drop you like a lead turd if we get a real job as a pilot. (or even if its just a chance to fly a twin!)

 

[WingNut42]

Students can smell CFIs too.

I flew with a guy the always smelled noticeably like fresh laundry.
One CFI I flew with briefly smelled noticeably like cigarettes.

It is something about which everyone in the plane should be considerate.

10 Degrees in January makes this almost a non event. Though it is a two way street.

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

One CFI I flew with briefly smelled noticeably like cigarettes.

And I had a CFI that had me stop at the FBO so he could run in and "borrow" a bean bag ash tray for the glare shield because the Cessna 120 didn't have an ash tray.

But that was in the olden days. Now you can't even smoke in the teachers lounge.

 

[lolachampcar]

The stall stuff is funny. I get all types in the front of my plane. I've literally had to block the stick from moving side to side doing falling leaf with some pilots because they insist on using the ailerons to catch the falling wing. Once they find the stick no longer moves left or right, they move onto the rudder.

My motto, three turns to the right, three to the left and an inverted to upright cross over on every flight. Works a charm.

 

[comanchepilot]

My first CFI went well past stalls into spins though. And then spins from various sorts of entries. And then spins to assigned headings.

Its just an airplane - make it do what you want. Spins are controlled flight - there is no reason why you should let them evolve to the point where they aren't -

 

[drgwentzel]

9. We'll drop you like a lead turd if we get a real job as a pilot. (or even if its just a chance to fly a twin!)

Yes...this is what I was looking for when I posted the list. I also really appreciated what FlyingRon put up also.

My list was just an effort to make my friend (formal student) have a late night laugh and I thought I would share it with this wonderful group.

Of course it's not exactly true, but then again, it wouldn't be funny if it wasn't partially accurate.

Gene Wentzel, CFII

 

[nimdabew]

How do you gauge #1. Anyone ever show up in a top hat and monocle?

It is a sixth sense. It is usually after the first flight when they still have the gleen in their eye from their first take off and first "landing" and we start talking about what needs to happen in the next 40-60 hours. If the gleen goes away in about .2 seconds when you talk about $100 dollar medicals, 55/hr for ground time, and each flight costing about $250, you can gauge it.

I have personally advised people to not go into debt or rack up massive credit card debt to scratch an itch for flying. The conversation usually goes like "if I were you, I would save up all the cash before continuing any further if you don't have it now."

"How much are we talking about and how much would I need to pay per month?"

"Expect about $200-250 per flight, 2 times a week for 6 months if you want to make normal progress."

"Oh..."

I don't mince words when it comes to the cost of flight training because I would hate for them to go 5k into debt and not finish so I can get about $300 from that pool of cash they spent.

 

[GCA319]

Flyers and Students,

A friend of mine sent me something called 8 Secrets the Airlines Don't Want You to Know. I, in return drafted him the following, 8 Secrets Flight Instructors Don't Want You to Know. I thought maybe it might be interesting to the members, and would love to hear from other instructors what they might add to the list.




1) When we first meet a student, the first thing we're really trying to ascertain is, does this person truly have enough money to do this?

2) When we first meet a student, the second thing we're trying to ascertain is, does this person have enough brain cells to do this?

3) When we first meet a student, if number one is true, we don't really care about number two.

4) When we first meet a student, we are sizing them up immediately to ascertain their personal hygiene. After all, we are going to be in tight quarters with them for many, many hours. They have to pass the smell test!

5) If they fail on number four, we couldn't care less about number one OR number two. We will find them a new instructor or a new hobby.

6) We are 3x's more terrified than the student during power on stalls, their first landings and their first solo.

7) We really believe we remain entirely stoic and emotionless while we contain our frustrations, swallow our fury, grit our teeth and restrain our desire to grab and shake the student by their shirt collar while we scream, "WTF could you possibly have been thinking!." We are truly shocked when the student points out the little tortuous, throbbing vein that keeps protruding out of the left side of our temples.

