What Was Your Instructor Churn Like?

pilotian

pilotian

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Pilotian
Lately as I get back into flight training (wohoo!) for my instrument and commercial I have been reflecting on the past 8 or so years of my flying life. The awesome experiences and some not so awesome experiences.

As I rummage through my logbook to transfer my time from physical to a digital version, a theme that I came across while reminiscing was the amount of instructors that I have had while taking my initial instruction. Typically, it was due to mis-management of the flight schools or instructors moving on to bigger and better things.

My magic number has been 4 different instructors so far that I have worked with and I've only received my private pilot training and about half of my instrument training.

So I'm just super intrigued, how many instructors have you had in your flight training and how far along are you with ratings to compare it to? Am I just an outlier when it comes to this instructor churn thing? Perhaps.
 
same instructor all thru primary.

since then, several others for checkouts, HP, complex, etc... I find it very beneficial at this point to mix up instructors to get different opinions/feedback.
 
eman1200 said:
same instructor all thru primary.

since then, several others for checkouts, HP, complex, etc... I find it very beneficial at this point to mix up instructors to get different opinions/feedback.
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Yeah agree, I think there is certainly benefit to mixing up instructors at some point. Thanks for the input!
 
Went through 3 instructors for PPL. One went on to other things, one left the school and the 3rd got me through my PPL. We have added a 4th during my IFR training to help expedite the process which has been awesome as it gets me way better instructor availability and also give me different perspectives. The 3rd and 4th pretty much hand me off when they can fly but I am now regularly booked 3 to 4 times a week and building time a little ahead of my requested schedule. My first impression was stick with one person to get me through this thing. Now I am a little wiser and feel just the opposite. The more the gooder. Things will change en route all the time and you will have to both get used to and comfortable with that. I feel that when I was with 1 person I could get complacent as I can figure our there routine. It is better to not know what is coming and really know how to handle it. I believe it is making me a better pilot
 
9 CFIs from my 0 - CFI - ATP.

Most of it was the same stuff you had to deal with, the only full time good dude was my instrument instructor, career instructor, older guy.
 
I think all told I have 14 CFI signatures in my book. (not including DPEs for Check Rides)

Private - 3 instructors. (intro ride, main instructor, fill in instructor for a lesson or two)
Instrument - 3 instructors. (aforementioned fill in instructor then the flight school closed, instructor on FTD, another in the plane)
Commercial - 1
CFI - 1
SES - 1
MEL - 1 (same as SES)
HP signoff - 1 (also same one for spin endorsement)
Flight reviews - 2 different CFIs
IPC - 2 different CFIs
 
I had 4 different ones for my PPL. It took me two years, mostly due to money. Two of them did 80% of my hours.
 
I've basically only had 2. Career CFI when I did my private. I did my instrument, commercial, and CFI all with the same guy who I thought was going to leave for the airlines but decided to stay and is now the Chief CFI. The other CFIs I had were various checkouts and my weekend commercial multi. Other than that I've only had really 2 CFIs throughout my entir training.
 
Wow, only 4? You are lucky.

PPL -> 4 different ones (took me 4 months)
IFR -> 7 different ones (took me 4 months)
CPL -> 5 different ones (so far, taken me about 2 months since I started doing complex training/maneuvers)

CFI -> ??? who knows..hopefully ONE..
 
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I had one for PPL. Started using him for IFR but he went crazy. Used another guy later on until I couldn't afford the flight school anymore. Tried using a girl I went to high school with but she didn't have time for me. Now onto instructor #4 for my IFR and am halfway done. I don't plan on switching instructors again but this one seems to have scheduling difficulties already.
 
working on VFR PPL

9 so far. last 2 have provided most progress by far and about 70% of training. one is former pilot for regional airline. learned the most of him. I changed flying schools in Sept of 2015
 
mscard88 said:
Went crazy? :eek:
Like how?
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He had major problems with his girlfriend at the time or something and I guess had it out for every other female on the planet for it. All I remember is, I was under the hood, he started crying and it messed up his contacts so then he really freaked out saying "I CAN'T F___ING SEE ANYTHING!! WAHHH!!!!!!!" And so that was the last time I flew with him. Ha.

And darn you Ed, there you go speaking all that truth again!
 
rachelk.tailwinds said:
I was under the hood, he started crying and it messed up his contacts so then he really freaked out saying "I CAN'T F___ING SEE ANYTHING!! WAHHH!!!!!!!" And so that was the last time I flew with him.
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I'd say you made the right decision!
 
