Youthful Peril

Young instructors can’t be stereotyped, but there really is no substitute for experience

I read the angry letter “Young & In Charge” from CFI Ben Wielenga [Unicom, February]. He clearly has a point about the error of stereotyping all young CFIs as lacking certain training qualities, but your editor’s comments are right on point in indicating the excessive increase in the fatal accident rate while the age and experience of the flight instructors has decreased.

I am a 1000-hour, instrument-rated pilot and former owner of a very nice 1981 Cessna 210. I have read your newsletter for many years and passed archive copies on to two of my younger brothers as they became interested in learning to fly. Unfortunately for my youngest brother Steve, who had approximately 200 hours and an...