Best Flight Instruction Moment

[flyinghunter]

I read a lot of these boards especially the employment boards and I see this overwhelming desire for people not to flight instruct. I just don't get it. I'm using it as a means to build time but at the same time there is something to be said about the joy and benefits of it. As a professional I am unable to conceive doing this job just to do it and not care about my students. I think everyone has one moment that truly embodies the joy of instruction. Could it be your first solo sign off, the first checkride pass, the joy of somebody 'finally' getting it, what is yours? Maybe this could help somebody who thinks flight instructing is just "right rudder."

For me personally, I was able to give my dad his first lesson the other day. I can honestly say that this blows away all the other things that I previously mentioned. It was so cool to give him a piece of everything that my parents have helped me accomplish to this point.

What was your favorite moment in instructing?

 

[MauleSkinner]

Well, the first guy I solo'd was more of a "sheer terror" kind of thing, so I won't use that...

Personally, the moments I remember are when you make a breakthrough to get the student over some major hurdle. Happens fairly frequently in taildraggers

Fly safe!

David

 

[Peter Brady]

The first person I soloed was my very first student. A girl from Hong Kong, who barely spoke english. It took her almost 40hrs to solo, but by god, I soloed her!

 

[CFIcare]

My best moment was the day I soloed "Larry". He had been through 6 instructors who gave up on him, and he had over 150 hours in his log book. He was also 83 years old. I flew with him twice a week for a year in order to get him through the maneuvers so I knew he had a solid base for pattern work. We spent months in the pattern. One day he started nailing the landing attitude and I (nervously) figured it was now or never. He did 3 awesome landings while I paced, wearing a small trench into the ground.

I made sure the tower told him to taxi over to get me after the third, just in case he lost count and was going to keep on going.

That was the only time he ever soloed. He never had another good day like that one. I don't think he cared though. He knew he wasn't going to do solo cross countries and all that. I think he just wanted to say he soloed once.

Last I heard from him was a post card from Vegas. He'd hit the jackpot playing craps and was buying a condo there. He said he planned to keep flying. I was glad I didn't give up on him. Everyone gave up when there was no hope of getting him his license or moving him through the "program" with the ground school and the written and all that. All he wanted to do was fly, and hopefully solo once, but he never said that. I realized that unlike goal driven, career minded CFIs, sometimes the student's objective is not reaching the last page of the PTS.

 

[coltsfn8888]

My best cfi moment

The moment I saw the look on my cheif pilots face when I told him I was leaving for another job. I wish I had a video camera words can not express how happy I was that day or the look of shock on his face.

 

[150pilot]

Mine was when I soloed my first student. I was so nervous for him and that he was flying my airplane, but I was so proud of him and knowing that I helped teach him. I never thought I would instruct and never wanted to, but now I enjoy it and feel it is rewarding.

 

[Mickey]

The best is, the look on the students face after their first solo. I think I enjoy the student's first solo as much if not more than them. I still love instructing.

Take care.

 

[acaTerry]

When I lived through a power on stall that turned into spin in a Bonanza that the student tried so hard to kill me with.

 

[dumblonde]

All the thank you notes and letters I have received from students mean a lot to me. And of course anytime a student solo's or passes a checkride.

 

[G2T]

I loved the look on the students face when I decided to send them out solo the first time. I found that if you told them ahead of time it just gave them time to be nervous and overthink it. I would usually pull the plane into the parking spot, ask for their logbook, fill out the paperwork, get out and say have fun, come back before you run out of gas! The look on their faces was priceless, as was the smile after they landed. Flying to IFP or Calnevari in Nevada for lunch at the casinos was another favorite, but nowhere near as rewarding.

 

[Lazy8]

Nice to read all of these. I was beginning to wonder if there were any CFI's out there anymore lol. I think for me it's been the numerous first solos. Each and every one is a pretty big deal for the student. Talk about some big smiles!

And for those of you lurking... One story you'll never hear is how "awesome it was when I bought my way into Pinnacle through ATP!".

g

 

[Princedietrich]

I'd say one of my favorite flight instructing experiences was back in 2000 when I got to fly into CGX twice with IFR students. We did the GPS approach into 36 and got great heavy traffic ATC experience, and on one of the trips we even got to see a Starship land not more than 300 feet away from us (the south parking ramp was REEEAAAALY close to that runway).

Too bad the digital photos I had of those trips got lost to a hard drive suicide.

 

[nosehair]

Everyone gave up when there was no hope of getting him his license or moving him through the "program" with the ground school and the written and all that. All he wanted to do was fly, and hopefully solo once, but he never said that. I realized that unlike goal driven, career minded CFIs, sometimes the student's objective is not reaching the last page of the PTS.

This is the stuff of which golden memories are made. You left the world in a little better place than what you found it in. You have found the secret to lifelong happiness.

 

[midlifeflyer]

The one that sticks in my mind is the first time I soloed a student. I was able to watch from the Tower and was getting razzed by the controllers on duty. We have three runways, two of them parallel. My student was doing his takeoffs and landings on 35R. The standard taxi instruction after a final landing is, "Exit next taxiway, taxi north on Bravo. Hold short of 35L at Bravo 8."

This is already in the period of special attention to runway incursions and I know that ATC has had to ask pilots specifically to read back that hold short instruction - far more than they should have to, and sometimes several times with the same pilot.

When my student responded with, "North on Bravo. Hold short Bravo 8," both the Local and Ground controller turned to me, smiled, and nodded approvingly.

 

[woutlaw]

Fun thread.

Since I have a whopping 10.7 hours of dual given I don't have many moments to choose from, although the "my primary student tried to kill us today" stories seem to be building at the rate of about 2 per hour.

So far though my favorite was taking my instrument student into IMC for the first time. He thought it was about the coolest thing he'd ever done.

He was doing a reasonable job keeping us greasy side down but was still pretty tense. So I reached back into my flight bag, grabbed my camera, told him to smile and snapped his picture.

He looked at me like I'd gone insane until I told him you only get your first time in IMC once and I thought he'd like to have a souvenir.

That lightened things up, he relaxed and flew much better.