Think about the best flight instructor you've ever had. They probably have several (or all) of these qualities...

1) Give Their Students Real-World Scenarios

Whether it's during a cross country or in the traffic pattern, the best flight instructors will give you scenarios to test how you'd make decisions once you hold a pilot's certificate.

2) Are More Prepared Than You For Flight Lessons

You have a good instructor if they show up more than prepared than you for a lesson.

3) Allow Their Students To Make Mistakes

Have you ever had an instructor too nervous to let you make a mistake? Learning from your mistakes is an important part of flight training, and good instructors know the right limit between safe and unsafe.

4) Will Reschedule A Flight When You're Unprepared

When a student shows up unprepared, good instructors will assess the situation before heading out to the airplane. The best ones will reschedule to save your time and money if you won't get enough out of the lesson.

Piece of advice... ALWAYS show up prepared. It could potentially save you thousands of dollars in repeating the same lessons.

5) Don't Expect Perfection Every Time

No one is perfect, especially when learning to fly. Your landings and maneuvers won't be perfect right away, and good instructors won't hold you to unrealistic standards right away.

6) Make Flight Training Fun

Simply completing lesson items sucks the joy from flying. The best instructors will suggest fun cross country destinations and will let you have a little fun with the airplane.

7) Simulate An Engine Failure At The Least Expected Moment

Engine failures can happen without warning. If you instructor pulls the throttle to idle, they might be testing to see if you have an emergency landing spot in mind.

8) Are Professional, But Very Approachable

Some instructors attempt to build a wall of professionalism between themselves and their students. Your instructor should be someone you can turn to for any questions.

9) Adapt To Their Student's Learning Style

Everyone learns in a different way, and great instructors will pick up on that. They'll adapt how they instruct to both your learning style and personality.

10) Will Acknowledge When They Were Wrong Or Don't Know The Answer

Even amazing instructors don't know all the answers. They might mess up maneuver demonstrations time to time. But their ability to admit that is an important quality.

Tell us about your best instructor in the comments below.