Don't know how it all compares with students years ago, though I assume one needed much more basic knowledge to keep the steeds flying and to repair them in the field back then? After years of amazement at the lack of basic knowledge coming from Comm. rated pilots going for their CFIs [So, tell me about constant speed props. Normal type answer: Well, they're really just automatic transmissions, like in a car.], and other complete ignorance of powerplants, I worked into my CFI syllabus such unheard of items as, let's go out and open the cowling on that Warrior and take a look. In fifteen or twenty minutes you can point out exhaust, oil cooler, push rod tubes, baffles, etc. The women students [and I had a bunch] were almost always fascinated and asked more questions and requested more time spent on it. Some of the students were bored and yawning. I overheard a group of CFI students talking once, one was holding forth a big complaint that his instructor, me, had wasted at least an hour of his time and money going over stuff like that which wasn't in the PTS. He was pretty disgusted [news to me]. At least one of my other students piped up that he'd found it very interesting and informative and really appreciated it, no one else had ever gone over those basic things.
Eventually, I had a collection of parts...a cylinder, some valves, push rods, a piston rod, cam, etc., and I could lay them all out on a table and show how it all worked. Took about fifteen minutes at the most. Did the same thing with instrument/CFII students. Went to a instrument repair shop I used for my own airplane and gradually talked the owner into giving me some un-rebuildable gyros, AIs, mag compass, VSI, all those things which I disassembled and would use as ground school props. Again, some people were fascinated and some were resentful but none of them had ever seen these things except in line drawings in texts.
I made up my own syllabus for these ratings. When I'd sit down with a new student to go over what we'd be covering for his instrument or multi or whatever, I'd give them a copy of the syllabus and explain that it did not match a PTS but did include everything in the PTS. There would be more than that but I guaranteed there would turn out to be only a small amount more time involved, probably no more time as I was pretty good at just working it into my teaching method.
Of course, there were still people who complained to me or others later on. One guy kept after me about half way thru his CFI training with "I have a job flying jumpers with an uncle who will only hire me if I get the CFI, all I need is the $#@%^$ CFI and I'll be working, just GET ME THRU THE BASIC crap and let me go on 'cuz I don't need to know how to teach or all this other garbage...." I explained that the FAA didn't really care a bit what he was gonna do with the ticket once he finished it up, the standards were the same no matter. Oh, well.
)
