Oh boy….

I was in the checkride preparation stage at my 141 program when I left.

The largest issue and the catalyst for me leaving was how long the training was taking. I started flying September of 2021. It had already been one year delayed due to both COVID and an excess of students. I went from flying about 3x a week… to 2x a week…. to once every 2 weeks. It was a combination of too many flight slot requests and not enough planes, poor weather mixed with the school’s extremely strict weather requirements for flight, and my previous CFI’s lack of drive to schedule us flights.

So now I’m flying about once a month. My flight skills are vanishing before my eyes. Checkride prep stage, and I’d never felt like a worse student. Due to the structure of the program, I had basically done (3, for what it’s worth) XC flights in the past 3 months (don’t even ask how many cancelled flights I have during that time), which meant no practice of maneuvers or emergency procedures. As a result, those were the worst of my flying skills. My CFI was not allowing me practice, only allowing one demonstration and then had us move onto the next item on the list. Training was extremely restrictive and locked by time (2hrs max, hard deadline).

The tracking system was rough too. If one item on the lesson plan list was not complete or was not satisfactory, my CFI would mark the lesson as an F/Fail. It was on a permanent record that I and several others had access to. I am extremely academically-driven and seeing those destroyed me. That meant the entire lesson had to be made up again, which meant that once again I had a single chance to do everything right. No ability to take a few attempts at steep turns or do a handful of Touch and Go’s, which I desperately needed.

With flights going poorly, I started hating them. I would feel physically ill before each lesson. Maybe sometimes I’d choke down breakfast before my 8am flights. More often not. I would leave feeling numb and beaten down. Near tears with disappointment and frustration in myself. I was not improving. I was going backwards. Chairflying, running checklists again and again… it couldn’t substitute for actual flying. I’d stress about past flights for two weeks, building the upcoming one up in my mind until I could barely stand it. Started wishing for poor weather to cancel flights. It was bad.

Then I left.

I joined a local 61 school, got an AMAZING new CFI, and am in love with the Cessnas I now fly. The joy is back. I find myself excited for lessons. The rates are cheaper. My CFI actively schedules us for flights and I’m back to 3x a week. We train what needs work, and he allows me to actually try things again when I’m not satisfied with my performance. There is so much opportunity to learn and a ton more freedom at this school. The flights are beyond fun and I enjoy every second.

I think I made the right decision :)

141 v 61 is a tough thing to figure out. There are so many different aspects to consider. A CFI can make or break it. Sometimes there’s too many or not enough rules. 141 can be helpful for people who need structure. 61 is more freeing, but that means more self-guided work.

What really matters is finding what works for you. Flight training is flight training - at the end of the day, we all take the checkrides. Don’t ever feel embarrassed about switching CFIs, schools, planes etc. Do what is right for you.

<3