The Talk

[ridethisbike]

Ok, so we heard from some of you about how to bring them in... Now I want to hear the other side.

 

Some people are just not cut out to be professional aviators. Some people aren't even cut out to be private pilots. This can be for a multitude of reasons. Undiagnosed mental health issues or the lack of thinking skills being a couple of them.

 

At what point do you sit them down and give them the bad news? How did the talk go?

[Flying Pig]

When I was doing my FW training the school had a student who was at 60+hrs and had not even solo'd. She had been with several instructors and none of them were ready to let her solo. I know the owner sat her down a couple of times and talked with her about where she was headed with her training. She wanted to be an airline pilot. I specifically heard him say "Flying isnt for everyone, and thats OK." He went on to tell her that he wanted to be realistic and that they would continue to train her but that she was well over anyone he had ever seen in his decades of teaching. She said she would eventually get it. She cited she had a Bachelors, she was a multi-letter varsity athlete in HS and that she was not going to let this get the best of her. She looked to be about 25yrs old as a reference. The owner commented that this was not the same thing and that he was not encouraging her to quit but that he was concerned about her prospects of making aviation a career. She pretty much ended the conversation by saying "Im paying you to provide a service, so unless you are telling me that you will no longer take my money, then I want to keep flying." Of course the owner said they would keep training her, but he wanted her to know the reality. No kidding, by the time I finished up and moved on, she must have had well over 100hrs and hadn't solo'd. Seriously, watching her in the pattern.... she just couldnt fly. I flew with everyone of the schools CFIs at one point or another and they were all solid pilots. Talking with them briefly about it on occasion, she just couldnt keep up with the airplane even at the most basic level.

 

(and yes....I did overhear this entire conversation)

Edited July 31, 2015 by Flying Pig

[Pohi]

I had a few of those, as much as I would have loved to stop beating my head against the wall, the owner made it crystal clear that those decisions were not ours (the instructors) to make. And if he ever heard we told someone that, we were very easily replaceable.

 

In his eyes, he runs a business, and as long as they are willing to keep paying to try and learn, he wasn't going to stand in their way.

 

There are plenty of students that quit on their own who can read the writing on the wall. I think that there are people that might not be able to handle flying for a career due to the schedule, pay, moving, getting through an interview, etc. However, getting a pilots certificate is something that a retarded monkey could do with enough time and effort. (After it learns to speak and write, of course)

 

That's just my experience in the matter.

[Flying Pig]

However, getting a pilots certificate is something that a retarded monkey could do with enough time and effort.

 

That's just my experience in the matter.

Just as a reference.... this chick was also probably one of the hottest retarded monkeys Ive ever seen. I cold go on about her choices of flying attire...... but this is a family friendly site. Lets just say the one female instructor refused to fly with her

[Azhigher]

I had 2 students that I had an informal talk with. One was in the general ballpark of being competent but it was taking her a while to get through instrument. She only came in twice a week, had a family and a bunch of other junk outside of school so she never studied and was always a step behind whilst flying. I didn't encourage her to stop, but maybe take a break and reevaluate how committed she was to flying because she didn't seem to be putting in effort and was spending a lot of money in the process. She eventually passed got through instruments and ran out of money during commercial I believe.

 

The other one was an older dude who was just a mess, spending his father-in-laws money on training and it generally seemed like he came (Or cancelled without adequate notice) just to get out of working or seeing his wife. Every instructor he had plus the chief pilot and the owner of the school gave him the talk but he just kept on keeping on. Never heard if he finished, he was in the CFI program for over 3 years. The best part about landing my tour turbine job wasn't the transition or the extra money, it was just the fact that I never had to be around that guy ever again.