"Dave Jacobowitz" wrote in message
om...
Here's a question for the group: I've got a flight instructor that I
work well with. I finished my private with him and did my entire
instrument rating with him. I want to start on my commercial (SE, and
then CFI, CFII, and later ME) and was wondering if there is any good
reason to look for someone new to train with.

To give some background, when working on my private I had some bad
luck. The first guy I worked with was a timebuilder. I don't even want
to say how many hours I had before I soloed, suffice it so say that I
was probably taken advantage of. Later, he got an job with a commuter
in Florida, and was gone. My second instructor, who soloed me probably
on my second or third lesson (hmm...) was a good guy, but he had to
relocate when his job at UAL went away. (he wasn't a pilot, but an
A&P).

Anyway, my current instructor is good. He's definitely of the
old-school mold: great stick, kind of irritable, smart, ATP gazillion
hours, nitpicky, occasionally absent-minded, has some strange ideas
about how the world does/ought to work He's one of those guys who
is happy to fly GPS approaches, but can't quite mask his derision for
pilots who "need to see the little airplane on the moving map." Of
course, we all know he has a point, but he's not the most politic
person in the world.

So, I get along with this guy, and I've done two ratings with him, so
the question is if there really is anything to be gained by finding
somebody else to fly with someone new, just for a different
perspective? Different style of piloting? I suspect that the answer is
yes, but is it worth it? What are the odds that the next guy I fly
with is going to be a flake?

It probably helps to share my long-term goals. I do *not* want to be
an airline pilot. I have another career, which, though not the stuff
of dreams, pays nicely. What I do want to do is get my CFI and have a
student or two at a time, flying weekends, etc, maybe have a part-time
income for when I'm "retired." Sometimes I think that maybe I could do
some corporate flying one day if I one the lottery first. (or my
company went IPO, which has seems to have similar odds)

Also, I just like to pursue ratings, because I enjoy the challenge and
the learning.

Just soliciting opinions... What do you guys think?


thanks!

jacobowitz73 --at-- yahoo --dot-- com

It never hurts to have a diversified instructor base, but the real truth
of it is that once you have your Private and Instrument, going for the
advanced ratings should pose you no particular problems if you keep the
instructor you get along with.
The Commercial is nothing more than a glorified Private. You learn some
new maneuvers and learn to fly them to closer tolerances. It's not an
instructional cornucopia of knowledge really :-)
To be quite frank with you, I'd stay where you are comfortable at your
stage. You should pretty well be past the point where the instructor is
key in your learning process. At your stage, the instructor shows you a
few new things and you do it...it's that simple. I have always likened
the point where you are in your training to that of a fairly good figure
skater who already can skate like a ballerina. The skater's coach is
sort of like your instructor will be going for the Commercial. He'll
demonstrate....and you'll do it. You will already know basically what to
do from your present level of experience. The CFI will just
coach....observe....and fine tune you....just like the case of the
skater. Hell, most of those fat old skating coaches couldn't even get
off the ice with one of those quad Lutz's they get paid to teach people
how to perform!!! Commercial's about the same for the CFI.
I would stay with the guy you like, do what you have to do to get the
Commercial, then after you get it.....begin the self teaching process
that is an absolute MUST to be a GOOD Commercial Pilot!! :-))
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
for email; take out the trash