How old is/was your CFI?

How old is/was your CFI?

  • 24 or less

    Votes: 52 19.6%

  • 25-34

    Votes: 76 28.7%

  • 35-44

    Votes: 28 10.6%

  • 45-54

    Votes: 29 10.9%

  • 55-64

    Votes: 39 14.7%

  • 65+

    Votes: 41 15.5%
  • Total voters
    265
GCA319 said:
My philosophy is to never generalize based on age. Make your judgement based on the person as an induvidual instructor.
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SCCutler said:
This.

I ave gotten excellent instruction from very young instructors, and "YGBSM"-bad instruction from "experienced" guys.
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My decision wasn't based all on age and if I had found a fantastic 19 year old instructor I would have hired him. We have a few (or more) of "young" CFIs here on the board that are well respected. That said, if you look at the majority of advice people give, it's "go find the old guy...or Jessie." My CFI came with a host of recommendations and we get along great, so it's a win-win. :)
 
The CFIs I've hired have ranged from 24 through well into the 70s. All have different styles and things to teach.
 
numl0ck said:
My decision wasn't based all on age and if I had found a fantastic 19 year old instructor I would have hired him. We have a few (or more) of "young" CFIs here on the board that are well respected. That said, if you look at the majority of advice people give, it's "go find the old guy...or Jessie." My CFI came with a host of recommendations and we get along great, so it's a win-win. :)
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I'm one of them. Well, the young part anyway :D
 
Morne said:
In another thread there seems to be a lot of bashing of the, "300 hour, 19 year old CFI." I have no experience with these folks.

Personally, both my regular CFI and the guy I used as a back-up on the days my normal guy was booked were over 60. I have no clue how many hours they had, but "a dozen metric tons" seems to be a conservative guess. They'd both been flying since childhood.

So I am now curious what the breakdown of folks trained by "young uns" versus "geezers" might be.

I also wonder if there is any way to track pilots involved in accidents to see how experienced (on average) their CFIs were compared to the overall pilot population...:idea:
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My son is 19 years old and is a CFI in lawrenceburg Tn. One of the youngest. He has well over 500 hours.
 
N801BH said:
My PP instructor was Glen Perkins, out of Orlando Country, now Orlando North, X04... Glen was in his late 50's I would guess. That was back in 81... Super instructor and was a POW in Nam... He spent a few years in a bamboo cage right next to Mc Cain.. Had stories that would make your skin crawl about that experience...... Hope he is still alive out there somewhere......
Thanks Glen....


Ben.
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Glen Perkins. That name rings a bell since I was flying in ORL in the early 80's too. Wasn't my instructor but I remember the name.

My PPL instructor was late 30's or early 40's and sure wish I knew what happened to him. He was by far the best instructor I could have had!;)
 
Just after my PPC I flew an Arrow with a CFI who was younger than Jordane. I think he was 13 or maybe he just looked that way. Anyway the wing didn’t fall off.
 
All of my cfi's were in their mid to late 20's. I got my cfi at 19. Never had anyone give me problems or raise concerns with my age.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
All three of mine were retired USAF, not kids. Last was a former Raven, and a phenominal stick.
 
Mine was about 70 and had about 16,000 hours. Really great guy. I haven't flown with him in about a year but I'd take someone like that over a guy just trying to get to the airlines.
 
Another necro thread revival...

One of them was in his late 30’s, the other was about 65.
 
First one was in his 50s. Second one which pretty much did the rest of my ratings was 22.
 
At some point, everybody’s younger than you are ;) My two primary instructors were approximately in their 40s, but I had some good work with a guy who was still in college and I appreciated that opportunity. Age ain’t everything.
 
I don't remember how old my instructor for private was. I just remember he had to use the crossing guard when crossing the street.....
 
My instructor is 23, same age as my oldest daughter. Everyone said to be weary of young CFIs because they are just getting hours. But when I met him, he made me feel comfortable with the plan, my flying, and his instruction. It’s a good fit and we make a good team.
 
Sundancer said:
FAC - Laos, I beleive. . .X-wind limits were just mild suggestions to him; a truly gifted stick, with the patience of a saint.
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Sounds like he was a Raven flying Birdogs. Here's a good book about them. When I retired from the airline a training department IP gave me the book with around 6-8 of the Ravens signatures. I already had the book, but obviously this copy meant more. A good read.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00887PC78/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_tmb
 
My cfi (ex cfi, I'm ppl now :D) is retired Coast Guard (20 yrs) and is in his 40's. I was 51yo when I started my training. I'm sure it depends on the individual but I believe I would have preferred an adult rather than a kid. I have a lot of respect for his skills, teaching ability, and outlook on being safe and a proper pilot. Early on we were in one of the 90,000 hr 172's at a controlled field 100 miles from home and the engine did a momentary stumble in the pattern the instant I reduced power. I noticed it but it seemed like a non issue because, very quickly, it resumed normal power/feel. He took over and declared an emergency and we ended up renting a car and drove home. A mechanic and another instructor went to check it out and the instructor ended up flying it back. The schools mechanics checked it out, didn't find much and put it back in service. This other cfi and student flew it and my cfi questioned them as to how it ran since he knew the shop did little. This other cfi said it did fine. My cfi went up in it again (with another pupil) and cut the lesson short and condemned the plane again.

This time the shop found a cracked cylinder. It was then that I learned how much the school's management actually cared about people's safety and I bought my Cherokee a short time later at 25 hrs into my training. I've never sat butt into one of their ratty 172's since.

My cfi is strong willed, a type A personality, and knew what he knew. He didn't take their not finding much and kept on them, in the name of safety. Maybe there are some kid cfi's that would stick to their guns but I think the majority could be bullied by their boss.
 
VRT_RONBO said:
My instructor is 23, same age as my oldest daughter. Everyone said to be weary of young CFIs because they are just getting hours. But when I met him, he made me feel comfortable with the plan, my flying, and his instruction. It’s a good fit and we make a good team.
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Yeah and the extra hours they make you fly so they can pad their log will make you weary. That’s why many folks are wary of them.
 
I suppose some will need to worry about that. But I haven’t had the feeling we are going slow. If anything, we move faster if it’s maneuvers or lessons I feel comfortable with.
 
My primary instructor was in his mid-20s, and I thought he was old. ;)

I think most of the rest of my instructors in the early days were young too.
 
My first primary PPL instructor was under 24. He bolted for a regional gig around my 5th lesson. My next CFI was a retired airlines guy who was now running a dairy farm. He was okay, but he liked to talk a lot, and on more than one occasion, he'd waste the entire lesson in the classroom. (Really irked me, because I'm more of a read up about it on my own kind of student.) He only lasted about 3 lessons until my final primary CFI joined the company. He was about 23. He was a great instructor, really cool guy. His ultimate goal was to someday fly for the airlines, but instead of taking the quickest route there, he choose to fly a lot first. He did a lot of ferry work before becoming a CFI. While a CFI, he also flew for a skydiving outfit nearby. He wanted to fly GA for as long as possible before setting down into an airline career. He didn't even apply until he had close to 5,000 hrs. He had a lot of experiences for me to learn from, including all the stupid mistakes he had made along the way. I really like the guy. In fact, I just had dinner with him during his layover in Dallas. (He's married, and flying with a regional now and loving it.)

My instrument instructor was an 19 yr old fresh out of a pilot puppy mill. I think I had more hours than he did. But he was smart, and always gave his best. He made some mistakes, but we both learned from them. (I also flew with my PPL CFI at that time, just for hood time and to benefit from his IMC experience. He didn't have a CFII rating.) The kid was sharp, and he got the job done. I'd fly with him again. I was going to go back and do my ME with him, but he's already been picked up by a regional up in Portland, flying turbo props.

Age can bring wisdom, but it can also bring an unwillingness to embrace new technologies or concepts. I think it depends more on the individual than the date of birth.
 
My primary instructor is in his early 30's. He's an ex Air Force Navigator that instructs after his day job because he just loves to fly. I don't think I could've found a better CFI for my particular situation.
 
To be honest... I am not sure. He could be tell me he is anywhere from 35 to 55 and I would not be surprised.
 
Mine is almost 85, I'm working on my instrument with him.
 
I found a great meme about necroposting involving Samuel L. Jackson, but posting it would involve a violation of the RoC.

So just fill in the blank on your own "Necropost again [fill in the blank]! I dare you!"
 
Mine's 48. So he's just a few years older than me. Former Navy pilot. Flew EA-6B's and F-18's. Super chill guy and a gifted pilot. I always feel 100% safe in the air with the man.
 
My primary CFI was 34. Fantastic pilot and even better instructor.
 
Primary and instrument were within plus or minus 5 of my age and I did that training when I was 28 and 30. Commercial was quite a bit younger than me and it showed. CFI instructor was also within 5 years of my age. My multi and seaplane instructor is at least 20 to 30 years older than me.
 
N1120A said:
My primary CFI was 34. Fantastic pilot and even better instructor.
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My 84-year old instructor regular says, "I may be a sheety pilot, but I'm a damn good instructor!"
 
My instructor was a retired, crusty, stick-and-rudder guy. I'm glad for it, because he really taught me how to fly the airplane. I learned systems and theory on my own, but was used to doing that anyway as a scientist. By the time I was ready for the checkride, I was no stranger of gusty crosswind ops, all sorts of slips and stalls, and generally knowing how to safely control the aircraft in all sorts of maneuvers. I've met plenty of nervous nellie pilots that can't cope with adverse wind conditions, and are afraid of slow flight, slips, or other normal flight maneuvers. Not anyone who trained with Mr. Crusty.
 
Mine was around 21or 22, about a year younger than my youngest kid. Nice young man, quite sharp, still in college.
 
I’m 23 and have been considering getting my CFI for quite some time, but with my work schedule being 15 days on 15 days off I dont think I would be doing my students any favors with that much time between flights.
 
First one was very cool at 80, second one mid twenties and a bit of an AH, nothing to do with age. 3rd was mid 30s and cool, did 60 hours with him. Next was female chief CFII, with bigger Xwind ovaries than most guys flying there had nads and taught me more in practical terms. The next 50 some CFIs ranged in age from 20 to 60 and had many personalities from great to weird, most all were quite good pilots but, most were gun shy because they feared any screw-up would jeopardize their career and they were probably right. There were and are a select few that remain exceptional.
 
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