Dangerous improper CFI Behavior

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Sinistar said:
@Cptwing - There's only 1 thing we all really have...time! We're pretty similar in age and the older we get the faster it seems to go. What I see is that you are not gelling with your CFI. For many, that is all it takes to move on to another....and they just do it. And good CFI's will understand that and maybe even help you find another.

I was way farther in when I needed to find another CFI. My reset time was probably way more than yours will be. I still think my first CFI is a hell of a pilot and a good decent person. It wasn't easy "firing" him. But for me I needed to. Believe it or not, right after I passed my check ride he was the 3rd person I called (#1=wife/pilot, #2=current CFI, #3=first CFI). I thanked him, he congratulated me and asked me all kinds of questions. Since then I've flown in to say hi once and will probably meet him for a drink this summer or maybe take him to a pancake breakfast because I know he loves that kinda thing.

So then I flew with a much younger CFI. He is hungry to teach and fly. And he teaches a bit differently. He said if it ain't fun somethings wrong. He made it fun and had one really clear goal - to get me to that check ride. A few things also helped, in that he was much closer to our plane after we had to move it (= time saved). And his rates were about half the first one's so any urgency regarding "running out of money" or it "costing more than average" were also no longer and issue.

You know you want to switch and with about 90% agreement everyone is telling you to switch. But you don't. Fool me once shame on them, fool me twice...:)

If you need something to get you over the edge and actually switch...just know this: Learning another plane is a good thing. Do it. You're still early in your training so the reset will be less than you think...maybe 3hrs. Learning from a different instructor is a good thing. The odds of getting along better with the next instructor are either like 9,850% (it was him) or 0% (it is you).

Everyone is saying action not words. You're a guy so man up - action time! If you just keep writing about it and how bad it is, from this point on with all this advice you actually now will deserve your fate. With awareness comes responsibility. You are now aware.

Flying should be fun, exciting, grueling and a little bit frustrating. If you can't make it that way and keep expecting someone else to manage all of it for you, you will never be happy.
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I'm in a similar situation as you were. I like my CFI, nice guy, great pilot, but I'm not sure his style of instruction is best for me. It's stressful, and I had another earlier who moved on, that was a style that was great for me. But as a student at this point I just don't know if I'm able to judge it. He gives me good marks, but sometimes I feel like I couldn't do anything right, and comments sometimes stress me out.

For the OP, I get the sense that he was wondering about reporting thinking about the safety of other students. I mean sure he can just move on, but he seemed to believe this instructor was actually dangerous. It would be irresponsible to just move on, and let unsafe instruction continue.

But, the OP has not made a case, at least as he believes. The CFI on the phone while keeping the student waiting is not a safety issue, it is an issue though. The crosswind also is not an issue, as many have shown. The on the phone while in the air is too dependent on the actual circumstances to call.

A student, until they get used to flying, is not a good lookout for traffic. That is what we all have to work on, not keeping our eyes inside looking at instruments, or just focused on where we are flying, etc. it takes time to learn to scan and sight other traffic. I think my CFI is always on the lookout, and he's also not distracted, but again, others with experience say it is ok. So there seems to be no case for "reporting", not for safety anyway.

At my school, time starts at takeoff, so if my instructor was on the phone when I was done with preflight and waiting for him, it would not be charged to my time. I thought most places did that.

I chose to believe the OP was thinking big picture and that he was thinking the right thing to do was report an unsafe CFI, but his judgement was wrong. It's more a case of incompatible CFI.

Everyone he has made a case for not reporting and just moving on.
 
Cptwing said:
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From what I have seen there are good CFIs and Bad ones. And contrary to the peanut gallery a student is only as good or bad as their instructor.
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What qualifies yours to be the most correct opinion on the matter?
 
OP. I might have missed it. Have you manned up and actually talked to your CFI about phone use and (for whatever reason) sending you a lesson plan?

Not sure why you're expecting a formal lesson plan... a lot of what you do on a particular day depends on weather, etc. I never once expected my teachers to come with a bullet list of what was going to be done that day. We talked through a few things before we went up then we went flying and worked on whatever needed working on. Boy, you're going to be a lot of fun when the power gets pulled and you're not looking and you "lost the engine" .. but but that wasn't in the lesson plan! Waaaahhhhhhhhhhh

Just go flying and learn. And like others said, he knows more about the plane than you do. Way more. He can tell if the ball is centered based how his ass feels in the seat. He can tell your speed and RPM and anything else.

Stop worrying about "reporting him" and either fire him or man up and talk to him. You're being a *****.
 
