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Out with the old, in with the new...

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dwalker

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2021
Messages
1,746
Location
Tennessee
A few weeks ago I updated my previous post regarding whether I should find a new flight school or not that I was getting passed to a different CFI in the flight school, as my initial instructor was heading off to ATP-land.
It took a month to actually get up with the new guy. The new guy sucks. Nice guy, but he needs a different vocation.

Lets start with there was no sit-down or get-to-know-you phone call prior to scheduling the first flight. Never looked at my log book or really asked about where I was in training beyond being told by the previous CFI I had had my initial solo and was working on controlled tower solo. There were a lot of scheduling issues and cancelations, but finally we got to fly earlier this week

I had decided for the first flight we would do a simple "familiarization" flight down to SYI, do some pattern work, etc. Nothing really much to report on my end of the flight other than for some reason 85RW has a lot of static in the radios now that is no fun. I had the usual rust issues of not controlling my speed as well as I could have, turns a little sloppy, nothing big, until we got to landing.
I was landing a little flat, nothing terrible and not rough but firmer than I would like. After a few laps he says he will take the next landing. I was turning final, he had not said anything and was setting up to land then he sort of snaps to and says- "Oh I said I would take this one, my controls" OK, his controls. He proceeded to carry too much speed, landed a little fast, had a massive balloon and very rough landing. My controls, cleaned the plane up and climbed out. As I am turning base he says to me-

"That is the first landing I have done in a Cherokee since I got my PPL".

Well, that is no good. I would have figured a competent instructor, knowing he had a student in an airplane he does not fly everyday like the Warrior II instead of the 172's, might have taken an hour to take the plane up and get current and regain some proficiency before flying with a student. This is a dealbreaker for me. That and when I told him the P28 140 Warrior II POH calls for two notches of flaps on a soft field takeoff not one like the Cessna he told me that we would be be doing the soft field takeoffs with one notch, not two as prescribed.

So, it looks like I am changing schools and aircraft. There is only one other school with a low-wing in thier fleet, and its an Archer not a Warrior and they are not close to me. This means a transition back to the 172, which is what I started in 30-ish years ago. I have booked a couple hours with an instructor at another local field about 30 minutes from me to see if they are a good fit. The instructor I have booked is a retired Air Force guy who is not building time for ATP, and himself transitioned from low-wing to high, so might be a good fit.
 
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