I had 6 instructors because I moved around a bit along the way. Of them there is ONE that just plain sucked and I would never recommend or even talk to him. The other 5 are great people.
 
One instructor for VFR. One for IFR. Instruments was an add on though so it only took 2 weeks.
 
Private - 3. 1 main one and two I flew with for the night flights because my primary couldn't do them with his schedule.
HP & Complex - Same instructor as my primary private.
Tailwheel - 1
Instrument - 3(one was my primary private instructor). Primary instructor for my private didn't have his CFII. I told him to hurry up and do it so we could fly together. In the mean time, the DPE offered to instruct me for free. Couldn't pass that up. Then when I was working line service, it was cloudy but good IFR weather. We weren't busy so one of the other instructors asked if I wanted to go fly with him on our lunch break.
Commercial single - 2. One did a mock checkride.
Commercial multi - 1.
ATP - 1.

All in all for the civilian ratings it was 10 instructors. 3 different examiners. Not including rental checkout instructors.

Not including checkrides or simulator instructors, in the Air Force it was 14 instructors in the T-6 and 20 in the T-1. KC-10 instructors I have lost count cause we fly with so many even on missions when we aren't getting "instruction".
 
One for PPL, one for refresher after being out of the cockpit for decades and one for Tailwheel Endorsement. All were gents who taught as a hobby rather than as a career or stepping stone.
 
I have had the same instructor all through and starting to work on IFR. but I'm thinking it might be good to switch to a new one for different perspective, different techniques, etc. seems like you might pick up some new things from each CFI.
 
Without looking, I believe I've have 17

private ASEL : 5 (four at one school. one at another)
instrument + HP + complex: 2 (including one from my private)
random checkouts: 2 (one flight each)
comm ASEL: 1
3 were intended as one-off flights and I'll likely not fly with them again.
glider private+comm+checkouts: 3 (club environment, so whoever was around)
comm AMEL, MEI, CFII: 2 (although one was only for a single flight)
CFI single engine: 2 (including the same as comm ASEL)
g1000 + glider tow training: 2 (same ones for both, oddly)

Of them:
3 were always intended as one off flights and I don't expect to fly with them again
4 moved out of the area for other jobs
1 retired from teaching
2 I fired because they were bad instructors
2 (comm ASEL and comm AMEL) i might fly with for IPCs or other recurrent training
5 (the glider and tow ones) I'll likely fly with again as part of our annual glider/tow stuff and for my glider CFI training.
 
For my PPL - 4.

I flew with the first one 4-5 times, then he did something stupid and I thought it would be smart to switch. So, I went to a different school and did a flight with one of their instructors, but he had ZERO personality and wouldn't take his hands off the controls the entire time. So, I tried yet another instructor. Our personalities fit, our styles fit and thankfully he has been my instructor ever since. He's been there for well over a decade and seems to teach because he wants to - not because he needs to, so I don't have to worry that he's just building hours for something else. I flew with a 4th instructor while he was out of town, but that's only because I was desperate to go up.

I plan to fly with the school's examiner in May... he teaches spin recovery and basic aerobatics. I would love to go up for that, plus would be beneficial to fly with him and get his insights since he'll be the one doing my checkride soon.

Hopefully my current CFI will see me through instrument rating as well. I broke the news to him yesterday over lunch that I intend to go for my instrument rating next, so he can't shake me for at least another year. Poor guy. He handled it OK... didn't cry, at least.
 
Dang, I didn't realize people went through so many instructors. I had 1 for Private, currently with the same one getting close to my IR checkride.
 
7 for ppl bad school ... Folded shortly after my ppl. Had 10s of 000$ of student "club rate" money for cheaper wet time.
Arrrrg
 
As a one eyed brain injured pilot I am hard on flight instructors.
To a demonstrated ability medical check ride: 3
To private: 4
To Commercial: 4
To CFI: 3
Flight review: 3
Wanting to learn more: 6
I have 23 CFI's signatures in my log book.
I find this broad experience useful for determining who I want to emulate and what behavior I want to avoid as a CFI.
I liked the “all business” ones who adhered to flight instructor protocol best.
I liked the ones who shared the lesson plan and completion standards before we flew.
I did not find value in being yelled at.
I found not distinguishing who is flying the aircraft was an impediment to learning for me.
 
Two primary CFI's. I have used two others as a fill in when my primary was not available.
 
