In this day and time, anyone with the experience you would like to see can make better money in industry, and not worry about the liability.
You may find the occasional retired individual, but again, living in retirement can become hell with one lawsuit.
Some just enjoy it, they love to fly, share their vast experience, make their own hours, be home every night, and not a glorified bus driver like an airline pilot is. They can buy their own plane, or work with people who already own like myself. I pay her $50/hour, which is significantly more than the average working stiff makes. She owns a 172, but is more than happy to fly with me and others in whatever we own. Occasionally over the years, I have flown to her home airport, parked whatever I owned at the time, opting to get in some 172 time in her plane. She has social skill, experience, and common sense that nobody despite their designation has at age 19 to 24 which is the common instructor. Don't tell me about what the book says to do when icing up, tell me what you did the dozens of times you experienced it yourself. Dead stick to 1500 feet of grass should not even make the instructor sweat, but just fly with a smile, come in slightly high, add a side slip to scrub the last bit of altitude and straighten out at 30' agl and plop it down like it was a walk in the park. Mountain flying is nothing at all, just another normal day, as is the landing on a beach beside some lake. Perfectly flat lake landing is so smooth, or windy day with chop and a tricky taxi to the dock with waves slapping the floats and winds pushing the plane are all handled in stride. IFR in actual IFR is just the regular flight for them, not just 50 hours of hood time in severe clear. By the time I got my commercial I was a way better pilot than one of the instructors was at the school. We all have to make our own choices in life, look for a true teacher, and focus less on some letters in a log book. And you young people who are out there learning to fly, remember that instructor is not your boss, you're paying his salary, so speak up and make suggestions. If your airport has a short, infrequently used runway, with a nice crosswind happening while your going to fly, request it....not that fancy 80' wide by 5,000' long paved monstrosity that has a head wind, which teaches you nothing. A dozen touch and goes on the crosswind 2,100' runway is actually teaching you something. When time to do your solo xc, ask to pick your own destinations, make it an all day adventure, it requires a fuel stop, and a place to eat lunch, beautiful scenery, and when you land back at home days end you just added 6 or 7 hours to your log book. I requested my own xc, it was granted....i logged 7.2 hours, had a fabulous lunch, and fondly remember it still 31 years later. It was a 4 stop day, I got fuel twice because I would rather have more than enough. Sat out on a patio eating a burger, drinking a milkshake watching others come and go. Flew over a beautiful lake, remember watching the boaters and people water skiing, I dropped into slow flight so I would have more time to take it all in because I was only doing 60 knots and dragging flaps. One of my stops was 1800 feet of runway and it was crosswind that day, both ends mean if you screwed up there was no area to roll out into, just water to swim in after you crashed through the 4' tall fence. Be your own advocate and choose to make yourself a better pilot. If an airport is not too busy, when the tower gives you some instructions, say no, and ask for your choice. They are an advisory, not God, and 99.9% of the time they are happy to grant you your wish on a slow day. If they say use 15, ask for 23 instead, ultimately you are responsible for your own education, it doesn't matter if you are becoming a truck driver, surgeon, or pilot.
