Finding the right Instructor

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OleTechie

Filing Flight Plan
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OleTechie
Hi All,

I intend to start taking lessons again in the near future but I have a major road block:
I am much broader than most people. My shoulders are 27 inches wide. That leaves about 13 inches for an instructor! My hips are correspondingly large. Highschool lineman size. How do I find an instructor who can sit in a 40\42 inch wide cockpit with me? The obvious answer is a smaller framed, probably female, instructor. I have zero problem with the idea of a smaller female instructor but how do I find one? Running an ad in a local paper saying I am looking for a small female instructor could, shall we say, create some unintended side effects... Any ideas?
 
Leave the female part out. You’re looking for a smaller framed CFI to fit and make W&B with room for fuel.

Who reads the paper?! Go to the airport(s) where you plan to train and talk to people. If necessary, place an ad on the bulletin board.
 
Do you have your own plane? (If so, what is it?)
Or would trying out a few different planes be something to try?
They all a little different be.
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
Leave the female part out. You’re looking for a smaller framed CFI to fit and make W&B with room for fuel.

Who reads the paper?! Go to the airport(s) where you plan to train and talk to people. If necessary, place an ad on the bulletin board.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the idea!
 
kath said:
Do you have your own plane? (If so, what is it?)
Or would trying out a few different planes be something to try?
They all a little different be.
Click to expand...
I do not yet own my own plane though it is something I am seriously considering and it might be necessary to get a large enough cockpit. I am willing to try most anything, heck, I would fly an open cockpit! I have yet to find a tandem tricycle gear aircraft that I can use! I am wide open to ideas.
 
One thing to consider that plane seats (mostly) slide. So a bit of fore & aft separation helps a lot in a crowded cockpit.

I also notice that after awhile the instructor scrunches up against the door anyway, maybe to look more relaxed & convey confidence in your skills. Some, to turn their face more naturally toward you & gauge your response.

your ad sounds kinda kinky, I’d go for it. I’ve had two female instructors. Loved them both. Unfortunately, the only kink was in the headset cords.
 
Albany Tom said:
You don't need a smaller instructor. You need a bigger airplane.
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Yeah I know! Unfortunately I cannot find a FBO that will rent a Cessna 177 or Cherokee 6\Saratoga for primary flight instruction. Whenever I ask there is dead silence followed by a description of insurance woes...
 
Find pilots forums that cater to your region. Ask around the local airport. I’d this your own plane? If so be cautious talking to flight schools, they will usually let you use their CFI and charge you their rate, and only pay the CFI what they might paid through the school
 
OleTechie said:
Yeah I know! Unfortunately I cannot find a FBO that will rent a Cessna 177 or Cherokee 6\Saratoga for primary flight instruction. Whenever I ask there is dead silence followed by a description of insurance woes...
Click to expand...

Maybe a 182? I don't know if any of the newer single engine planes are wider, Diamond or Cirrus for example. There are some places that teach in those.
 
How do I locate forums that are specific to a region? Is this simply a "DC area pilot forum" search in Google? Never tried it - what could it hurt! Thanks for the idea!
 
Albany Tom said:
Maybe a 182? I don't know if any of the newer single engine planes are wider, Diamond or Cirrus for example. There are some places that teach in those.
Click to expand...
I sat in a 182. It could work with seats adjusted correctly but...the FBOs I have talked to say that 182s are not available for Primary flight instruction.
 
Albany Tom said:
Maybe a 182? I don't know if any of the newer single engine planes are wider, Diamond or Cirrus for example. There are some places that teach in those.
Click to expand...
@OleTechie If you are out west I know Leading Edge in Utah has Cirrus and there was a bunch of Cirrus painted up in some flight school colors at Cedar City. If memory serves me correct I even think there is a school in Henderson or North Las Vegas that flies Cirrus.
 
rhkennerly said:
One thing to consider that plane seats (mostly) slide. So a bit of fore & aft separation helps a lot in a crowded cockpit.

