Every new FAA certificate is a "license to learn," but the initial CFI temporary really approves a "student teacher!" (We all realize that looking back). CFI is a whole new role: "educator" and not "pilot!" Carefully transferring control to a person who may be a complete beginner and allowing them to experiment - and make mistakes - takes real courage. Most new CFIs are pretty terrified (even if they won't admit it) and consequently, they tend to micro-manage the controls (and radio). The first 100 hours is a real important learning experience! We apprciate Samantha Pennington sharing what she learned in her first 100 hours. See also: Mike Patey answers that tough question: what would you look for in a CFI to teach a member of your family?
My First 100 Hours As A CFI
By Samantha Pennington
I am a CFI/CFII based in Arizona. Since becoming a flight instructor last year, I have gained an extensive amount of applicable information and experience on how to be a productive and safe educator. Just now passing 100 hours of dual given, I have gained an appreciation for the importance of teaching strong situational awareness to students, as this is an essential skill for any pilot. I have become more confident in my teaching abilities, and have also gained an understanding of how to tailor flight instruction to the individual needs of each student.
In my first 100 hours of instructing, I have learned that leading by example is one of the key factors that makes an effective instructor. Many essential items get left behind or swept under the rug in flight training, and it is the instructor’s responsibility to ensure that all subject areas and safety procedures are being met for each flight. For example, checklist usage, verbalizing tasks and maneuvers, actively looking for traffic, good instrument, and visual scans, and writing down taxi clearances are just a portion of the things that the instructor must be actively doing to lead by example. The instructor is the role model for the students and should be setting the standard for aviation safety. By actively demonstrating and verbalizing safety procedures and checklist usage, the instructor is teaching students the importance of safety in flight, and on the ground.
Being a new flight instructor comes with its own set of challenges. Some of these include building trust with your students. As the instructor is the role model, they need to show the students that they have a vested interest in their safety and success. Demonstrating to students that you are being diligent and aware of the safety of the flight can help to build their trust, while also leading them to become situationally aware on their own. As instructors, we are also actively learning, but primacy plays a major role in the overall success of your students.
The “CFI Characteristics” Experienced Pilots Look For:
An interesting question was posed to Mike Patey: (Available here on YouTube) “What would you look for in a CFI that was going to teach a member of your family? Mike Patey stated very clearly he would seek out a CFI who was “not arrogant, preferably humble, and still ready to learn.“
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CFI/CFII Samantha Pennington gives me a good reason to believe that new inexperienced instructors are great learners transforming into humble teachers.
We learn from our mistakes and the mistakes of our students. Samantha made some great points experience CFI / learners can focus on, make self assessments and learn how to be humble.
Some “old timers” come across as know it alls, for whatever reason constantly beating on new instructors as time builders for airline jobs.
Sure there are bad apples everywhere but negative speech leads to resignation and I don’t mean from teaching. Resignation of the beginners from engaging the old timers and eventually not reading their opinions at all.
A big loss for aviation in general.
We can do better, like Samantha !!!
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned along the way came from Patty Wagstaff while I was in her five day aerobatics course and that is simply: To have a beginners mind. Sounds easy, it’s extremely difficult to really allow yourself to “start over” every day. I got my first instructor job in 1986 and I’ve been learning ever since. Can’t stop, don’t want to. When I’m done learning, I’m done. A technique I’d offer to new CFIs is to fight for feedback from your students. I finish every debrief with, “What do you have for me?” Please don’t ever finish learning.
Wow, thank you Michael, that is the heart of it; sounds easy but one of the hardest challenges (esp. with increasing hours) – beginner’s mind! We need to keep learning🙏