I had one instructor for my Private (though it was a 141 school and there were five stage checks with other instructors). When I finally put my nose to the grindstone and got my instrument rating, that was all with one instructor. There have been a handful of others for BFRs, club checkouts, HP/Complex/Tailwheel transitions, etc...
 
The whole CFI thing baffles me. It's the inexperienced teaching the extremely inexperienced.

Yes, I know there are exceptions. But usually that holds true.

Yet the students turned PP hold their training as gospel.
 
I did quite a bit of research before settling on a CFI. I went and checked out the local big named schools and a couple that were offering "cheap instruction"

The schools seemed like meat markets that wanted me to register for 2 times a week flying and 1 day a week ground school. And although I understand that flying more often is a better way to go, my finances simply don't allow for it. They put a lot of pressure on me despite my statement that I couldn't afford to do that.

The "cheap instruction" were both young guys looking to build time so the could fly airliners.

I finally met an instructor that was older, had been an commercial pilot, flown for the civil air patrol..... He is semi-retired from his "day job" and his willingness to work with me and fly on my schedule is what sold me.
 
My first CFI went to a professional,job and didn't even cancel my next lesson . . .

Fourteen years later, living in another state, I worked with one CFI for my PPL, and followed up later with one CFII for Instrument training. I've had several for recurrent training, BFRs, etc., and like normal people they are all different.

Just find one who you get along with, and whose teaching style meshes with your learning style.
 
Kritchlow said:
The whole CFI thing baffles me. It's the inexperienced teaching the extremely inexperienced.

Yes, I know there are exceptions. But usually that holds true.

Yet the students turned PP hold their training as gospel.
Click to expand...
It's interesting. I got my CFI with 280 hours. I was still learning when I was teaching my students!
 
4 instructors

My first instructor left after about 10 lessons for a regional airline gig. The next few lessons were with the owner of the FBO/Flight school. Then a few with a new instructor who was an older, retired ex-airline guy turned dairy farmer/part-time CFI. Didn't really click with him, as he liked to sit and talk a lot more than fly. Finally, a skinny young fellow with about 1,000 hours in a myriad of planes and flying jobs, fresh out of CFI training, took over. Clicked great with him, and we're still buds. (I swap him free time in my plane for the occasional brush-up training.) He doesn't really have any interest in airlines, and enjoys teaching, doing ferry work, and flying for a nearby skydiving outfit. Great guy. I just wish he was interested in getting his CFII. I'll be with my 5th instructor for that.
 
One instructor, PPL and seveal BFR's since, and working on instrument.
 
Kritchlow said:
The whole CFI thing baffles me. It's the inexperienced teaching the extremely inexperienced.

Yes, I know there are exceptions. But usually that holds true.

Yet the students turned PP hold their training as gospel.
Click to expand...

Indeed, it seems backwards. I had been flying for a while and had some good flying experience prior to pursuing a flight instructor rating and I still have learned a lot from instructing. What I've learned through instructing is stuff that I wouldn't have necessarily learned by flying more instead of instructing though. I really wish that people would get into instructing because they want to, rather than because they have to since that is about the only job you'll find with 250 hours. My main private pilot instructor, while decent at flying was one of those who was only instructing because he had to and it showed. He didn't like it and wasn't terribly terrific at it.

As far as the original question goes, I think I have around 14 different CFI signatures in my logbook to date. I'll probably end up adding a couple more in the near future too.
 
Kritchlow said:
The whole CFI thing baffles me. It's the inexperienced teaching the extremely inexperienced.

Yes, I know there are exceptions. But usually that holds true.

Yet the students turned PP hold their training as gospel.
Click to expand...

Not always.

My first CFI was an active airline pilot at the time. Still is today. (Enjoying flying the 787 actually. Damn him. Haha.) Also still teaches and his kid who was in a car seat in the back of the 172 for my last couple of flights before my Private ride, teaches now also.

CFI after that for some stuff was a full-time career CFI who did eventually "move on" to an airline training department but hasn't ever done anything but teach.

Brief stints (very brief, I was young and ran out of money!) in both Tailwheel and Glider stuff were also highly experienced CFIs, one a career CFI in his 70s and the other an airline guy who'd rather be flying gliders if the pay was better.

Mountain instructors were all locals who had way more experience than the average bear. One career instructor and schoolteacher, others ex-military, another a software engineer who essentially lives at the airport when not working. All aged 50+.