I also notice that after awhile the instructor scrunches up against the door anyway, maybe to look more relaxed & convey confidence in your skills. Some, to turn their face more naturally toward you & gauge your response.

your ad sounds kinda kinky, I’d go for it. I’ve had two female instructors. Loved them both. Unfortunately, the only kink was in the headset cords.
Click to expand...
Half Fast said:
You need to train in a plane with tandem (fore and aft) seating. Like a Cub. Or an F18.
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The tandem idea might work but cabin width is still an issue. An Aeronca TriChamp is actually pretty narrow - I just looked it up...I am not really looking for adding the complexity of a tail wheel at this point. I am not trying to find out if I have the Right Stuff. That stopped when I was a kid. Eleven concussions later I have determined that I had the stuffins kicked out of me; right or wrong stuffins don't really care; it will take some work to get my medical anyway, though I am told I should be able to - I just want to fly with my lady and enjoy while I still can!
 
OleTechie said:
How do I locate forums that are specific to a region? Is this simply a "DC area pilot forum" search in Google? Never tried it - what could it hurt! Thanks for the idea!
Click to expand...

Facebook has many aviation groups.
 
@OleTechie are you a primary student?

Note that a tail wheel is referred to as “conventional gear”. That’s how planes were originally made.

learning this from 1st lesson on makes it a no-brained/not an issue. I understand there’s almost no transition required teaching a tail wheel pilot how to land a tricycle gear plane vs 10 hours to get a tail wheel sign-off?

Find a Citabria or Decathlon and do your training in that!
 
With an original cub you may have a weight issue. Depending on the aircraft, two people at 190lbs each and 12 gal fuel in a J3 can be overweight.

But I wouldn't worry about the "more complicated" part of tailwheel. I learned tailwheel first, it's not any harder than learning nosewheel, in my opinion, except for ground handling and that comes pretty quickly.
 
Terry M - 3CK (Chicago) said:
@OleTechie are you a primary student?

Note that a tail wheel is referred to as “conventional gear”. That’s how planes were originally made.

learning this from 1st lesson on makes it a no-brained/not an issue. I understand there’s almost no transition required teaching a tail wheel pilot how to land a tricycle gear plane vs 10 hours to get a tail wheel sign-off?

Find a Citabria or Decathlon and do your training in that!
Click to expand...
Terry M - 3CK (Chicago) said:
@OleTechie are you a primary student?

Note that a tail wheel is referred to as “conventional gear”. That’s how planes were originally made.

learning this from 1st lesson on makes it a no-brained/not an issue. I understand there’s almost no transition required teaching a tail wheel pilot how to land a tricycle gear plane vs 10 hours to get a tail wheel sign-off?

Find a Citabria or Decathlon and do your training in that!
Click to expand...
True that they were they were most prevalent up until about 65 years ago. I have over 50 hours in a Warrior but it is from forty years ago so I have a lot to rediscover. I have recently taken off about 20 pounds. I am going to sit in a Warrior and a 172 and see if that helped any. I understand that Cherokee 6s\Saratogas are 48 inches wide. Does anyone know if Piper moved the seats away from the left side of the cockpit in using the extra width compared to a Warrior?
 
Half Fast said:
You need to train in a plane with tandem (fore and aft) seating. Like a Cub. Or an F18.
Click to expand...
Please don’t start a new argument. It’s bad enough that we have high vs low wing, tailwheel vs nose wheel, glass vs steam, chute vs no chute, and a plethora of other inane arguments; there is no need for a tandem vs side by side one. Though I’m sure this gang has fought over it before.

:D
 
I suggest you book a discovery flight in a 172 and see what it's actually like. If you're planning on flying a 172, do you only plan to make people sit in the back unless they're small? I think you'd be surprised by the flexibility people have to squish and the amount of overlap you can get if you stagger the seats. No point in spending all that effort finding a small instructor if it's not necessary.
 
All,
Thank you for your thoughts and ideas. I may have solved this problem. I followed TommyG's advice and started calling around and I was told by the owner\President of a local FBO that he knows an instructor who may fit my needs perfectly. At least it is a good start; further after a lot of looking around I have discovered that Cherokees from the 1960s do not have the center console that Archers\Warriors have. That means they can probably fit me well. And a 1960s vintage 180 fits my main mission profile perfectly. Now, if I can only find a local flight school that has a 1960s vintage Cherokee 180 to learn in. I hope to get in the air in January or February at the latest. Thanks again for you help!
 
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