14-Day Private Pilot Training Course

From the first moments I met Josh, it was immediately clear to me that Josh was a very genuine man whose good nature, kind heart, and enthusiasm for helping others granted him a disposition well-suited to teaching. These qualities continually made themselves apparent throughout our two weeks together, adding much to my overall experience.

What I had still yet to discern in our first moments of getting acquainted with one another, however, was if Josh’s mannerisms, as well-suited as they were to teaching, were going to be equally as well-suited to my particular needs as a, perhaps, unconventional student. While I strive to always be fair, reasonable, and open-minded, I can be stubborn, opinionated, and quick to oppose conventions.

I am happy to share that Josh possessed a patience, flexibility, and willingness to see things from my perspective which proved him to be a wonderful match for the many instructional challenges I threw at him, borne from my particular style of learning, as they were. My curiosity and desire to absorb knowledge can be very focused, intentional, and intense, at times, which can have the regrettable tendency to frustrate or baffle instructors who hope to simply regurgitate information and move-on to the next student. Josh, however, wasn’t just there to do his job. He genuinely wanted to help me, every moment of every day.

Josh’s natural intuition allowed him to see my constant questioning, probing, introduction of hypotheticals, etc., not as an affront to him, personally, but as the, perhaps, atypical manifestations of my desire to learn and know at a very deep level. I don’t believe this would have been possible were Josh not so dedicated to his role as a teacher and the purpose of assisting others with learning.

There were countless instances where Josh would hear from me, “I disagree with that approach,” or, “this doesn’t seem important to learn,” or, “why do I have to memorize this?” It probably felt at times that I never gave him an inch, neither in the classroom, nor the cockpit!

Not once, though, did Josh respond with frustration or lose his patience with me. It seemed to me that his natural instincts as a teacher and disposition as his own man allowed him to realize that I simply had my own way of learning and absorbing information. I like to wrestle with knowledge, not just hear it. Josh’s skills as a listener and aptitude as a mindful, capable pilot allowed him to assist me while I confronted learning the way that I do, on the ground or in the air.

If I was stuck with particular language, he altered it to better suit my semantic preferences. “Why do they call it that? Shouldn’t they call it this?”

If I needed context behind a maneuver or a technique, he provided it. “What is the purpose? When would a pilot need to use this?”

He always entertained my viewpoints with courtesy, patience, and experience. If I found myself fixated on something – such as my desire to practice landings – he would stay in it with me, even if it took up half of the day, or more.

Josh also knew how to make learning fun. Once he became aware of how I wanted to use my pilot’s license in my personal life, Josh helped plan a very memorable final flight – cross-country to the Napa Valley for a fantastic brunch experience which I will never forget, and have already recounted dozens of times to my friends.

If nothing else, let there be no doubt that I believe Josh adds credibility to the AFIT brand and helps to fulfill its mission. He is safe and capable, he is passionate about learning, he is flexible, he is personally invested in the success of his students, and, perhaps most importantly, he fully lives up to his stupendous last name.

Without equivocation,

Desmond Smith

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania