"Jay Beckman" wrote in message
news:VAZ5d.246467$4o.245654@fed1read01...
"MDinzey" wrote in message
...
Yeah, she's ditzy, all right, but I like the show/ What are the general
opinions of her instructor?
Matt

Personally, I like his style.

As a middle-aged student pilot, I sometimes wonder what training would be
like with the "grandfatherly / gruff ol' coot" type of instructor instead
of
the "hot rock" kid who is a good stick but is almost as much, learning how
to teach as he / she is teaching how to fly.

My CFII was in his early-60s and very much a "gruff ol' coot," emphasis on
the gruff. Actually he was not a bad guy but he had an abrasive personality,
did not suffer fools gladly, and definitely just did not get along well with
some people, but if you could deal with him he was IMHO a very solid
instructor. Basically you had to prove to him you weren't a nitwit and then
he was fine.

His airmanship was plain otherworldly; he could probably fly a 172 to
commercial PTS limits using nothing but a whiskey compass and altimeter, and
I have it on record that he could estimate the tach +/- 50rpm based on sound
alone (and this was in my airplane, not one he flew every day). He'd spent
most of his hours flying IFR or teaching it in light planes and thus had
evolved some very good techniques for all of the various maneuvers, both how
to do them and how to teach them. He enjoyed instructing in actual weather,
the soupier the better, and whenever it got real nasty I could count on him
calling my mobile phone and asking if I was free to go flying.

When I decided to get my instrument ticket, I wanted someone who had
experience, and lots of it. I was fortunate to have a number of local people
from which to choose, and ultimately very happy with my choice.

-cwk.