[Dodo]

3 for PPL(A), 4 for PPL(H), 1 for IMC and 1 for MEP,

[PeteSpencer]

One instructor for my entire PPL training: As he was an AFI at the time , three other instructor names appear all to authorise solo flights.

Fantastic instructor: now CEO of famous ex wartime airfield .

Knocked it off in four months through a very mild winter with only one weather cancellation.

[MarkOlding]

One instructor for 95% of my flights, had a second that I did a bit of currency work with while my main one was unavailable (he only worked Saturdays)
The schools thought is to have one main but for the student to have experinece with one or two others so that when you do your skills test, having someone new in the aircraft doesn't "throw you".

[Spooky]

Three.

First instructor left after an argument with the school

Second instructor started off good but then held back all of his students.

Third instructor was at a different flight school. I had been on the verge of quitting but following our familiarisation flight where he could assess me, he asked my why I hadn’t gone out of the circuit solo yet or done any cross countries. He could have held me back (I’d have understood seeing as I was a new-to-him student), but he had me through the rest of the syllabus in just 9 hours

So three in total!

I found the main issue with different instructors is that they might use different terminology/methods or use slightly different techniques. Thankfully I was able to adapt pretty quickly.

[WelshRichy]

During my UK CAA PPL(A), I had a main instructor who was also my GFT/NFT examiner in the days when they could be the same person. I also had five other instructors doing various bits and bobs mainly whilst my main instructor was off work or away doing his ATPL exams (he was going on to gain an IR and ended up working for Cabair in Cranfield). One of the other instructors demonstrated and talked through the landing phase slightly differently to my main instructor which made it "click" and I ended up going solo whilst he was was away doing his exams.

My PPL(A) took me slightly over a year start to finish.

Looking at my logbook for the other courses:

CAA IMC - Two instructors
CAA Night - Two instructors, I did the cross country dual in Florida and the circuit/solo work back in Cardiff.
FAA IR - One instructor plus 3 stage check flights with the CFI
FAA CPL - One instructor (same instructor as FAA IR) plus 1 stage check with the CFI pre-Checkride
FAA MEP(IR) - One instructor

[Shiny]

Interesting looking back over my log book:

I had 4 instructors across the 35 PU/T Flights during my PPL:

Primary instructor: 24 flights (69%)
Backup instructor: 7 flights (20%)
2 further instructors when required: 4 flights (11%)

[Hangar16]

I was the product of one instructor in one aircraft for my NPPL. About a year after getting my licence I found myself wondering what other instructors might think of my abilities and whether I could fly another aircraft. Took some time with another instructor in a different aircraft at a different airfield and learnt a lot, including the fact my original instructor had taught me well!
The bottom line? 2 instructors good, more than 2 could be confusing.

[fov]

I had 2 instructors and an hour with an instructor which was a discovery flight so I wouldn't count that.
I spent 3 hours with the secondary instructor but really got on with my primary instructor and his teaching technique just worked really well for me. I passed my skills test at 45.2 hours and was his first student he had got through to a skills test. I think we were both quite happy!

[N1120A]

The vast majority of my training has been with one, excellent, instructor. I had a couple stage check flights with the owner of the flight school and a couple with the (FAA) DPE who also did my checkride for the PPL. I flew with another instructor one day when the winds were outside my solo endorsement and got some good crosswind work in, and then got my complex quickly with an instructor for the club I rent from that also served as my checkout for the club.

I think focusing your work with a single instructor that your personality works with is a key to really getting your skills honed. Why? It is sort of like having the same doctor for years. They know you beyond your basic application of skills. They know your strengths and weaknesses and hammer the weak parts while utilizing your strengths to counter your weaknesses. They know your personality and usually know a little something about you beyond the training environment (spending 30-40 or more hours in a cramped trainer with someone usually means you become friends, especially if you include some longer trips in your training).