I guess it is my military background, but I expect him to have a plan, and be prepared. I also expect him to provide me with his plan ahead of time, so that I can prepare. He tells me he spends a good deal of time preparing lesson plans for all his students. So ok let me see mine, I get the deer in the headlights look?

In order to be efficient I should be assigned reading ,& task familiarizations no? I already spoke to his boss about this before and he lied saying he has given me such things. I asked him ok let me see them in front of his boss, and guess what, they got misplaced.

Never once have I received a written review of any kind, and oral review only if I ask. Maybe that is the SOP in the part 61 civilian world, seems very unprofessional to me.

Maybe part 141 would have been a better fit for me?

Anyway I have a meeting scheduled with him and his boss, and I do plan to fire him then and ask for a new instructor.

Had him pull power many times already, no big deal follow procedure, though once he did not give it back till we were 200' AGL over someone's yard/emergency landing strip.

Not too worried about getting lost most of our flying is along a coastline, there is a G430, I have fore flight on my ipad, plus phone, and I always carry my sectionals. I am sure it could and may happen, but I will react to it as best I can, just like any other student.

But maybe I should consult with Dr Salty first I may be having Impulsivity or some other ADM issue?
 
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Cptwing said:
I guess it is my military background, but I expect him to have a plan, and be prepared. I also expect him to provide me with his plan ahead of time, so that I can prepare. He tells me he spends a good deal of time preparing lesson plans for all his students. So ok let me see mine, I get the deer in the headlights look?

In order to be efficient I should be assigned reading ,& task familiarizations no? I already spoke to his boss about this before and he lied saying he has given me such things. I asked him ok let me see them in front of his boss, and guess what, they got misplaced.

Never once have I received a written review of any kind, and oral review only if I ask. Maybe that is the SOP in the part 61 civilian world, seems very unprofessional to me.

Anyway I have a meeting scheduled with him and his boss, and I do plan to fire him then and ask for a new instructor.

But maybe I should consult with Dr Salty first I may be having Impulsivity or some other ADM issue?
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I told you in the last thread to switch instructors because you weren't compatible with him. You wanted a planned out training and you weren't getting it. No need for drama, just move on. You should have done that when you started the first thread.

But since then, I've changed my mind. I think you should stick with anybody that is willing to put up with you or you risk running out of options.
 
You guys are still beating this horse? Sheesh, give it up!
 
Anyone that gives themselves the title of captain - or abbreviation of - for their user name you can pretty much discount and ignore anything they say because they are completely full of themselves.
 
EdFred said:
Anyone that gives themselves the title of captain - or abbreviation of - for their user name you can pretty much discount and ignore anything they say because they are completely full of themselves.
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Based on his military background he may have held the rank of Captain. Just a guess. Otherwise I agree with you.
 
Mtns2Skies said:
Based on his military background he may have held the rank of Captain. Just a guess. Otherwise I agree with you.
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O3 or O6? I can't imagine him as an O6, altho I've run into higher brass even more clueless. Bu not many, and they were safely in corners where they couldn't get into too much trouble.

Even more worrisome, that he assumes the world operates with an org chart and a TO. Welcome to real world.
 
Cptwing, I think you are going to end up at a new flt school.

Personally I think you are too tightly wound, too worried about getting ripped off by an hour building instructor and so worked up that you can't see the forest through the trees. You should lay out exactly what you expect for your next instructor, but honestly I doubt any one would bite. I'm curious, have you offered to pay the instructor for the time it would take for the personalized written lesson plan you expect of him?
 
Cptwing said:
I guess it is my military background...
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As a retired military aviator, your expectations are unrealistic.

More importantly, if a formal syllabus and detailed student guide for each lesson is important to you, did not ask about these prior to selecting your school.

I doubt a pt 141 school will meet your expectations, either.
 
EdFred said:
Anyone that gives themselves the title of captain - or abbreviation of - for their user name you can pretty much discount and ignore anything they say because they are completely full of themselves.
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Mtns2Skies said:
Based on his military background he may have held the rank of Captain.
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Can’t wait to see how this plays out. I know where I’d put my money.
 
Ben2k9 said:
Can’t wait to see how this plays out. I know where I’d put my money.
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You haven't been around long enough to have 'experienced' the other people that bestowed upon themselves the username incorporating captain/cpt/capn/cap'n here.

Fun fact: I know guys that served, and you'd never know it because they never brought that sort of attention to themselves. And some of them are here. The ones that have to trot it out...well...

Cardinal directions and a horse is the imagery you're looking for.
 
Thread Locked. There isn't going to be any more constructive advice given or received so the thread will be closed.
 
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