Good instuctors???

[pete8862]

Hi All,

 

Can anyone tell me how do you find out who is a good instructor & who is not so good

 

Pete

 

 

[P4D]

Helo Pete,

 

Ask questions. Lots of them. There are no stupid questions only stupid answers. A GOOD flying instructor is like any good professional, be it lawyer undertaker or chef and relies on reputation. Ask some more questions and then some more and likley you will come up with YOUR own opinion of this persons capability to give to YOU what YOU want. You will know when you find a good instructor because it is YOU who decides.

 

 

[Guest Crezzi]

Fair question - theres no government myFlyingSchool website

 

Word of mouth maybe helps but -

 

People don't generally train at multiple schools so can't make a meaningful comparison.

 

Students are inexperienced so can't recognise any deficiencies in their training.

 

Most people want to think they were well taught & hence typically rate the school they learnt at.

 

Pretty much every school will have had students who didn't work out - they are unlikely to recommend that school even if the problem wasn't their fault.

 

A school recommended by one student might not suit a different person.

 

Visit as many schools as you can, talk to them & form your on impression

 

Sorry for the Microsoft* answer !

 

Cheers

 

John

 

* see Funny Jokes : Helicopters and Microsoft for explanation

 

 

[richo]

Hi Pete.

 

Ask around. Ask people who have finished their license/certificate. People will normally be more open about their instructors once they have finished their course i think.

 

And, different instructors have different teaching styles. So an instructor who was good with me might be less so with someone else and vice versa. For example, I've flown with instructors who barely talk at all in the air, and save it up for when you get back to the office. I didnt like that at all but other students had recommended this instructor. I prefer to talk a lot. I learn a lot more that way.

 

Cheers

 

 

[Guest burbles1]

I changed schools a lot in the Sydney region trying to find the right instructor and the right aircraft. Don't be fooled by a great-looking website or the amount of written material they have that outlines their training program.

 

Asking questions will get you only some of the info you need. I agree that asking current students can give you a better idea of how good a FTF is - the time that instructors spend on briefing/debriefing, whether students go away from a lesson confused by half-answered questions or whether they know what ground theory to study before their next lesson, whether instructors answer questions whilst inflight or if they wait until you're back on the ground. Ask about the performance specs for their aircraft - if they don't need to refer to the pilot's operating handbook, they are probably good for every other detail of training. Is the instructor too socially chatty or do they get straight down to business and focus on the business of flying? Are they well organised or do they take their sweet time doing lessons (and therefore wasting your time)?

 

And something that I never did until I was well into my training - spend a few hours at their facility on a weekend just sitting back and observing how they operate.

 

Everyone has different standards and different expectations - and you will know soon enough whether their standards meet your expectations.

 

 

[shags_j]

Definitely ask around but do a couple of TIFS with different schools to see how they are. Also don't forget to ask what operating hours they run (seems ridiculous i know but trust me, this one bit me once).

 

I went through 4 schools before I found a good one (Zane at prosky ;) )

 

Most importantly ask around here looking for anyone from coominya (not really sure where that is myself) and see if they can recommend anyone. In all seriousness though, RA schools are generally pretty good. They seem to be doing it for the joy of doing it, rather than as a stepping stone to an air transport career. The GA schools however are full of instructors who are there just to get their hours up.

 

 

[Guest davidh10]

Fair question - theres no government myFlyingSchool website ...

 

Sorry for the Microsoft* answer !

 

Cheers

 

John

 

* see Funny Jokes : Helicopters and Microsoft for explanation

Loved the Microsoft answer.... Agree with all you have said.

 

Apart from appropriate skills and knowledge, the instructor who adapts teaching style to suit the student's learning style will be most effective and enjoyable.

 

As someone else said, hang around the school and talk with other students / pilots. You will learn a lot and be able to form your own opinion.

 

Sorry, another Microsoft answer

 

 

[Tomo]

Fair question - theres no government myFlyingSchool website Word of mouth maybe helps but -

 

People don't generally train at multiple schools so can't make a meaningful comparison.

 

Students are inexperienced so can't recognise any deficiencies in their training.

 

Most people want to think they were well taught & hence typically rate the school they learnt at.

 

Pretty much every school will have had students who didn't work out - they are unlikely to recommend that school even if the problem wasn't their fault.

 

A school recommended by one student might not suit a different person.

 

Visit as many schools as you can, talk to them & form your on impression

 

Sorry for the Microsoft* answer !

 

Cheers

 

John

 

* see Funny Jokes : Helicopters and Microsoft for explanation

Agree and that link was excellent! :thumb_up:

 

I've had half a dozen different instructors beside me, for getting signed out on aircraft, different schools etc...

 

Obviously we all learn different, and an instructor that can change and work with a student is the one that will be the best.

