So you have picked your flight school, maybe it was based on the type of instruction whether Part 61 or Part 141 or maybe it was based on the type of aircraft used. Well that’s it all the choices have been made, right? Wrong! It is quite possible that the most important decision in your budding aviation career is picking your very first flight instructor. The truth is it might very well be the most important decision you EVER make in your aviation career. That’s right, little Johnny who has yet to leave the ground or crack a FAR is responsible for choosing who he is going to learn the most basic and fundamental concepts, techniques and procedures from. So how do you make such an important decision when you don’t even know what you’re looking for?
Well here is tip number 1. Remember and never forget, this is your aviation career and you are the customer when it comes to your flight training. The instructor, flight school, college or any variant of, all work for you not the other way around. So take an active role in every decision, you are not a passenger you are the Pilot in Command of your career from the moment you decided to take to the skies.
Tip 2. Don’t be afraid to ask to interview or speak to all of the available instructors or even schedule instruction flights with various ones. The first instructor might seem fine, but who knows the next instructor might end up being like that 3rd grade teacher who instilled that passion for learning and thirst for excellence that you still possess to this day, or it might be the first one after all. The point is you might never know if you don’t shop around.
My first true and subjective piece of advice is to choose an instructor who truly has a passion and love for aviation. Someone who has that fire for all things aerial and loves to teach. Just like your favorite high school teacher, your CFI is not in it for the money. You might find one who is building time for his ATP or a retired airline pilot who just wants to pass on her wealth of experience in the cockpit. So from a purely subjective standpoint which is better?
The answer is, it depends. In all honesty the low time guy just building time is hands down going to be better in the books because having just gone through what you are currently going through, and now reciting all of his fresh knowledge to you daily they will never be as sharp. On the other hand the retired airline/charter/fighter/bush pilot has forgotten more about flying than you will learn in the next 10 years.
A full time instructor vs part time, high time vs low time, male vs female, ex-military vs civilian and on and on. The entire point of this post is to simply point out that there are so many different combinations of experience, skill level and personalities in life and this is naturally mimicked in flight instructors. No one knows you better than you so don’t assume that a flight school knows what instructor is best for you.
Up to this point you have picked the school and the aircraft why not the instructor. Remember the onus is always on you still to be the very best flight student you can be, because in the end the pilot that you end up being is ultimately up to you. Chuck Yeager could probably teach a monkey to fly but that doesn’t mean that you would board a 747 headed London if that monkey is the PIC. Instead be the student who is open and receptive one who can accept criticism as well as praise with equal professionalism. Be a student who knows his limits and understands that until the day he steps out of the cockpit for the very last time that there is always something to learn. Just food for thought when making some crucial decisions that might very well save your life one day. Until next time, Fly Safe!