That said, I was lucky that I clicked really well with the instructor who did my very first flight. Some people might not feel the same way about the first person, and will need to try others. That is not necessarily a reflection on the skill of the instructor (though, it might), but just who you work well with.

[Cessna57]

One, with the odd flight from others. (About 3 hours in total with others).

Lucky that I trusted him, and he seemed to trust me reasonably quickly.

However, I flew with my instructor the other day. Impossible cockpit experience gradient with me acting like I suddenly couldn’t fly at all. Will be flying with him again soon, as I want to be the cool calm pilot( ) I usually am, in any CRM situation. Need to practise that obviously. I can now be PIC with another pilot in the rhs (that takes practise in itself), now need to be PIC sitting next to an instructor.

If anyone thinks they were acting as PIC in their test. Dream on !

[davelee212]

I did my PPL over about 3 years with the same instructor for all but about 1 hour and did IR(R), night ratings and training/checkout when I started flying a PA28 with the same instructor. The club has plenty of good, friendly instructors but I've always tended to fly with the same chap. Unfortunately he's just retired from instructing so I'll have to inflict my flying on someone else

Dave

[TopCat]

I had four or five hours in a C152 at Dundee at the very beginning, on holiday in Scotland.

Then the rest of my PPL training was with one instructor, who's still a good friend, a quarter of a century later. I did my initial IMC with him too.

[Genghis the Engineer]

I have a funny flying background, but will give this a go.

University Air Squadron, 5 instructors in 16 hours (probably 20 hours logged civilian style). Failed the course, although in my opinion that had a lot to do with the UAS only flying Mon-Fri and I was doing an Engineering degree which had me working 50 hours a week, mostly Monday to Friday. At the same time, the multiple instructors, and particular the personality of one of those instructors which I found left me extremely stressed, didn't help at all.

Microlights, kept moving job so hopping school, and ignoring the odd trial flight, 1 instructor to solo in 8 hours,, a break switch of school and type, another 8 hours to solo a second type with one instructor, then another 9 hours to get my PPL (still same instructor). That was for the old restricted PPL(D).

13 hours, three types, but all the same instructor to do a parallel flexwing conversion and my cross countries to lift the restrictions on my PPL.

35 hours, one instructor, about 3 years (and a chunk of microlight and military back seat flying in the meantime) later to do JAR PPL(SEP) + night.

36 hours, 2 instructors, 10 years later (by which time I had about a thousand hours TT) to do a CPL. The main reason, in my opinion, for not doing that in minimum hours was the lack of continuity - I was doing it spread out, on mornings or afternoons off work, and I think I'd have been much closer to min.hrs if I'd just taken a lump of time off and bashed through as fast as possible.

G

[BehyBill]

have a funny flying background, but will give this a go.

Not everybody is after getting a CPL in min hours, personally I can't win those min hours/min time challenges as it took me 13 years to get a full PPL after almost 200h airborne

A bit close to your flying path Genghis

Started flying at age 17 as military cadet in a third world country, 70h in SEP/SET with two instructors both were aged between 20's-30s, hard personality to learn from, plus no licence or whatever...then civilian life switch to full-time engineering with no time or money spared to fly again

Then back flying gliders after 5 years, I flew with many instructors as the number of 5 min flights off the winch

One year later, I started training for a legacy French version of the LAPL (called BB) with a tug pilot/instructor who did freelance teaching on his own aircraft, best learning experience I had

Later in the UK, I went to a large commercial ATO to get a full PPL, it never worked out due to work commitments, aircraft availability, instructors rota, factory style training and London weather

Finally, I found a guy in the UK who owns his aircraft and can teach on it (+ not ex-military or ex-airliner), good personality fit and same perception of flying as me, so I went as far as PPL + Night + IMC with him...

[Genghis the Engineer]

Absolutely - the important thing is to enjoy yourself and become the pilot you want to be - which as you say isn't necessarily a CPL in minimum hours, or a CPL at-all for many people.

G