And last but not least…

8) Our greatest secret is, we hope and pray that you never figure out that if you didn't pay us, we would just do it for free, because we just love flying with you.

Gene Wentzel - CFI, CFII

A little Vicks Vapor Rub under your nose can help make it easier to deal with number 4. No joke.

 

[ARFlyer]

Mine are

1) Please for the love of all that's good have the plane ready when I'm ready.

2)I'll be nice the first few times you cancel. But I'm secretly ****ed at you as you just took food out of my mouth.

3) STUDY STUDY STUDY. I'm not here to tell you everything!!!!!

4)As a Check Airman: I want to strangle eveytime you blame the CFI for not teaching you something you got wrong.

5)Yes, I have my favorite students. If you don't know then your not one of them. To be one of them: Study, Be Ready, Be Honest, Don't Throw Tantrums.

Sorry I deal with 17-22 years olds and I agree I can't say much since I'm still "technically" one of them, I'm 24, to you guys.

 

[TommyG]

Mine are

1) Please for the love of all that's good have the plane ready when I'm ready.

2)I'll be nice the first few times you cancel. But I'm secretly ****ed at you as you just took food out of my mouth.

3) STUDY STUDY STUDY. I'm not here to tell you everything!!!!!

4)As a Check Airman: I want to strangle eveytime you blame the CFI for not teaching you something you got wrong.

5)Yes, I have my favorite students. If you don't know then your not one of them. To be one of them: Study, Be Ready, Be Honest, Don't Throw Tantrums.

Sorry I deal with 17-22 years olds and I agree I can't say much since I'm still "technically" one of them, I'm 24, to you guys.

#3- if your not studying on your own time, I really don't care how many hours it will take to solo. Study or have a big bank account.

 

[Tarheelpilot]

I don't really agree with this list.

 

[denverpilot]

1) Please for the love of all that's good have the plane ready when I'm ready.

That one, if word gets around that you're a crank about it, will eventually lead to a student hiding an airworthiness issue from you worried that you'll think they didn't have the plane ready.

Be careful with that particular attitude. And hopefully you aren't trusting their pre-flights without verifying.

The first one that can't figure out how to get the mud dauber nest out of the stall horn hole, will just say the plane is good to go...

 

[jesse]

That one, if word gets around that you're a crank about it, will eventually lead to a student hiding an airworthiness issue from you worried that you'll think they didn't have the plane ready.

Be careful with that particular attitude. And hopefully you aren't trusting their pre-flights without verifying.

The first one that can't figure out how to get the mud dauber nest out of the stall horn hole, will just say the plane is good to go...

+1 ... as easy as it is to just have the student preflight everything before you get there ... you still need to verify. Luckily I can preflight a trainer faster than they can usually get in the airplane and get their seatbelts on so it doesn't take much of any time to verify.

Sometimes there will be a known squawk that you can find on preflight that grounds the airplane. At some point in the training I won't call the student to cancel the lesson and will instead pretend like all is well and see if they find it. Often times they don't and it's a good wake up to them to be more thorough.

 

[PaulS]

Number 7, my instructor lost it one day when I screwed up a radio call to Hanscom field. He really lost it, starting writing the word THIMK, down, I was mildly bemused and a little upset at screwing up the call. Anyway, he was going on telling me what the letters in THIMK meant, I realized he wasn't looking out the window, so I focused outside. Sure enough I see a little stationary dot in the windscreen getting bigger, he was still looking at me prattling on, so I said, "TRAFFIC, TRAFFIC, TRAFFIC!!!", shocked, he said "Where", I pointed it out to him, he said "My airplane" and we maneuvered out of the path of a Mooney who missed us by about 200 feet, the Mooney never changed course, so I think he never saw us.

My instructor told me that more than made up for the radio screw up, I told him good, don't ever speak to me like that again.

I never did find out what THIMK meant.

 

[mrtyler]

Never heard of THIMK so you inspired me to look it up:

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=720433