And everyone here knows my IR CFI was @jesse and he's not chasing time for an airline gig and gets good reviews from everyone I've talked to here and elsewhere. (Including from me.)

And my CFI that's about to work with me on Commercial SE/ME and my CFI ratings started his airline career in DC-3s and Convairs and hung it up in the DC-10, now has an accelerated training shop in "retirement".

Frankly it's quite intimidating thinking I'll be trying to teach people as well as any of them. I get what you're saying about the blind leading the blind, but one doesn't HAVE to hire inexperienced CFIs.

I will admit I "stumbled" into many of these folks and consider myself very lucky to have done so. First instructor was met over ham radio and he's been a lifelong friend. We get along really well - one of those fluke things where you just happen to meet someone you relate to more than just a business relationship and we've watched his kids grow up, know them too, and all that stuff.

In fact. Frankly, the reason I want to teach is a) because I like to but b) also because I feel like he gave me something in teaching me to fly that I need to give back to someone else. Hopefully many someone else-es. There's a distinct feel of "I want to pay this forward" in my decision to go get my instructor ratings.

I've also done a BFR or two with others I wouldn't hire again, but they weren't awful. Just had that rubber stamp and "I'm just here to fill my logbook" feel. Not bad instructors per se, just didn't leave me the impression they were really interested in teaching.

Somehow I find the teachers. Even both DPEs so far were of the sort that preferred a teaching style, secondarily along with the testing.
 
denverpilot said:
Not always.

My first CFI was an active airline pilot at the time. Still is today. (Enjoying flying the 787 actually. Damn him. Haha.) Also still teaches and his kid who was in a car seat in the back of the 172 for my last couple of flights before my Private ride, teaches now also.

CFI after that for some stuff was a full-time career CFI who did eventually "move on" to an airline training department but hasn't ever done anything but teach.

Brief stints (very brief, I was young and ran out of money!) in both Tailwheel and Glider stuff were also highly experienced CFIs, one a career CFI in his 70s and the other an airline guy who'd rather be flying gliders if the pay was better.

Mountain instructors were all locals who had way more experience than the average bear. One career instructor and schoolteacher, others ex-military, another a software engineer who essentially lives at the airport when not working. All aged 50+.

And everyone here knows my IR CFI was @jesse and he's not chasing time for an airline gig and gets good reviews from everyone I've talked to here and elsewhere. (Including from me.)

And my CFI that's about to work with me on Commercial SE/ME and my CFI ratings started his airline career in DC-3s and Convairs and hung it up in the DC-10, now has an accelerated training shop in "retirement".

Frankly it's quite intimidating thinking I'll be trying to teach people as well as any of them. I get what you're saying about the blind leading the blind, but one doesn't HAVE to hire inexperienced CFIs.

I will admit I "stumbled" into many of these folks and consider myself very lucky to have done so. First instructor was met over ham radio and he's been a lifelong friend. We get along really well - one of those fluke things where you just happen to meet someone you relate to more than just a business relationship and we've watched his kids grow up, know them too, and all that stuff.

In fact. Frankly, the reason I want to teach is a) because I like to but b) also because I feel like he gave me something in teaching me to fly that I need to give back to someone else. Hopefully many someone else-es. There's a distinct feel of "I want to pay this forward" in my decision to go get my instructor ratings.

I've also done a BFR or two with others I wouldn't hire again, but they weren't awful. Just had that rubber stamp and "I'm just here to fill my logbook" feel. Not bad instructors per se, just didn't leave me the impression they were really interested in teaching.

Somehow I find the teachers. Even both DPEs so far were of the sort that preferred a teaching style, secondarily along with the testing.
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Nate I think you're pretty lucky then I think. I will say that I did luck out for my current Commercial instructor, he's very easy to get along with and does a good job. He also has a ton of experience, which helps. I'm just about out of money myself, but I'm working on finishing up my CPL and then onto my CFI. After that my intention is to teach, because I like to, not because I have to.

The flight school I'm at lost 3 instructors to the airlines last year and is going to lose at least 3 more this year, so they are definitely in need of people who will stick around.
 
Kritchlow said:
The whole CFI thing baffles me. It's the inexperienced teaching the extremely inexperienced.
.
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I know the Air Force will take someone who just graduated from pilot training and make him/her an IP. Of course they have another course they attend before they are cleared to teach. Knew a guy who graduated No 1 in his class, which meant he normally would get his pick of planes and he wanted fighters. Air Force made him a T-37 IP and he was bitter the rest of time in the Air Force.
 
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