Are We the Right Fit?

I'm sure most of you know now that I flight instructed much longer than any normal person would (5 years!!), and had more than enough hours to go to the airlines when I finally did.  Even with the hundreds of traffic patterns I did, and the steep turns, and how many times I had to remind my students of "safety first," I still loved every day of it.  I tried to be the best flight instructor I could be and felt I did a pretty good job. 

That being sad, there were still students with personalities so different than mine that we were not a good fit.  I couldn't explain things in a way that would help them understand.   Before you settle on a flight instructor, get to know them a little bit and make sure you have personalities that will get along.  If, halfway through training, you don't enjoy meeting with your instructor and dread going to your flight lesson, then find a new flight instructor.  Training should be hard but incredibly fun and rewarding- it shouldn't be something that you dread.

During my flight instructor days, I was always proud of the fact that I could teach any student to land an airplane smoothly- no slamming it onto the runway or turning one landing into three.  It is a finesse to be able to do that, and I felt my students mastered it quite well.  I even had multiple examiners call me after the checkride to tell me that my students had awesome landings (proud CFI moment).  Here's a pic with me and one of my students after her first solo- she did awesome!  As did all my other students, but that would be too many pictures to share in one post.  :)

However, I had one student about a year after I began flight instructing that I could not teach to land.  We'd spent countless hours in the traffic pattern, but to no avail.  I could not figure out what the problem was.  The approach was always so beautiful, but then it got a little sketchy during the flare with me having to take over the airplane more often than not. 

After weeks of trying I didn't want to waste the student's money anymore, so I sent him with a new instructor.  There were no hard feelings and it wasn't awkward.  I kid you not, just a few days after flying with this other flight instructor, he could land like a pro.  Did this offend me?  Of course not!  I was happy for him and the other flight instructor. 

For whatever reason, my tips didn't help him out at all; but this other instructor was able to teach him things I could not.  If you are having issues with your flight instructor, or if you are a flight instructor having issues with a student, do not be ashamed to switch things up a bit.  You should both want what is best for each other, even if that means meeting with a different flight instructor.  Make it a positive experience for all the parities involved, and everybody will win!