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Call usFlight instructor training, an insider’s view.
One of the key elements defining the quality of flight training is the instructor team of a flight school. These professionals combine a passion for aviation and teaching, a very distinct combination that makes students thrive under their watch. Skywings Flight Training holds a pool of around 20 very experienced instructors who combine their daytime job as airline pilot with sharing their knowledge and passion with student pilots. Tim Berger is one of them and we asked him some questions.
Tell us something about yourself!
I am Tim Berger, flight instructor at Skywings and First Officer on the Embraer at KLM. After my initial flight training, I started my flying career at TUIFly Belgium on the Boeing 737 NG. I did my flight instructor course while working at TUI and held this license for well over a year before I started as an instructor at Skywings.
Be ready to ‘wear a lot of different caps’. You’re not just an instructor, you’re a captain, psychologist and mentor. Train your students to become the kind of first officer or captain you would like to fly with and put your own emphasis on what you feel is important.
How do you like the combination of flying as an airline pilot and being an instructor?
The combination is ideal, as you have a lot of influence over your schedule at Skywings. The whole organisation is tailored around commercial pilots using the school as a ‘weekend job’. You also get out of the professional, yet somewhat sterile world of airline operations, to go back to aviation’s roots, namely small airplanes flying relatively low and slow. It’s also funny to see how your experience comes into play when flying with a beginner who’s overloaded from the moment the propeller starts spinning. With 4000 hours I would not consider myself to be that experienced yet, but the difference with a pre-solo student pilot is very noticeable.
What is your best memory as an instructor?
Having a lot of free time during the whole COVID situation, I did a lot of training flights with one student. Even though we don’t get paired with particular students, we flew a lot together. When he passed his PPL-checkride, I have to admit it felt like an achievement for me as well.
What specifically did you enjoy about your flight instructor training?
Spending hours in General Aviation! I’m one of those ‘fools’ who still loves flying and even though jets offer more performance and are more of a handful flying wise, I would not want to say goodbye to single engine pistons just yet. Also, learning how to nail a difficult exercise like a glide-in while still explaining what you’re doing is a skill indeed.
How does your experience as FI help you in your airline job?
I would like to think it has improved my people skills, as you always need to analyze your student a bit in order to give them the best training.
Which advise do you have for future flight instructors?
Be ready to ‘wear a lot of different caps’. You’re not just an instructor, you’re a captain (of a single engine airplane, but still), psychologist and mentor. Train your students to become the kind of first officer or captain you would like to fly with and put your own emphasis on what you feel is important.
Do you want to become an instructor too?
Join us for our flight instructor course, starting on MARCH 29. Click on the button below for more information or contact us via office@skywings.be.
Pieter Brantegem
Boeing 747 pilot and instructor