A Year of Flight Instructing

As my first year of flight instructing is coming to a close, I've had several thoughts about my experiences. The first thought is that I have really enjoyed teaching other people how to fly. When I first started, I suspected that I would like instructing, and, for the most part, it has been even more fun than I anticipated. There is something about working with a few students over the course of a year and watching them go from not knowing how to start an engine, to doing a solo flight to Portland and back (6 hours of flying). It is so rewarding!

One of the benefits to flight instruction is developing a comfort and heightened awareness to the aircraft in which we operate. As a student, I always heard that when you fly one airplane a lot, you acquire a sensitivity to the various characteristics of that plane. I got to experience that for the first time this year and with it came a proficiency and comfort that further increased my enjoyment of flying.

I've learned a lot about myself, and instructing has challenged and pushed me in several ways. My confidence in my ability to instruct has been shaken, and then rebuilt. I've had the not-so-fun experience of needing to sit down with a student after a particularly rough flight and give "tough love." I've celebrated with students after their first solo in an airplane and after successfully passing a stage of training. It has been a year full of growth and change, both for the students and for me as a person and instructor. I'm continuing to process that growth and am excited about the changes that have happened; excited to move into the next year better equipped to teach the next group of students!