How many times has your student asked you how much time you have

Posted by LegalRecord3431@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 18 comments

And you say something close to 1500.

And they say “oh man, you’ll be gone in no time, is there anyone else?”

😒

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Prof_Slappopotamus@reddit

"I dunno man, no one is currently hiring, and if you don't start stepping on that fucking right rudder it's definitely not going to matter to you."

Honestly, you can talk about it, but the student is going to get better instruction from the CFI that's about to leave as opposed to the CFI that just got hired to replace them. You need to gently remind them of that.

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justcallme3nder@reddit

I'm gonna respectfully disagree here. K. Anders Ericsson's study on expertise pretty thoroughly debunked the "experience" part of expertise. It's great reading if you get a chance.

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Prof_Slappopotamus@reddit

I'll check it out. I just know I was the next best thing to worthless for my first 100 or so dual given.

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justcallme3nder@reddit

Basically the main point is that it's not necessarily about the amount of experience someone has, but more about the approach taken to become an expert. I've seen this in real life, having signed off dozens of initial CFI applicants for checkrides. I had CFI applicants that would have instructed the pants off some of my instructors that had hundreds of hours from my initial training. Hell, I "taught" CFI applicants that quickly became better instructors than I was, with a well over 3 years of experience teaching and over a thousand hours of dual given, and it wasn't that I was a bad instructor or didn't care, they just had an excellent approach to the task.

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Prof_Slappopotamus@reddit

Been there too, and definitely a valid point. There were absolutely people that were good pilots but atrocious instructors. They just couldn't teach.

My original point was more along the lines of not throwing out an instructor that's working for you just because they might be leaving for the airlines soon and to take a chance on a brand new guy. Not necessarily the direction things ended up going.

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Oregon-Pilot@reddit

Yeah, idk about this. You remember spring of 12th grade?

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Prof_Slappopotamus@reddit

Yea. Got my acceptance letter to school, went to the senior prom, did a bunch more PG-13 things with my girlfriend.

What's your point?

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odinsen251a@reddit

Does anyone?

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lil_layne@reddit

I peaked in high school. Of course I do.

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Hour_Writing_9805@reddit

As long as they are not burned and checked out.

Happened to me, requested a new CFI and got a lower hour CFI that was measurably better and focused on what I needed.

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Prof_Slappopotamus@reddit

That's a very fair point. I was instructing during the age 65 fiasco, so I know a LOT of guys that were completely checked out but grinding away anyhow. I think you can still be an effective instructor with that going on, but it definitely comes through in personality and it's absolutely a viable reason to get another instructor.

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LegalRecord3431@reddit (OP)

At this point, I am so frustrated with applications, along with the struggles I read about people looking for CFI jobs on here (I am lucky and keep a healthy portfolio at a 61 school). I am thankful I stay busy, and I have started to accept the grind and think I’ve become a better teacher because of it.

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KFIN_flyer@reddit

How many 2000 hour CFIs are out there right now? How do you stay motivated when you see others with less hours/certs, etc get in before you?

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LegalRecord3431@reddit (OP)

What the hell are you talking about? Lol

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EliteEthos@reddit

It’s part of my initial introduction with them. I don’t want it to be some ambiguous thing in their mind. They also know I’m not going to bail on their training without ensuring they wind up with someone of equal caliber to finish training.

The good news for students is that nobody is getting hired at 1500 hours at the moment

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And they say “oh man, you’ll be gone in no time, is there anyone else?”

😒

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