Flight Training - June 2014 - 6

RIGHT SEAT

By Ian J. Twombly
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A SEA OF
INSTRUCTORS

IS THERE ONLY ONE FOR YOU?

viation is built on relationships. So often we talk about
the mechanical or geographic variety, but, while those are
important, it's the people who make the experience. This is
especially true in the beginning of your aviation journey.

Your instructor is the single most
important factor in your success. The
unique nature of the relationship means
the smartest or most technically astute
isn't necessarily the best instructor for
you. What matters most is the chemistry. Training airplanes are small, and the
learning process is transformational. Having a good rapport with your instructor
is critical. Finding the right match can be
difficult, and once you have shared success and overcome challenges, the bond
becomes even stronger. Which makes it all
the more heartbreaking if he or she leaves.

out of my element and totally at peace.
At the airport, school didn't matter. Girls
didn't matter. It was just me, Greg, and
the Cessna 152. And then one day he left.
I seem to recall that he transitioned me to
a new instructor, but I can't be sure. He
went to fly turboprops at a corporate job,
something I didn't begrudge him.
I don't remember the second instructor's name, even though he was the one
who signed me off for my checkride
(sorry if you're reading this, mystery
CFI). Thankfully the change was minor. I
happened to be going to a Part 141 school,

RARELY IN OUR LIVES DO WE RELY SO HEAVILY
ON ANOTHER PERSON, KNOWING THEY MAY
LACK OUR SAME LONG-TERM COMMITMENT.
Making a living as an instructor is
incredibly difficult. The hours are long,
benefits are scarce, the pay is lousy, and
there's the siren song of bigger, faster,
more capable airplanes. Those who hang
in there have a real passion for the work.
Those who don't usually only stick around
long enough to build time for the next big
job. It's an unfortunate problem that says
more about the industry than the individuals. Rarely in our lives do we rely so heavily
on another person, knowing they may lack
our same long-term commitment.
I'm sorry to say I've done it to students,
and my first instructor did it to me. I
looked up to Greg. He was a smoothtalking, confident, only slightly older,
experienced pilot. I was the sponge. I
was a freshman in college far from home,
and Greg served as a friend and foundation. He represented a place I could go a
few times a week to feel both completely

FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

so all the training was well documented.
We just kept going down the syllabus and
I got my private pilot certificate about a
month later.
Sometimes things don't go so well.
Senior Editor Jill W. Tallman explores
flight training's culture of the deserting
instructor in this month's issue. Tallman
interviewed a number of students, instructors, and flight school owners for her story,
"Help, My Instructor is Leaving," beginning on page 38. In it she provides tips on
how to handle the change-a change that
will likely happen to you somewhere in
your aviation journey.
When it happens, just remember there
are lots of great instructors in the Sea of
Aviation.
Email Editor Ian J. Twombly at ian.twombly@aopa.
org; Twitter: ijtwombly; and visit Flight Training on
Facebook.

Publisher | Mark Baker

Senior VP, Media/Editor in Chief | Thomas B. Haines
Editor | Ian J. Twombly
Editor at Large | Thomas A. Horne
Managing Editor | Julie Summers Walker
Technical Editors | Mike Collins, Jill W. Tallman
Senior Editors | Dave Hirschman, Alton K. Marsh
Media Production Specialist | Sylvia Horne
Administrative Assistant | Miriam E. Stoner
Contributors | Pete Bedell, Greg Brown, LeRoy Cook,
Budd Davisson, Rod Machado, Dan Namowitz, Wayne
Phillips, Bob Schmelzer, Jack Williams

Design Director | Michael E. Kline
Art Directors | Elizabeth Z. Jones, Jill C. Benton
Senior Photographer | Mike Fizer
Photographer | Chris Rose

eMedia Managing Editor | Alyssa J. Miller
eMedia Editor | Sarah Deener
eMedia Associate Editors | Jim Moore, Benét Wilson
eMedia Production Assistant | Melissa Whitehouse

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email: flighttraining@aopa.org
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Flight Training - June 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - June 2014