When times are tough, there's not much more you can do than put your head down and push forward. I haven't been able to write because I haven't had anything to write about. I haven't taught since September, life throws its curve balls and its fast balls, and everything in between. This time will pass, just as everything else will, and hopefully we all get back to what we consider normal.
The same goes for your flight training. There will be bumps in the road. They may make you want to quit. EVERYONE goes through it, don't think you're the only one. With time they work out, but not by themselves. The completion rate for someone who begins their flight training is not great, partly due to a lack of drive. A person hits that tough time, they can't get their landings down, the cross country planning is too complicated, whatever it might be...and they quit. It really is sad. At the same time, the flight instructor is sometimes just as much to blame. They didn't get an outside opinion, they didn't get another flight instructor to help their student out with landings, they didn't come up with a better way to teach cross country planning. All too often what happens to the student happens to the flight instructor. They hit a pot hole in the road, and don't change their flat tire. All they need to do is work at it. I don't want to come off as perfect, I'm far from it. I'm learning more each day. The important lesson here is to work through it. Exhaust all your possible resources.
Students, when you hit a plateau and you feel like quitting, do what it takes to keep working at your goal. There was a reason you began your flight training, and there's a reason you should finish. If you feel your instructor is doing you a disservice, let them know. Be kind about it, while they could be the one that just doesn't care, they could just as easily be the one who doesn't know what to do. While flying is supposed to be our "forte", we really don't know everything. Your understanding in this matter will make the whole situation much more bearable. In the end, if it isn't working out, switch instructors. I don't suggest switching from instructor to instructor - it really is most beneficial to stay with one. Yet, if it's needed, it's needed, and much can't be done about that.
Instructors, put the work into it. You're planning on moving on to an airline? Can you live with the disservice you do your students by not putting the effort they rightly deserve? If you're reading this, you probably do care, but it's still something to think about. I have to...every time I don't feel like preparing for a lesson, or I feel like "winging" it (no pun intended), I have to think about my student. They're putting in the effort (there are students who need to be spoon-fed) to show up everyday and they're paying me to guide them.
I hope to be back with more stories, more often, in the near future. Until then, I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
Up in the Air
