How do I Fly with a Bloated Head, Egotistical Instrument Instructor?

[MBDiagMan]

Yes, I think we have met in the middle. His attitude toward me has improved as has my determination to put up with him. So far he’s not nearly as irritating as he was when I flew with him before, and he has moved toward moving as quickly as possible toward the check ride rather than trying to get as much of my money as possible. I actually told him I enjoyed flying with after our flight Monday.

 

[sarangan]

Yes, I think we have met in the middle. His attitude toward me has improved as has my determination to put up with him. So far he’s not nearly as irritating as he was when I flew with him before, and he has moved toward moving as quickly as possible toward the check ride rather than trying to get as much of my money as possible. I actually told him I enjoyed flying with after our flight Monday.

"Not as irritating" and "has improved" imply that you are not expecting much from your flight instructor.

 

[LongRoadBob]

"Not as irritating" and "has improved" imply that you are not expecting much from your flight instructor.

Or having more realistic expectations given the situation. I took it as a good sign. As I recall he never claimed his instructor was not knowledgable, but more that his style didn’t work for him. But he has few to no good choices now. He seems to have adjusted, and maybe is experiencing it working better from that, which also may (just a guess) have calmed the tension, maybe even subconsciously, and the CFI may have adjusted a little too.

 

[Grum.Man]

I have been incredibly fortunate to have gelled really well with every person I flew with. My primary instructor is like my best friend now. I did have one though that thought he was god's gift to aviation. I got through it by reminding my self it was the only option and my desire to finish was more than my desire to kick him to the curb. The most vindicating moment though was when I asked him to demonstrate the maneuver for me so that I could "ride the controls" and obtain the sight picture... Well he botched the maneuver as well making all the same mistakes he kept degrading me for.

Finally towards the end as we were filling out my logbook I asked him if he was up for some constructive criticism. I politely told him the things that bugged me and the things that I felt he did well.

 

[James331]

I am in a remote location with a written that expires in April. I have tried to find an instrument instructor to work with and have tried options of going away for a fly your butt off course, but can’t schedule with such short notice.

There is an instructor that comes here from a metropolitan area a lot. I tried flying with him early on and we are oil and water. His modus operandi is to do a lot of non flight related talking while on the ground while you are paying him by the hour. When in the air as well as on the ground he belittles you while he is busy proving to you that he has the stick and rudder skills of Bob Hoover and you are merely a schmuck that on a good day has a chance of keeping an airplane from crashing.

I baled out of flying with him a year ago, but am running out of options. I had a number of things get in the way of doing this flying, but now I am ready to bite the bullet and pray for enough humility and patience so as not to want to open the door and push him out.

If you’ve ever flown with an instructor like this I would like to hear words of wisdom. I am preparing myself to just bite my tongue and take the implied insults as best I can. I’m just out of practical options.

Thanks for your comments!

If you’re going to spend hard earned money to be abused...you’re doing it all wrong

 

[IK04]

My first instructor was an excellent pilot and required a level of precision beyond any requirement for the Private Pilot Certificate. He was, however a terrible instructor and I basically taught myself after he demonstrated each maneuver. It took me 80 hours to get to my checkride and 40 to solo, but I was well prepared from all that practice.

I never held it against him and it was not a financial burden, since I was paying so little for the plane and instruction. Many of his students would quit after seeing their peers advance past them, but I stuck it out. We got along great and were friends for many years.

I accepted it as a learning point and made sure my students progressed at a more timely pace. I was still done in four months, despite all the extra flight time...