WHY OH WHY?

[ADRidge]

Been flying fixed wings 30 years, 3000+ hours and a gyro rating. New to helicopters ... started last March.

 

My general observation:

 

Fixed wing flight schools are well organized, together, professional and dedicated.

 

Helicopter schools are disorganized, scattered, unprofessional and casual.

 

Fixed wing instructors actually LOVE flying for the sake of flying.

 

Helicopter instructors are time-builders with no real love for the teaching experience.

 

Fixed wing pilots generally like each other.

 

Helicopter pilots tend to despise each other ... in fact, the more time they have the more they despise each other.

 

Fixed wing training is pretty standardized.

 

Helicopter training depends on the mood of the instructor, phases of the moon, the stars and a host of other eccentric things.

 

I take issue with the points I've quoted. I will put this caveat out there up front... I am no expert on all flight schools everywhere but I've checked out five or six of all sizes, from one instructor to 20, two ships to 20+.

 

That being said, regardless of size, all the schools I've flown with or looked at have a well organized syllabus they follow regardless of whether they're Pt 61 or 141. Now, depending on the student and his/her relationship to the instructor things can be kind of relaxed at times, but I think that is simply because of my second point: ALL pilots I've met love to fly for the sake of flying.

 

I've been fortunate enough to find a few people to make long cross-country flights with in a helicopter. By long I mean over 300nm straight-line distance. I don't think there are too many pilots out there who would turn down a flight if you just handed them the keys and said "go wherever you want. See you on monday."

 

To your third point, I will concede I've run across a few people who are merely trying to get that coveted first turbine gig, but they are in the minority. The overwhelming majority of working CFI's I know or have met may not have always been happy that they're not making great money, but they like what they do. They like seeing people pass checkrides, pick up concepts that were up until then foreign, and they like the fact that they are getting paid to go fly.

 

To your next point... there are a few pilots I don't like. For example, the guy that almost hit me from behind on a day VFR cross country who mis-reported his altitude. I don't like that guy one bit. But you can bet your bottom dollar that most all pilots, if they run into another pilot, will perk up and discussion will inevitably turn to aviation stories. I've met more than a few high time pilots who are more than willing to share anecdotes, tips, jokes they've picked up with people like me who may not have as much experience as they do. A great example of this is a friend of the family who is dual-rated and has somewhere in the ballpark of 10,000 hours. I've met this guy maybe twice, but when he found out I was learning to fly, he basically told me to meet him at the hangar of a friend of his, and we took a -22 up for two hours. All I had to do was buy him lunch.

 

Now, if you spend too much time on the original JH forum, yeah you may end up having those beliefs. That place can be pretty ugly, but so is any anonymous internet forum. I don't know where you developed the insights you have shared, but I'd be very interested to hear about that in more detail. I will say that even the most outgoing, friendly folks I know who do this for a living will occasionally get bitter and complain about their situation in this job market, but that's bound to happen.

 

Anyway, I'm not trying to come down hard on you at all. I just think that painting with an overly large brush can be unfair to some very fine folks.

[Inferno]

@ADRidge

 

You are spot on.

[C.R.O.]

I'm sad to see that people are having that kind of experience. I started to fly because I love flying, and I still do.

 

I also enjoy instructing, even with it's ups and downs. There are a lot of great things in my mind about instructing, from taking someone on their first flight and sharing that excitement with them, to watching a student progress and become a pilot, and know that I played some part in that.

 

It's not something I will do forever, I can't afford to at this point. But I would like to think that when I am a bit older, wiser, and more financially secure, I will return back to instructing.

 

Maybe I am a bit weird.

[MonnieRock]

I'm sad to see that people are having that kind of experience. I started to fly because I love flying, and I still do.

 

I also enjoy instructing, even with it's ups and downs. There are a lot of great things in my mind about instructing, from taking someone on their first flight and sharing that excitement with them, to watching a student progress and become a pilot, and know that I played some part in that.

 

It's not something I will do forever, I can't afford to at this point. But I would like to think that when I am a bit older, wiser, and more financially secure, I will return back to instructing.

 

Maybe I am a bit weird.

 

I hope oneday my career path will have this transition too. I have always loved teaching,anything.

 

I have yet to start learning to fly. Sure, I will need to follow the path of Zero to CFII--->Instruct and build hours----->Get a turbine job. But I have the feeling, if possible, on my days off from a turbine job, I will have the desire to do instructing.

 

Difficult to explain but, there is a feeling inside you get when you teach someone "the right way", with integrity and honesty. And later down the road hear " that guy is so good, he was taught the right way" To veiw your student progress,grasp,and hold that knowledge gives me great satisfaction. My goal when teaching anything is, for my student to be better that I am.

 

Thank you,

Monnie