Mooney Down - KCHD

[mike_elliott]

2 hours ago, Ibra said:

Yes main reason why instructor get paid is "stop it early" (push yoke or reject takeoff)

The main reason an instructor is paid is to teach you to keep it from happening in the first place. 

[chriscalandro]

3 hours ago, mike_elliott said:

The main reason an instructor is paid is to teach you to keep it from happening in the first place. 

Actions speak louder than words. How can someone teach me how to prevent something when they can’t prevent it themselves?

This should have been avoidable with the proper CFI actions. This goes under the poor instruction category. Especially when the goal was transition training and the CFI was being paid to teach how to avoid exactly this scenario. (Yes short and soft field landings should be part of transition training)

[Ron McBride]

I never wanted to be an instructor, you need to teach by letting students learn by there mistakes and good examples.  Sometimes their mistakes can hurt you or someone else.  

[donkaye]

38 minutes ago, Ron McBride said:

I never wanted to be an instructor, you need to teach by letting students learn by there mistakes and good examples.  Sometimes their mistakes can hurt you or someone else.  

Not exactly.  The reason for getting an instructor specific to your type of airplane is because with their experience in type they can teach good practices from the beginning.  Because they know the airplane well, they should see well in advance when things are about to go wrong and step in to prevent a problem.  An instructor not intimately familiar in type just can't impart that type of knowledge.  It takes time to gain the knowledge.  Like a doctor who specializes in a particular phase of medicine, it has always made sense to me to specialize in a particular airplane type, especially when it comes to transition training.  

Flight instructing is a rewarding endeavor.  You can be part of helping many people achieve their dreams while doing the same for yourself.

[Oldguy]

8 minutes ago, donkaye said:

Not exactly.  The reason for getting an instructor specific to your type of airplane is because with their experience in type they can teach good practices from the beginning.  Because they know the airplane well, they should see well in advance when things are about to go wrong and step in to prevent a problem.  An instructor not intimately familiar in type just can't impart that type of knowledge.  It takes time to gain the knowledge.  Like a doctor who specializes in a particular phase of medicine, it has always made sense to me to specialize in a particular airplane type, especially when it comes to transition training.  

Flight instructing is a rewarding endeavor.  You can be part of helping many people achieve their dreams while doing the same for yourself.

Well put.

I recently retired from teaching SCUBA diving for 40 years, and in addition to what Don writes above, there are times you have to take a student aside and have a serious talk with them. When they are learning a new skill which practiced carelessly has the potential to lead to fatal results, you may have to counsel them about the realities of their undertaking. I have only had to "fire" two students in 40 years, but had no regrets. Unfortunately, one found another instructor and ended up losing their life in a cave just two years later when they had never been trained to do that.

Instructing opens up opportunities for the students some have never considered and allows the instructor to grow and refine their knowledge and skills at the same time. It may not be for everyone, but for those passionate about teaching, it can be a life long journey.