Yep, I had one of those.
Very knowledgeable and with plenty of energy and zeal for flying.
But, the wisdom is lacking - that takes years. They say a pilot’s license is not a license to fly, but a license to continue learning.
I recall as a student with this instructor getting caught by bad weather and scud running. In the days before GPS’s, we “swooped” over a highway to try and read the sign from above to know where we were, and to figure out what direction to go in.
We were ‘IFR’, “I Follow Roads”.
My grandfather would tell me about flying roads all over florida. Loved those stories.
In Alaska IFR stands for I follow rivers
Many years ago, our 16 year old son was taking flying lessons.
He had a part time job and paid for the lessons himself so I tried not to interfere.
One day he came home and told me about how he learned to bank the aircraft by opening one of the doors.
I think the instructor was in his 30s.
Son did finish the lessons and got his license.
‘We were ‘IFR’, “I Follow Roads”.’
Yeah, planes landing at O’Hare still follow the Kennedy Expressway in, even though they have the beacons. I suppose if the beacons fail, the smart pilots will know to just keep following the road.