Dudley Henriques wrote:

I agree totally that high time isn't necessarily an indicator of high
quality in a CFI, or a normal pilot for that matter. You'll find the
qualities that make a fine teacher in any age bracket, and as well find
these qualities lacking in the same wide range. Some CFI's are wonderful
teachers right out of the box, and some unfortunately go through entire
careers doing and teaching the same things wrong over and over again with
little change.

You (and a few others) seem to be assuming that gray-haired instructors have
been instructing for decades. Many took up instructing quite recently, after
retiring from other careers which have nothing to do with piloting. A CFI's pay
is OK if you're drawing a nice pension from AT&T.

That doesn't necessarily make one a poor instructor, but don't assume that age
means lots of experience as a CFI.

George Patterson
Coffee is only a way of stealing time that should by rights belong to
your slightly older self.