 

There is a skill to teaching, sometimes it's obvious in a person that they are good at it, other times you need to be around them for a while to see what they're like.

 

To be effective I believe you need to have a level of - taking a person out of the comfort zone a little, but also maintaining their confidence. Once a person looses confidence in themselves, they don't learn. And they also don't learn unless they are taken there; mistakes are made and so on... Encouragement will also go a long way...

 

Really the only way is to go and have a chat, go for a fly... do a joy flight with them, see how they fly. Or TIF, I like having them fly for a bit, then swap over, that way you aren't concentrating on trying to do the right thing, and forget to check things out.

 

 

[sfGnome]

Lots of good answers here, but there's something else just as important as getting a good instructor; it's being a good student! If you don't understand something and you don't ask (again and again), then you're not a good student. If you dismiss something that you're told because you think you know better, then you're not a good student. If you go off in a huff because you've been ticked off by your instructor, then - you've guessed it - you not a good student.

 

How do I know these things? Umm, because I'm not a...

 

 

[DAVID SEE]

Hi Pete..

 

I did my training at coominya some years ago, and have had time with two other instructors since.

 

Each one has their own method of teaching. but make sure you ask lots of questions, sometimes its the quality of the student that determines the quality of the instructor

 

Cheers Davo:nerd:

 

 

[Tomo]

Lots of good answers here, but there's something else just as important as getting a good instructor; it's being a good student! If you don't understand something and you don't ask (again and again), then you're not a good student. If you dismiss something that you're told because you think you know better, then you're not a good student. If you go off in a huff because you've been ticked off by your instructor, then - you've guessed it - you not a good student. How do I know these things? Umm, because I'm not a...

:big_grin:

 

Well, I find there are two aspects to a good instructor. One is that they are a good teacher/trainer - explain things well. The other is they have excellent flying skills and very high standards expected from their student. Of the two the indispensable one for me is the brilliant airman/flyer. Both would be nice . . . but you can't beat learning from a masterful flyer.

You're right Blackrod, that is something I certainly looked for as well. And I'm thankful to say my RAA instructor was extremely good - still is actually. And now I'm going to a well known and very experienced GA instructor, which is nice.

 

 

[Guest Dick Gower]

Reputation and word of mouth is the answer but don't forget that sometimes the combination of instructor and student is not right. There is nothing wrong with either of them but the combination of the two just does not work. I have see this often.

 

If you are in this situation ask to try a change - it is your money.

 

 

[bushpilot]

Yep reputation counts for a lot... In our case we have been around for less than a year so it takes awhile for reputation to kick in; it has to be earned - you cant push it.

 

But we can give potential students more than 20 names / contacts of current students to chat with.. Between us (2 instructors) we have instructed over 1,200 hours in the air and about 500 hours on ground theory..

 

We now have students coming 'over the hill' from Sydney and the Blue Mountains - also from Cobar and Dubbo. And we can do accommodation for block training.

 

 

[Guest Wigg]

John had 7 good instructors in about 12 weeks every one of them was an excellent instructor but knew more than the owner of the flying school so he sacked them all. It got to the stage we were never sure if there would be anyone at the school to teach him.

 

 

[Guest davidh10]

John had 7 good instructors in about 12 weeks every one of them was an excellent instructor but knew more than the owner of the flying school so he sacked them all. It got to the stage we were never sure if there would be anyone at the school to teach him.

Unfortunately this sort of attitude isn't exactly rare. I was once told quite blatantly, by a headhunter, that I would have to tone down my resume because the specific employer "...did not like people who were smarter than him." Completely different field of endeavour. Now how do you apply for a job like that? You can't put your best foot forward, but that is what is expected!

 

I'd recommend going elsewhere, as you can't get the best outcome in an environment like that; Either for the students or the company.

 

 

[johndl]

Agree and that link was excellent! :thumb_up:I've had half a dozen different instructors beside me, for getting signed out on aircraft, different schools etc...

 

Obviously we all learn different, and an instructor that can change and work with a student is the one that will be the best.

 

There is a skill to teaching, sometimes it's obvious in a person that they are good at it, other times you need to be around them for a while to see what they're like.

 

To be effective I believe you need to have a level of - taking a person out of the comfort zone a little, but also maintaining their confidence. Once a person looses confidence in themselves, they don't learn. And they also don't learn unless they are taken there; mistakes are made and so on... Encouragement will also go a long way...

 

Really the only way is to go and have a chat, go for a fly... do a joy flight with them, see how they fly. Or TIF, I like having them fly for a bit, then swap over, that way you aren't concentrating on trying to do the right thing, and forget to check things out.

As a teacher myself, I have to agree with Tomo. You need to feel comfortable with your instructor, and develop a rapport. Lots of folk know a lot, but can't teach it:nerd: