Monday: Rain.
Tuesday: Rain.
Wednesday: No rain; no visibility either.
Thursday: Take instructor to lunch. Discover I don't know enough
to take instructor to lunch.
Friday: FLY! Do first stall and second stall during same maneuver,
cover instructor with lunch.
Monday: Learned not to scrape frost off plexiglass
with ice-scraper. Used big scratches on
windshield as marker to set pitch.
Tuesday: Instructor wants me to stop calling throttle, "THAT
BIG KNOB THING."
Also, hates it when I call instruments 'GADGETS'.
Wednesday: Radios won't pick up radio stations, so I turn them
off. Instructor seems
to think I missed something during the introductory flight.
Thursday: Learned 10 degree bank is not a steep turn. Did stall
again today. Lost 2000
feet. Instructor said that was some kind of record. -My first
complement.
Friday: Did steep turn. Instructor said I was ready for inverted
flight, yet.
Monday: Instructor called in sick. New instructor
told me to stop calling her "BABE"
Did steep turns. She said I have to have permission for inverted
flight.
Tuesday: Instructor back. He told me to stop calling him "BABE",
too. He got mad
when I pulled power back on takeoff because the engine was too
loud.
Wednesday: Instructor said after the first 20 hours, most students
have established a
learning curve. He said it seemed there was only a slight bend
in mine.
Ah-ha!...progress!
Thursday: Did stalls. Clean recovery. Instructor said I did good
job. Also did turns
around a point. Instructor warned me never to pick ex-fiancee's
house as point again.
Friday: Did pattern work. Instructor said that if downwind, base,
and final formed a triangle,
I would be perfect. More praise!
Monday: First landing at controlled field.
Did fine until I told the captain in the 747 ahead of
us on taxiway to move his bird. Instructor says we'll have ground
school all this week on radio
procedures.
Tuesday: asked instructor if everyone in his family had turned
gray at such an early age. He
smiled. We did takeoff stalls. He says I did just fine but to
wait until we reach altitude next
time. C-150 will be out of shop in three days when the new nose-strut
and tire arrive.
Instructor says his back bothers him only a little.
Wednesday: Flew through clouds. I thought those radio towers were
a lot lower. I'm sure my
instructor is going gray.
Thursday: Left flaps down for entire flight. Instructor asked
why. I told him I wanted the extra
lift as a safety margin. More ground school.
Friday: Asked instructor when I could solo. He laughed till he
cried. What was so funny?
The Student
Return to Whittsflying
Home Page
Contents:
Pilots are Special...Selecting
Your Instructor; ...Where to go; what
to do; ...Factors in successful learning
;
...Commitment to Flying; ...Preliminaries
to Flight; ...First Flight Preparations;
...Learning to Fly; ...Changing
You;
...Helping your instructor help you; ...Helping yourself; ...The Student
as a Student; ...Keeping anger in its place;
...Student Evaluation; ...My
Kind of Student; ...Learning from Your Mistakes;
...Dealing with Delays; ...Preparation;
...Decisions, decisions, decisions; ...About Questions; ...It's about
judgment; ...Visualizing Your Training;
...Side Notes; ...On Checklists;
...Mad as Hell and Taking It; ...Medical
Certification; ...Not making progress?;
...Recipe for Failure; ...Quitting
Training; ...Areas of Failure; ...Gadgets; ...Organizing Flying;
A pilot has overcome his fears. He has replaced superstition with rational thinking and knowledge. It takes a special degree of courage to face your instinctive fears, over come them only the face those things that deserve to be feared. The conquering of these fears must be approached gradually and can be proven to be partially overcome by passing the FAA flight test.
To become a pilot one must become a time and energy manager. Finding the time in this day and age requires sacrifice and perseverance. A pilot must forgo immediate pleasures. However, it is difficult to devote study and money into what can only be perceived as an improbable future.
As a pilot you become a different person. You have reached down into yourself and found new levels of self-reliance. New heights of confidence and assurance make it possible for you to challenge your teachers. Make them prove to you their way to perform works. You have learned to share responsibility if you must and to take total charge when required. You have confidence in doing those things you know you can do. You are also willing to accept your limitations by not doing those things you are not qualified for. You know what you know with certainty. You accept humbly that there is much you do know and much more may never know. You have learned to replace resignation and panic with planning and anticipation.
As a pilot you take care of your physical self just as you take care of your plane. You are moderate in your demands of your peers except when it comes to safety. Humor is a part of your personality. You can find a laugh in the direst of circumstance. The costs, waste, delay, and failures of the system are accepted as a fact of aviation life to be laughed at when there is no other recourse.
The joys of flying build with each experience. Experience builds on past experience in an ever-growing pyramid. Confidence builds in your own capability to deal successfully with the present and in anticipation of what the future offers. Flying success is built on faith. You have faith that the design and operation of the engine, the airplane, and all its parts will continue to operate in approved fashion. You have faith that the electronics of the plane and system will provide reliable guidance and communications. You have faith that at the certain speed the airplane will fly and that the runway will be below the wheels even though you cannot see it at touchdown. You have faith in yourself and confidence that what you have planned is both possible but worthy of doing. Together all things built on your faith makes flying the most rewarding individual achievement you will ever have.
Your instructor is one essential leg to the flight-training program. An interview and perhaps demonstration flight can be very deceptive. I do believe that flying with the first person to say hello has a relatively high element of chance. I would first select the airport from which to fly. You are more likely to fly more often if the field is convenient. What kind of airport and how busy is not a major consideration. Perhaps the field selection may be a choice between several airports. If a simulator is involved, it will be only as good as the instructor.
You might want to interview your instructor selections in a non-flying situation over coffee. Find out where they trained and from whom. Ask what are they planning with their flying career and just how their teaching you fits into the picture. If the instructor is building hours for another occupation you might look elsewhere. All instructors are different and changing instructors is always an option you should hold open. Better to make the changes, once considered, sooner than later. Ask why is the instructor an instructor. Is the instructor working for you or for himself or is another skimming some of his pay? Is the planned program designed to give you economy and achievement? If the instructor charges for telling 'war stories', the talking can become expensive.
What you are looking for is communication skills, experience, dedication and professionalism. You want an instructor who is willing to fly you into weather. You are looking beyond theory for practical knowledge and applications not always available in textbooks. Basically, you are looking for a communicator with knowledge, creativity, discipline, patience with the ability to determine weaknesses and strengths.
The last major consideration is time. An instructor who is not available is like not having one at all. As a student, you must not begin flying unless you have both the money and time required for learning efficiently. You should demand that the instructor have both time and available aircraft. Reliability is essential. Be on time and give the instructor only two shots at being late. Let him know this during the interview. Waiting is what makes old age.
50% of students who get medical certificates do not get their licenses Why are we using the least experienced of our instructional prospects as the majority of our teachers? Teachers, regardless of what they teach are on the lowest rung of the career ladder. A teacher is good who has enthusiasm for his material and is eager to share it. Look for such a teacher.
You can find whom to interview by talking to people around the airport. Pretty soon certain names will keep coming up. Those are the people you want to see. Compare at least three and then ask to talk to some of their present and past students. Contact the local designated examiner and ask for recommendations. You are far more likely to make a good choice using the opinions of relatively experienced pilots and students. If you plan to fly at a controlled airport, go to the tower on different shifts and get ATC opinion. The question to ask is, "Who would you select as your flight instructor?" "Why?"
Use your eyes, ears and nose during your meetings. I have flown with instructors with various physical handicaps and have found that the instructor who overcomes problems has much to offer any student. Appearance makes a difference. Consider whether you want to work out inclusion of some selected ground instruction. Having the same person teach you to fly and guide you through self-study of ground school has inherent coordination advantages to the student. Your flying will supplement your ground instruction and vice versa. Taking a ground school is not very efficient.
Don't take your demonstration ride right away. Make an arrangement that will allow the instructor an opportunity to assign home study and a preflight review of what will be flown. Confusion has a negative effect on learning. Most instructors are above average pilots. Being able to fly is not nearly as important as being able to teach flying. The best teaching will occur before and after the flight. The airplane is a very poor classroom.
Money spent on a demonstration lesson can be informative. Try to take the same lesson from all instructors so you can relate comparisons. Have a set of identical questions to ask each instructor. Grade the explanations for each question. Questions should vary from highly technical to stupid. Listen for a change in voice tone and body language as the questions vary. A good instructor is not averse to admitting ignorance. Knowing where to find information is just as important as knowing. Good flight instructors learned on the job.
The type of aircraft is mostly a matter of personal preference. The instructor is often limited in his selection by what is available. You are not so limited. Some aircraft are somewhat too easy to fly. Others like taildraggers offer difficulties. Ask as many pilots as you can about their training preferences and then use your own judgment. Having a plane you feel comfortable with will improve your learning.
NAFI (National Association of Flight Instructors) has a wide range of information, including NAFI flight instructor names, hometowns and contact telephone numbers. Html://www.nafinet.org
1. Time of year
Summer flying gives longer days but does not provide the most
desirable range of experience. Aircraft are more available in
the late fall and winter. Darkness in early morning and early
evening is a problem. Learning to fly during the worst weather
periods is the best way to maintain your attention to the vagaries
that affect flying. Learn in the fall or winter; enjoy in the
summer.
2. Schedule
You should not even consider learning to fly unless you can allocate
at least two or three flying periods a week. Each period should
include travel time and two scheduled flight hours. Actual engine
time will be about one hour + 15 minutes. Two hours of study time
must be planned for every hour of flying.
3. Finances
Do not begin flying until money is set aside just for flying.
The first twenty hours of learning to fly will be the most concentrated
cash-outflow you will face unless you buy an airplane.
4. Weight
If our weight requires the use of a C-172 as a trainer the cost
per flight hour will be more. The increased cost is somewhat offset
by the time saved meeting cross-country requirements and enroute
time to local airports.
5. Ground School
There is no reason that a person should not be able to self-study
ground school with about 3-5 hours of tutoring. I do not charge
for such time.
6. Preparation
Don't fly if you are not prepared for a lesson. You will get the
most bang for your bucks by being prepared. Even the best instruction
cannot fully compensate for lack of preparation.
1. You must be able to give priority to the time and energy required for learning to fly. If you can't or won't establish the priority, don't start. You must keep ahead of the flight program with your reading and preparation. You must not allow money to become a detriment to your commitment. Flying is not cheap and will not become any less expensive as you continue.
2. Your life ambition must be to become an old pilot.
3. Being a pilot is a state of mind; a personality. A pilot's
attitude, not just experience makes for excellence. Excellence
is a quality standard in flying sought but not often achieved.
Desire must be there but unless it is accompanied by application
there will be no progress.
4.The good pilot is able resist the temptation to do something
unsafe, illegal, or stupid. The temptations will always exist.
5. A good pilot will not fly in aircraft or conditions beyond
his capability or certification.
6. A good pilot does not ignore the FARs. The FAA looks to the
pilot to answer for any violations. Sometimes a magnifying glass
is used.
7. A good pilot is always a student, striving to make every maneuver
a bit more precise than the one before.
8. A good pilot knows his equipment, its limitations and how to
handle its malfunctions.
9. ATC can determine much about a pilot by how well he utilizes
the system and the required communications. Always admit when
you have a problem.
10. A requirement of being a pilot is in knowing the FAR rules
that apply to your rating, your responsibilities, and the flight
involved.
11. An instructor can only show you the way to the required learning.
It is your responsibility to know what you need to know and to
confirm that you get it. This is the most difficult area of student
responsibility. Flying the plane is a relatively minor part of
what you need to know.
12. The best time to get involved in an activity is before interest
in it peaks.
13. Being a pilot is a state of mind; a personality. A pilot's
attitude, makes for excellence. Excellence is a quality standard
in flying sought but not often achieved. Desire must be there
but unless it is accompanied by application there will be no progress.
1. Medical/student license 2. Flight Training Handbook
3. Student Pilot Guide 4. San Francisco Sectional
5. San Francisco TCA chart 6. Pilot flight log book
7. Airman's Information Manual (used) 8. Ground study course (tapes
or Video)
9. Navigational computer and plotter
11. Flight Instructors Handbook 10. Guide to California Airports
13. 2-3 pens/4x6 cards 12. Cassette tape recorder/90
1. Schedule aircraft/instructor.
2. Aircraft keys.
3. Read Owner's Manual.
4. Wear lightweight shoes.
5. Make a question card.
6. If the instructor is 10 minutes late, call his office.
7. Become familiar with geographic locations around airport.
8. Personal stress, health, food.
There is no single way to get a pilot license. Getting it is
faster and cheaper if training is done consistently with the same
aircraft and instructor. Of equal importance is that you be exposed
to several different procedures but taught only the one that best
conforms to safety and the PTS. Find an instructor who teaches
because he wants to, not because he has to. A good instructor
is a contradiction in that he must be both a critic and a motivator.
Correction that points out the causes leading to an error is good.
Instruction that anticipates areas of difficulty is best.
Being casual and friendly does not mean being either careless
or having lax standards. Permitting a bad habit to develop could
be the worst thing that an instructor can do to you. A demonstration
that does not teach is useless. The best time to make your mistakes
is when with an instructor. Providing, of course, that the instructor
uses a mistake as a learning opportunity and a teaching opportunity
for the two of you.
What one learns in flying is how fragments of an individual's
experience are woven together, either supporting the long term
goal and ambition or unconsciously undermining our efforts and
needlessly complicating our program. Knowing too much about flying
can be just as detrimental to acquiring new skills as can knowing
too little.
You begin flying with an attitude that may or may not be compatible
to the reality required. Attitude is a basic human factor that
sets performance, competence, and professionalism. A pilot's mind-set
takes many forms and adapts to every specific task and situation.
Mind set reveals itself in our willingness and ability to conform
to the rules of the FAA, the POH, and physics. Every flight is
a challenge to be met by thorough planning and close performance
parameters. We are going to change you into a pilot.
A person's psychological makeup has a lot to do with the way he
or she learns about and flies an aircraft. Tremendous personality
changes take place whenever you acquire competence as a pilot.
You will become more talkative, especially about flying. To the
extent you exhibit one of the personality types (anti-authority,
impulsive, invulnerable, macho, resignation) we will see them
appear in different phases of your training. Self-confidence will
increase. On the other hand, where confidence is lacking, tension
will exist inversely. The student must exercise caution until
competence is attained. Anticipation and planning will replace
reaction. Both you and your friends will see psychological changes.
To become something new you must learn something new. For many,
the personal changes that occur from flying are enough. Each flying
hurdle that is overcome shapes the quality of the pilot. Pilots
don't give up when the situation becomes uncomfortable. Flying
teaches discipline. You will develop and expand personal qualities
you never realized were there. You will learn to control yourself,
be more assertive, make considered judgments, and replace reaction
with anticipation. You will grow 'older' as reaction becomes anticipation.
Wanting to fly is an attitude. Learning to fly right is more than
a unique acquisition; it is also an attitude. With the right attitude
you will prioritize your time to make learning to fly a lifetime
adventure. Any momentary failure will be just a learning experience.
Don't allow a focus on detail to obscure the dramatic achievement
of becoming a pilot. Don't be complacent with an acquired skill;
there is always another way. Understand the rules of physics and
the FAA; together they will make flying safe and rewarding. Safety
is never an accident, it is always the result of high intention,
sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution;
it represents the wisest choice of many alternatives.
Every nuance of my instruction is designed to chose the safest
procedure
available. The regulations and aircraft design have safety as
a priority. Above that comes personal judgment. As an instructor
I try to expose the student to situations where good judgment
makes a difference. A student can never learn to use good judgment
unless exposed to the situations that require its use. We will
fly in marginal conditions, complex airspace, and high winds.
The student must learn his limitations.
The more an instructor knows about you, your background, motivation,
finances, and goals the better he will be able to advise you on
how to proceed. You must reveal any concerns you have about yourself
in regard to flying. Are there health, emotional, or conceptual
problems that you can foresee? Even if you are not aware of any,
it is more that likely that something will arise at some point
in your training. Spending more money does not guarantee better
instruction.
Flying should be fun. It is a challenge but those students who
continue find the challenge enjoyable. Stress, apprehension and
even fear are part of the challenge. If your instruction does
not replace them with fun then something is wrong.
Flying has many forms of stress. Some are self-imposed, some are
by the instructor, and still others are external and beyond any
control. Don't try to do something about things you have no control
over, like the weather. Bend with the impossible, adjust to the
unpleasant, and speak up against the correctable. Instructors
can adjust to your needs. Recently had a student who objected
to my gum chewing...I stopped. Student input is needed to make
instruction better. As a student, you know how to learn best.
Any reluctance to help the instructor do better is just prolonging
the problem. It is just as important for the student to understand
the instructor as it is for the instructor to understand the student.
If it isn't working for you...change instructors.
I try to teach efficiency in flying; not shortcuts. The way you
preflight, taxi, runup, takeoff and fly are indicative of personality
traits. We often feel that expertise in one chosen field carries
over into flying. Parts may but flying is a unique blend of training
and skills. I will modify what I can, blend in that which is acceptable,
and erase what I must. If you have flown previously some of this
will be more difficult than if I was working with a clean slate.
Most of your flying skills will be an assembly of fundamentals.
A fundamental is in turn an assembly of small actions, reactions
and anticipation. Only with practice (of the right kind) do these
small actions become smooth whole maneuvers. Failure to master
a component part will contaminate the entire maneuver.
1. The basics of landing an airplane require such an assembly
of fundamental skills. Most fundamental is airspeed control. The
proficient pilot is able to anticipate the power, trim and yoke
movement required to achieve a flight speed sought for a specific
configuration. This is as true for the proficient student as it
is for the proficient instrument pilot. Know what it takes and
then do what it takes. The mastery of speed, or any other basic,
rests on a strong chain of selected events. Once weakness weakens
the entire maneuver.
2 .If you are a student who has a death-grip on the yoke, you
are working too hard. You will fly better by learning to trim
and let go. Most any airplane can be flown quite well without
touching the yoke. Use the rudder. A well- trimmed plane can be
made to climb or descend slightly, just by nodding the head. Try
it. I used to call trim the power steering of flight. I was corrected
into calling it cruise control. Knowing what to do and when to
do it allows the lightness on the controls that makes flying easy.
3. Even talking on the radio can be made easy. To talk effectively,
you must know where you are or will be when you plan to talk.
You will give your altitude as an additional warning to other
aircraft. You will rehearse to eliminate unnecessary verbiage
and eliminate pauses and punctuation. All the rest is 'canned',
in the same informational sequence for every ATC situation. Additional
information by the pilot beyond the minimum shows the extent to
which the assertive pilot is in command. You must know enough
to protect yourself from ATC mistakes.
4. When not flying, a good student pilot is thinking about flying.
Will study beyond the minimums of knowledge and assignments. Comes
to sessions with prepared questions.
5. Have you ever been told that the question you asked related
to information that you did not need to know yet? An instructor's
failure to make use of this learning opportunity dulls initiative,
weakens curiosity, and inhibits future questions. The only question
that an instructor may not respond to is the unasked question.
How much does it cost? Depends on motivation of student.
How long does it take? 62 hours is average. My students may take
longer but they know more and are better prepared for the flying
world.
Larger airports in metropolitan areas tend to take longer and
cost more. Airport procedures can take 20% of the lesson time.
Weather is an uncontrollable factor. The dedicated student will
rearrange life style to give required mental and physical presence
required to lesson preparation. The closer together the lessons
the less slippage of learned material between lessons.
Neither money nor time should become part of the problem. Get
enough money available be fore starting. Four flights a week are
ideal in the beginning until solo. After solo, one lesson a week
coupled with two directed solo-flights works until beginning proficiency.
Don't learn to fly in a situation where your needs are treated
second to other priorities. Request and demand first preference
for your lessons as scheduled. Make a fit with your instructor.
If something about the instructor or training situation becomes
an annoyance, change the instructor and situation as required.
Total immersion is the best way to learn. Borrow and buy selectively
of materials at your level. Don't start with jets. Get to the
airport earl and get cockpit time. Read the aircraft papers and
POH. Visit and talk with people on the airport. Ask questions
about other planes. Carry a question card to keep track of things
you plan to ask your instructor. Watch airplanes land. Visit the
Tower.
Becoming an efficient student requires some planning. An inappropriate
instructor is the most likely reason you will have for quitting.
Learning to fly is a shared responsibility. The instructor must
give you things to do in preparation for the next lesson. You
must come to a lesson prepared. Have the instructor outline the
program you are expected to follow so you can study ahead. Frequent
flights are best. Even a brief flight will contain a complete
review of all aspects of flying. Fly safely and efficiently. Unplanned
flying is not a practical use of time and money.
Fly to satisfy yourself. Not all of every lesson will be to your
satisfaction. Make note of aspects that are causing stress and
discuss them with your instructor. The making of mistakes is an
essential part of the learning program. The more self satisfied
you are with what you are doing the more motivated and efficient
will be your progress.
You expect your instructor to be the product of a program that
assures experience in flying and the teaching of flying. It helps
if he has an additional commitment to instruction, personal maturity,
and knowledge of
what is to be learned by the student pilot.
It takes great trauma to etch what you know at a given moment
to be permanent in your memory. Memory is selective and built
upon experience. You get out of a situation directly in proportion
to what you bring into it. Skill retention is intellectual, procedural,
and manual. If you do not fly regularly you will undergo a rapid
and significant deterioration in flying skill and ability. You
will not forget how to fly. You will lose those little touches
of finesse and anticipation that only come with a continuous flight
program. Even more quickly will you lose and be unaware of intellectual
requirements. Pseudo-agnosia, again. Such pilots assume their
demonstrated skills to be much higher than in reality. Such pilots
believe that their desire will substitute for practice or training.
It doesn't.
Don't expect excellence in the beginning. You and the instructor
are climbing a hill of worry together. The hill must be climbed
a step at a time. If too much time occurs between lessons the
hill turns to sand and each step begins to slip backwards. Even
in the best of learning conditions the student may experience
a plateau. This leveling of the learning curve is a normal and
to be expected part of becoming a pilot. The student pilot should
expect to experience one or all of the following plateaus:
1) Prior to solo;
2) Prior to solo cross-country,
3) Subsequent to taking the Practical Test.
There may be others and it is unrealistic for a given student
to expect never to have a plateau.
The plateau breeds frustration. Quitting is a very real consideration.
The rapid initial progress has slowed and possibly regressed.
The first reaction is an undirected internal anger. The situation
feeds on itself. If the student fails to communicate this anger
or frustration to the instructor, it just gets worse. Learning
to fly is a complex activity requiring both conscious and unconscious
parts of our mind. It takes time for the mental areas to season
and blend what we have learned. 95% study currency is required
to balance the 5% physical aspects of flying if a student is to
maintain progress.
Often it is the best students who consider quitting. Never stop
practicing your four basic skills and reviewing your knowledge.
Any decrease in your performance skills will decrease your confidence.
You are more likely to experience problems in later flying in
direct proportion to the amount you ignore your previous experience.
First things first, and the first thing is thinking about flying.
What turns a student the wrong direction can be the sudden
onset of a series of failures. The myriad of emotional reactions;
anxiety, panic, euphoria, relief, hope, despair, blame, self blame,
and anger leads far to many to give up without realizing that
these cycles in achievement are all a part of life, not just learning
to fly. Recognition of this may be your greatest return on investment
from flying.
Anger is a form of emotional blackmail, an adult temper tantrum.
Like a thunderstorm it can grow into yelling and violence. It
can be a blame-game where the responsibility for anger causing
situations is transferred. That's the invitation. Don't play the
game. Find a way to express your anger in a way that will not
do harm to yourself or others. Don't dig yourself into an emotional
hole. One of the greatest changes that occur in a person who becomes
a pilot is, of necessity, his willingness to accept those conditions
and situations that are beyond his control.
It is important that the student realize the extreme responsibility
that exists when an instructor takes on a student. The ultimate
responsibility is when the student is soloed. Any instructor who
begins with symptoms of stress will become much worse prior to
solo. Instructor stress will be mirrored by student stress. You
are looking for certain instructional qualities. Being a super
pilot is not one of them. You want to learn in a relaxed ground
and cockpit atmosphere where the instructor is willing and able
to take the time to explain without making you feel demeaned for
not knowing. The instructor should be just as willing to listen
to your reasoning for thinking as you do no matter how wrong.
One of the more difficult processes in learning is to unlearn
that which we 'knew' all along. Flying will change your personality.
A pilot has a positive personality, a positive 'can do' outlook
on life, and an awareness that some aspects of life, time, and
nature are beyond control.
Evaluation is a teaching constant. It begins when the lesson
begins. Continues throughout the lesson and for me can continue
for years. Just today (5-11-98), I had a student bring to my attention
that I had advised him to quit smoking over twenty-five years ago. My lesson at that time was re-evaluated
twenty-five years later as a long-term positive influence on the
pilot's life.
Progress and even lack of progress is subject to evaluation
as to why what is happening, is happening. Even success bears
repetition as does a lesson that did not achieve sought for goals.
I spend considerable instructional time introducing material.
Introduced material is just that and not subject to the 'progress'
evaluation. I introduce the four basics, slow-flight and the stall.
I introduce ground reference. I introduce new airports and flight
areas. I introduce all the different kinds of approaches and landings.
I am not teaching for any level of proficiency. I am teaching
for awareness and recognition. Every introduction is evaluated
on that basis. Every introduction will be followed by one or more
lessons that will be evaluated by a standard of, "Is the
student safe to do this solo."
When I give a test or an oral quiz I do so with the intent that
the student will both give the process and the reasons why that
process is relatively more safe than any other. The reasoning
behind an initial left clearing turn, going to slow-flight when
#3 to land, and making 'on-course' requests from ATC is just as
important as the performance. There is some rote knowledge that
must be known. Even that rote knowledge will not be retained or
be useful unless it is applied in an actual flight situation.
The beauty of an oral examination that includes a walk-through
by the student is that it allows immediate evaluation and correction.
Clearing problems on the ground is far more efficient and effective
than with the student under flying stresses. The oral presentation
lead to clearer understanding and interpretation of the technical
terms of aviation.
During the proficiency phase or instruction I deliberately set
up situations that require the student to make decisions. I have
them talk through their options if low or high on final. What
are your options to correct the situation what are your options
if your plan won't work? What do you plan to do the next time
so this situation won't arise again? The process is one of evaluating
judgment under stress as well as performance.
I want a student who responds, enjoys, and pays attention.
I enjoy sharing my love of flying with someone. I often share
too much, try too hard, and overwhelm the student. I don't want
the student to be just a well for me to fill. I try to augment
every mistake or success, to an event-mistake or event-success
in my career, with a brief story. Stories, while time consuming,
are the cement of memory. The story is a sharing of the joy-spirit
of flying. I want a student who is enthusiastic, who laughs at
my old jokes, and who challenges what I say until I can back it
up by an experience or text.
I want a left-handed student. Flying is the only area other than
being a first baseman, batter, or pitcher where lefties start
with an advantage. About 15% of the population are so blessed.
A higher proportion of pilots seems to be left-handed. Flying
does not require the specialization of fine motor skills. That
field is left to right-handers.
Side note:
By the second year, hand dominance appears. Aircraft are equipped
to do things equally well both left and right but American aircraft
do things easier to the left. The rest of the world is right handed
from scissors, tools, guns, phones, serrated knives, power mowers,
binders, desks, keyboards, screws, and knobs. On average, right-handers
do live eight months longer than left-handers. Average age difference
66 years to 75 years. Life is not fair.
A mistake is painful because we have been conditioned to experience
humiliation and shame. We expect ourselves to be able to perform.
When we don't or can't, our internal critics tell us that we should
be able to do better. Where an external critic adds to the internal
embarrassment we react with fear that all such mistakes will recreate
the emotional trauma.
Perhaps the biggest mistake in the exercise of good judgment is
a failure to hear the voice of your own experience. Your own experiences
are not just what happens to you, it's what you believe about
what has happened to you. Your life experience at play or work
has prepared you for many of the coming flights. Already you have
had to unlearn, practice, study, relearn, and forget. You are
about to relive your life experiences again. A mistake is an opportunity
to find what works for you--and what doesn't. Recovery from a
mistake should give you a good feeling. You have recovered, learned
and reflected. All of which will make you a better pilot.
When a pilot enters a situation with uncertainty the chances are
that his flying skills will be lessened. He will be spending at
least some brain cycles dealing with stress and the fears caused
by the uncertainty. Being told to relax by the instructor is not
going to help. Your ability to cope will only be achieved by exposure
and experience. The unexpected is always present as part of learning
to fly. Keep your priorities in order, fly the plane FIRST, navigate
and then communicate. You won't learn from your mistakes if you
fail to acknowledge it as 'yours'. Denial of your part in creation
of a flying mistake will only cause it to be repeated. The most
dangerous flying mistake is the one you 'get away' with perhaps
by not recognizing it as a mistake.
Flying is an art that takes knowledge, time, intensity, concentration
and self-discipline. In the beginning there are likely to be deficiencies
in knowledge and self-discipline. There will be excesses of intensity
and concentration. A student's perception of success and failure
is often based upon erroneous assumptions. Making mistakes is
part of the process. Asking questions is part of the process.
Being upset with yourself and the instructor is part of the process.
A mistake is not a failure. It is a survivable learning experience.
The worse thing that can arise from a mistake in judgment or performance
is for the person to believe that he can 'get away' with it again.
Making mistakes is the "wake up call" part of the learning/flying
process. Mistakes are not an enemy of learning. A recognized mistake
is a learning success. Think of a flying mistake as an experiment
that failed to produce the desired result. With each mistake/experiment
you can eliminate procedures that don't produce desired results.
The art of making flying mistakes is to turn them into tools of
learning and prevention. Efficiency in learning is through remembering
the results of your experiments. Student mistakes are what instructors
see best. This instructor critiques student mistakes to make sure
the cause, effect, and solution become apparent to the student.
Instructor "mistakes" are deliberate efforts to see
if the student is paying attention. Yeah!
The opportunity to make mistakes without fear of harm is an important
part of the training process. I prefer to let flying mistakes
develop in the process of flight training at least to the point
of student awareness. I will then, if conditions allow, take a
moment to discuss the cause, result and correction. I re-establish
the mistake situation and help the student work it out more safely.
Otherwise, I save the problem for ground discussion and a next
flight review. On occasion, I will deliberately create a situation
that calls upon the student to correct a mistake. The safe correction
of a potential problem is another essential student skill. All
good instructors let their students make mistakes. All good instructors
do not allow a specific mistake to become habitual or even occasional.
When an instructor tells you of a mistake, resist the urge to
defend yourself or deny that a problem exists. Assume your critic
to be right and of having the best of intentions to help you.
Learn to live with all your mistakes, especially flying mistakes,
without suffering. Use your internal critic to alert you of a
coming mistake, but don't allow it to influence your stress level.
Always, the instructor's premise is that you can do better next
time.
Self-analysis of your flying is important. Develop a curiosity
about what part went right until it went wrong. Do this in terms
of where you feel weak, deficient, or insecure. Look for your
mistakes. A few minutes reading, a short instructional flight,
or a solo flight directed to a specific area is money and time
well spent. If anxiety exists but you are uncertain as to the
area or cause, take a flight review. Proficiency is the best flying
insurance policy. You may not know what you don't know, but when
you do know there is something you don't know, get help. When
you are working to do every-thing right it is never boring.
You will better understand a difficulty or flying mistake by getting
feedback from other pilots. Share your experiences and listen
to similar experiences shared by others. You will never be able
to create a unique flying mistake. Go back to your instructor
and review the series of events from beginning to end. This changes
a critic into a mentor. In a single-pilot operation, you know
there's no one else to remind you so you pay closer attention,
or at least you should.
There are good mistakes. A good mistake leads you into finding
a better way of solving or avoiding a subsequent mistake. Not
every solution will work. Share your solutions. Don't try to re-invent
the wheel. Seek the opinion of others and alternate solutions.
Read as much as your time allows about the experiences and mistakes
of other flyers. Read their post-mistake advice. The advice that
is given to others is wiser than the advice we give to ourselves.
The objectivity of a story about a mistake allows others to see
why specific mistakes are made and how they can be avoided. The
highest level of learning is when students benefit from the experience
of another.
One of the advantages of learning to fly in the fall is the
greater probability of weather delays. A pilot learns to live
with and accept delays of any kind as part of flying. The pilot
who has an attitude problem that makes delay unacceptable is heading
for an accident. Some types of delay can be managed by planning
time allowances. Knowledge can be helpful, too. A flyer learns
to accept that everything cannot be controlled. Don't try to change
those things that can't be changed.
In a club, it is not unusual to arrive at the airport and find
that the aircraft is not fueled or may be low on oil. Know how
to make a quick check and how to make arrangements. What do you
do if the aircraft is not there? Call the answering service. Call
the scheduling officer or maintenance. How long will it take to
get air into a tire? What if the air filter is loose? I lost my
sectional. I left my flashlight home. Allow extra time in your
flight schedule to flex with unavoidable delay. You must adjust,
flex, and give up. On some days you were just not meant to fly.
The success of the instructional program is directly related
to the willingness of the student to study and prepare. It takes
a minimum of two hours of study for every hour of flight. Trying
to learn too much material too fast is wasteful of time and effort.
However, it is important to survey all the material to get an
overview of what must be covered and eventually learned. We will
not purchase the FAA written test questions until after all the
material is surveyed and then studied. You want the latest edition
of the FAA test to study.
As a student of flying you will learn in several ways, flying
is but one of them. You must talk to other pilots and ask questions.
Visit ATC facilities and become acquainted with the people you
talk to on the radio. It will make a difference in your desire
to improve your radio procedures. Communicate with the instructor
as to what you have read and heard. Even misinformation has value
when it is perceived as wrong. The more you know the better you
will be able to control and predict the occurrences of flying.
The highest level of learning is making use of someone's prior
experience.
The student or pilot having a flying problem will find that the
best and safest solution is a specific lesson from an instructor
directed toward the problem. However, more often than not, the
student is unable to express or identify what the trouble may
be. The unconscious realization that a difficulty exists that
cannot be explained creates even more tension. The rapport between
the student and instructor must be such that even the weirdest
concerns are freely expressed. Often the cause of difficulty can
be associated with lack of preparation, turbulence, absence of
a horizon, low visibility, or student fatigue.
The intellectual/emotional overloading of a student is a very
common and enervating event early in flight training. It can occur
because of pressures from the instructor. More commonly it comes
because of the student not being able to select the important
from the unimportant. What has occurred at home, work, or on the
way to the airport can affect the readiness of a student for a
flight lesson. It is far better for either the student or instructor
to cancel a lesson or at least cut it short if things are not
going well or not expected to go well.
You are normally capable of driving an automobile through dense
traffic while listening to the radio and carrying on a conversation.
Preoccupation with one aspect of flying such as one instrument
can create problems. Flying requires that attention be divided
between inside and outside the cockpit. This attention must never
be so concentrated that radio communications are not recognized.
A part of the brain/attention effort must always be reserved for
the radio. Hearing alone is not enough. That which is heard must
be recognized/analyzed for its significance and appropriate action
taken. Every communication has some significance to the pilot.
A student's ability to discriminate between the important and
unimportant spells the difference between safe and unsafe. The
competent pilot has developed his flight skills to the same level
used while safely driving a car. However, the student pilot is
expending so much intellectual and emotional energy into actual
flying that it is not unusual for the student to completely miss
radio calls or even airports.
Even the best instruction will not suffice if the student does
not show good judgment. The student must always be making a series
of judgmental decisions at every phase of flight. These decisions
are made, just as while driving constantly and instantaneously.
This ability to judge is an intangible but essential part of living
and flying safely. What can you do to apply good judgment to flying?
1. Learn by the highest application of knowledge. That is, learn
from the experience of others. Read, listen, and ask questions.
2. Fly with other pilots at every opportunity. What you learn
not to do is just as important as learning what to do.
3. Gain your experience a little bit at a time. A few 100-mile
flights are better than one across the country.
4. Keep studying, learning and flying. Long pauses in studying,
learning and flying are quite wasteful of time and money.
5. Don't hurry a new aircraft checkout. Two flights are much better
than one. Develop your own checklist.
A friend was hauling a body from a remote location in Canada.
Only a caretaker was around the strip. After considering the trees
that lined the runway and the fact that it was getting dark and
that deer could be a potential problem, he asked the old fellow
about the deer. The ole fellow said" Naw! Don't have no deer
problem." This made my friend relax. As he was climbing into
the aircraft the ole fellow said" No deer but better watch
out for the moose." My friend always says " Remember,
If you don't ask the right questions how do you expect to get
the right answers."
It's about judgment
In flying there are as many ways to gain skill and experience
as there are pilots. Time alone is a very poor criteria. Once
pilot may gain 100 hours of experience while another may gain
twenty hours of experience five times.
It is not enough to have the requisite skill and judgment to perform
a particular maneuver, you must also have confidence in your ability
to perform it as well. Everyone has a particular confidence level
in their abilities to perform certain tasks. Through repetition
you do certain rather complex procedures without conscious thought,
like driving to a nearby shopping center. We have very little
concern in doing this yet; statistically we are more likely to
have an accident close to home than
while on a trip. Thus it is apparent that familiarity and frequency
of exposure reduces anxiety and increases confidence.
I have only one known one person who claimed to have no sense
of fear. He was supervisor of a ward for the criminally insane.
He might, as well been one of the inmates. Our inbred sense of
fear is a survival kit. We do not push our activity envelope beyond
our comfort and confidence level. We prefer to test the edges
of anxiety under guidance and instruction. The ideal is to gain
exposure in relatively small adventures before testing the water
for ourselves. Thus, we have a reasonable personal limitation.
It separates our comfort zone of experience and knowledge from
the anxiety zone. Some flying students know the line between these
regions better than others do. Survival is the name of the game.
Instructors set limits for student solo, often without explaining
just why. Limitations are part of flying. The setting of personal
limits is part of every flight we make for as long as we fly.
The best pilots know their limits and abide by them. Hair-raising
experiences are best left to those who need hair. (In-house joke.)
Experience is just a process of expanding the range of your limits.
We will expand our limits for takeoff conditions, crosswind conditions,
and every other aspect of our flying. As we grow in experience
so will our limits until they become a coherent image of our own
comfort and confidence zone. Still, there will be limits, when
a pilot senses that the limits are approaching he had better reach
into his bag of alternative options. The best of all choices although
a most difficult one is to stay on the ground.
A student pilot, or any other pilot for that matter, can practice
flying even while not in a plane. A situation can be visualized
and simulated actions can be practiced. Flying is not only with
the mind but can and should be in the mind. In your mind, plan
ahead of a flight for the combinations of controls, attitudes
and maneuvers required to put the aircraft where you want it.
Skill is best demonstrated by the manner in which a particular
maneuver follows your 'in the mind' planning.
At some point in your training the instructor may cover the airspeed
indicator and have you "feel", sense and visualize the
aircraft as it proceeds. With allowances for the density altitude
and wind you should be able to "visualize" the aircraft
around the pattern to a landing. Some flying skill will be acquired
subconsciously, but in the main the student will need to rely
on their physical senses to control the aircraft. Sight will always
be the primary sense for your flying. In the beginning maximize
your use of the external sight picture. There will be plenty of
time to learn to relate the sight picture to the instrument picture.
The other senses have information that is available in the noise,
smell, and feel of pressure and vibration. We feel changes in
vibration frequency and amplitude. The senses combine to give
the pilot an over all feeling of what is both right and wrong
with the aircraft. Hearing is a neglected sense. A student wants
to learn the several 'constants' of engine rpm and airspeed sounds.
The sense of touch is the most neglected sense. You can only 'feel'
an airplane when holding it lightly, very lightly. The sense of
smell is best utilized as a danger sense. You can learn the smell
of the aircraft when it is performing well. Any other smell serves
as a warning. A change in your sensory perception of aircraft
performance is the first alert to take precautionary action. You
should never spell fuel. The last sense to get the fine-tuning
required to fly well is the sense of sight. With practice of the
right kind, you will begin to see the nose and horizon relationship
that exists in every flight situation. It takes time.
Speed is set visually; touch and kinesthetic sensitivity sense
speed changes. If you do not sense these changes you are more
apt to misuse the rudder. The body can sense, and be ever more
sensitive to the side pressures of a slip or a skid. Modern aircraft
make it possible for a pilot to fly dangerously well without being
sensitive to an uncoordinated rudder.
The ability to anticipate changes in control pressures required
for a particular maneuver must be developed. Failure to anticipate
the rudder movement required to move the nose as airspeed decreases
is a most common flight error. The behavior of instruments such
as the airspeed indicator and vertical speed indicator that lag
in relation to sound and attitude changes must be expected and
understood. Chasing the airspeed indicator is a common student
fault. Even worse is not recognizing that the VSI takes about
12 seconds before giving accuracy indications unless the control
movements are exceptionally smooth. Starting the trim from a known
position and keeping track of its movements in various flight
configurations makes possible rapid/correct trim pressure corrections.
You should accept every opportunity to review your basic skills
by airwork and ground reference. This is not a waste of time or
money. Exercises that improve your ability to make wind-drift
corrections and timing will improve your airport pattern work.
You need to make adjustments by anticipation. The only reason
your instructor 'knows' when you are high. low, wide, too fast
or slow is because of his experience in anticipation. Do whatever
it takes to place your aircraft where you want it.
Do you fly around, below, above certain areas to avoid communications?
Do you try to enter a certain way into an airport and to avoid
others? Do you avoid crosswind-landing opportunities when they
become available. Do you ignore practice in ground reference,
stalls, slow flight, and night proficiency? Challenge your weaknesses
until they become areas of strength.
Side
Notes:
1. The Law of Firsts (Haviland's) , "The first time you do,
you shouldn't have, The first time you don't, you should have."
2. Flying is an situation where the pilot is solely responsible
for the welfare of the aircraft.
3. Knowledge can be maintained through reading and study. Judgment
is best developed through the experiencing and management of actual
flying situations.
4. Pilot skill is a product of physical and mental practice in
the airplane.
5. Any flying skill acquired can only improve if exercised. Your
skills will never remain static. Skills erode from lack of use;
they remain relatively constant with occasional use; they improve
only with clearly defined goals that have measurable criteria
for performance.
6. A refresher lesson should be based upon a single maneuver.
This maneuver should contain a wide set of the four basics. It
should be fun but challenging.
7. In flying there is only one person responsible for the actual
flying of an aircraft and that person is also responsible for
the safety of that flight.
8. Having a functional checklist that fits your method of operation
is more important than having a one checklist fits all available.
Have the checklist, use it at the same place and time; every time.
9. The more unusual your flying situation the more important it
is that you slow down the airplane and use the appropriate checklist.
10. You will avoid one potential ATC 'deal' if you take upon yourself
the responsibility to clear the final approach course prior to
crossing the runway hold bars.
11. As a student or VFR pilot you should know the terms and positions
used by IFR pilots flying at airports where you fly. At unfamiliar
fields you should query ATC as to IFR reports to your planned
route. The lower the visibility the farther away from IFR routes
you should stay.
12. One way to detect maintenance oversights is to make regular
changes of maintenance facilities.
1. Flying an airplane requires that a series of relatively
complex procedures. A checklist is most viable if a long series
is broken into several functionally related sectors.
2. Any error of a checklist should be studied to determine if
the error was one of commission or omission.
3. Procedures can become rituals without the mental alertness
to confirm what is being done. This ritual checklist leads to
the error of expectation. It is not enough to pretend to use a
checklist as a ritual. Such a checklist is often very complete,
interesting, and pretty, but without use it is a potential danger.
4. There is more to making checklists than just the making. The
usefulness of a checklist is proof that the things on the list
are worth doing.
5. Many aircraft have pasted checklists on the panel or commercial
lists that are 'universal' for the type but ill-suited for the
model year. These checklists are technically correct only if they
contain everything in the POH checklist. They usually do not cover
even the POH requirements nor do they cover all the radio procedures
and frequencies.
6. Using a checklist that is not of your own making and practice
even for the preflight is VERY poor procedure. Some excellent
checklist makers are not very good users.
7. Go to Aircraft folder for sample checklists.
In flying we react in an emergency as we first learned to react. When we show anger we react as we first learned to react. Just as understanding an aircraft emergency will enable us to cope with it, so will a better understanding of anger help to defuse it. Almost any situation or delay can become an invitation for you to become angry. You are not required to accept the invitation. You may accept the invitation and become angry or you chose to ignore it. It didn't happen. You can intellectually reduce the 'sting' by assuming that you were not the target of the invitation in the first place. Skill in flying will improve most anyone's emotional stability.
You do not need a medical certificate until you fly by yourself. It is suggested that you get your medical before you go to any major expense of time, money or effort. Once a pilot, your concern is not the checkrides. Rather, it is the continuation of your medical that will allow you to become an old pilot.
The medical is used to determine if there is any condition that could impair your ability to fly. There are three classes of medical certification. First Class is good for six-months as for airline transport pilots. Second Class is for one-year as for pilots who fly for hire such as sightseeing flights. Third Class is for 24 months and covers all other pilots. Another Third Class medical includes a yellow student pilot certificate. Glider pilots do not need a medical. These parameters may change in 1995. As of 1995 changes have occurred mainly based on how often a medical renewal is required. Age is the dividing line.
The medical standards are in FAR Part 67. FAA Form 8500-8 is the "Application for a Medical Certificate." All of the information on this application must be answered truthfully and completely. Any change in this information that would affect your ability to fly or pass the medical requires that you ground yourself.
Every medical certificate can have waivers of such things as limited vision, hearing, or color blindness. A certificate may have limitations such as wearing glasses or no night flight. A Special Issue Medical Certificate can be issued if the pilot can prove that it will not unpredictably affect his flying performance. Any medical condition can be certified if it is not a risk to safe flight. One eyed, deaf, one armed, and wheelchair bound pilots have become successful pilots. Some conditions of diabetes and heart disease can be made worse in the flying environment and preclude any certificate.
New changes in medical certification are:
All Classes No vision waiver required if corrected to 20/20
150/95 blood pressure standard will be in effect.
3rd Class Under age 40 exam will be good for three years
40 to 70 good for two years; 70 for one year.
Second Class Electrocardiogram (EKG) at ages 35 and 40 and then
every two years.
First Class EKG required annually after age 40
Cholesterol check after age 50.
I doubt that there is a pilot flying who has not at one time or another felt the twinge of doubt that his learning curve is not going well. The emotions involved can run the gamut, self-doubt, blame, resentment, and anger. Quit, seek support, change instructors, and kick the dog are typical initial reactions.
We begin expecting that flying will be much as we have seen it in the media and read in books. We often assume that our prior experience and even expertise in another field will transfer into flying and expedite the learning process. Not so. A very important part of learning to fly is to unlearn all the preconceptions we have acquired since childhood. It is very difficult to overcome first learned ideas. We are very used to adding power to go faster. Yet, just adding power to an airborne airplane makes it go slower. Pointing an airplane up does not mean that it is going or will go up. Instinctive reactions can be very dangerous when applied to flying airplanes. Illusions exist and will be believed by even the best of pilots.
Much of the difficulty in giving flight instruction arises from communication problems. The instructor has acquired an experience 'bank' from his own training and teaching. The instructor's problem is to fit his knowledge and presentation of it into your learning requirements. The student is not a blank slate. As the previous paragraph indicates the student is loaded with flying information. The student doesn't know what he doesn't know. What he knows he knows may be all the way from totally correct in concept and application to just the opposite and anywhere in between.
This is the 'playing field' of flight instruction. The student and instructor must communicate information and understanding back and forth. This communication can be verbal, demonstration, emotional and even extra-sensory. Instructors want every student to be a successful student. Every student wants to succeed. When it doesn't work out it is most often a failure to communicate.
The unsuccessful student has several deficiencies:
1. Lacks motivation and commitment. Expects flying to be all fun.
Learning to fly is hard work.
2. Unwilling to put in the time or do the homework.
3. The lesson is not just to perform a maneuver. The student fails
to know why the maneuver is required in the first place.
4. Gets angry when things don't go well. Tends to blame others
for his failures. Resents test requirements as well as knowledge
requirements.
5. Expects instant and continuous success. Has a rationale for
every lack of preparation or knowledge.
6. Unable to maintain a schedule for a successful training program.
7. Using flying to overcome a personal or emotional difficulty.
May have a feeling of personal superiority that makes flying come
naturally.
8. May be perfectionist so that flying is too stressful because
he can't reach his standards from the beginning.
9. Lacks ability to exercise good judgment.
Students do not quit flight training because of student failure; rather it is because of instructor failure. Students want very much to please their instructors. When a student senses that the instructor is unhappy this serves as a form of discouragement. Students need encouragement and a sense of progress. Both of these are easier for the instructor if flights are scheduled several times a week. Flights only once a week are less likely to show progress. It is my opinion that false praise is worse than no praise at all. I am not given to false praise.
A student senses when there has been a good lesson. An emotionally draining lesson can still be satisfying to a student. I am currently teaching a student who having made one very good solo flight has been reluctant to go again until all the possible hazards to another flight have been mastered. Two flights ago we did slips until they became enjoyable. One flight ago we did crosswind landings left and right in 12 knot 90 degree winds. I mentioned to here that she was to call me for a flight the first indication that she had of strong winds because I wished to explore with her the upper crosswind limits of the aircraft and pilot.
Today, after doing three landings into a 20+knot wind we did four 90-degree crosswind landings. Even on a short runway we required an indicated speed of 80 knots in a C-150 just to gain sufficient rudder authority to hold the nose parallel to the runway. One of these landings was to a full stop.
Then we headed home where we had 70° 14-knot winds. We did four in the left pattern into a 3000' 75' wide runway and then four into a 5000' 150' wide one. We used everything from partial to full flaps in these landings and after our previous experience with 20+ knot winds the 14 knot winds made the cross-controlling possible at 60 knots. Not all of these landings were great but even the worst of them would have been considered satisfactory for the conditions. This was a heavy dose for a student but I had the feeling that this experience has given her the confidence needed to solo again to another airport.
Often overcoming a training difficulty makes more demand on time and attention than the student has available. Tendency of the discouraged student is to put off such things as solo, written, crosswind landings or the flight test until their 'busy' period goes away. The above story shows that one solution is to proceed with concentrated training to get through a difficult period.
Area # 1
The student and instructor must enter into the program realizing
that learning to fly has certain parameters that can make the
process either easier or harder. Obviously, the more time, money,
and resources available the better. A weakness in any of these
areas is going to affect instruction, communication, and learning.
Over half of all flight students never complete their flight training.
The student would be well advised never to start with any of these
parts showing deficiency. The instructor performs a disservice
to the student and flying by starting someone who is ill prepared
and qualified to finish.
Area # 2
Flying is learned best by total immersion. Practical limits prevent
most people from this process. The result is a compromise by doing
what is possible. Less time, less money and less communication
results in less progress. At some point the student and instructor
will recognize that the process is breaking down. Lessons decrease
in frequency. Repetition creates a sense of no progress. Frustration
affects both the student and instructor. The instructor starts
pushing, the student feels even more pressured. Unhappiness reigns.
Area # 3
In the beginning the instructor will accept as normal a wide variation
in performance. Everything seems to be progressing fine. Then,
little by little the tolerance levels is narrowed. Altitude, headings,
airspeeds, trim, and attitudes are going through changes leading
to landings. Mistakes happen, are created, and are resolved in
the process so that safety is not compromised. Student radio exposure
increases. During this period student overload often occurs. The
failure of a basic skill can bring progress to a halt.
Almost any basic skill can be responsible for requiring a basics refresher flight or two. Airspeed awareness in climb, turns, cruise, and descent has parameters that are essential to safety. Banking limits along with heading interceptions must be performed within relatively narrow limits. Anticipation takes the place of reaction. The time of performance is important many aspects of flight cannot be unduly delayed in the airport pattern know what to do, when and do it. Hesitation, delay, uncertainty, or mistakes must become a non-factor. Any lack of progress requires going back to basic procedures at altitude.
Area # 4
The instructor is beginning to feel the responsibility that goes
with student solo. There are relatively few situations where responsibility
for life and safety exposure exceeds that of a flight instructor.
The student, too, is feeling this pressure from the instructor
and is having mental and emotional qualms as the solo day nears.
The flying culture has attached far too much emphasis on the solo.
While it is indeed a significant step, it really means a change
in the number of instructors. The solo student is his own instructor.
Where the student fails to plan, take responsibility, practice,
and study he fails as an instructor. Progress will plateau just
at the time it should accelerate.
Area # 5
When a student is not making expected progress it is up to the
instructor to come up with a plan. More frequent flights, more
elaborate ground instruction, a revised procedure, a different
airport, and partial panel to change visual focus. Don't keep
beating the same process when it's not working. Get some variety
into the lessons. The instructor may suggest experiments to find
how the mental process may be misdirecting the physical performance.
Maybe the instructor should demonstrate more frequently. Just
perhaps, there is no solution for the existing problem between
the student and instructor. Take a week off to concentrate on
bookwork instead of flying. Get the written out of the way. The
progress may be revitalized by contradictory actions. Taking a
week off from flying and study can act as a refresher. Flying
three days in a row has been known to get things going again.
Just go together for an airplane ride. Every instructor will have
his share of failures. Learn to live with this probability.
Consider making up a 'Fanny Pack" for your preflight. It could/should contain rubber gloves, rags, window cleaner, sump-cup, tools. Put it on during preflight because it leaves the hand free. Take it off while flying.
Keep a supply of "post-its" of different sizes in your flight kit. Make a frequency list on a longer one for what you expect to need on a given leg. Use small one to diagram destination runway and reference points for anticipated arrival or 45 entry.
Don't spend any money for overpriced devices from the local FBO (Fixed Base Operator or "Sporty's." The following suggestions work just as well for a lot less money.
A COUPLE of heavy rubber bands with a paper clip will wrap around your leg and make a good device to hold small note pads.
WEST BEND makes a series of kitchen timers and stop watches that can be bought at flea markets for as little as $8. These can be fastened to broom clips that will hold to the yoke. FBO's sell less capable timers for about $30.
A BROOM clip can be screwed to a spring paper clip with a 1-2 inch screw to hold checklists to yoke. A small plastic rectangle will hold approach plates or writing pad.
Keep your ground checklist on a piece of cardboard hung by string around your neck. This should include preflight, pre-start, start, taxi, run-up, and pre-takeoff in one series. A second series should be post landing, taxi, shutdown, and tie-down. The backside of the card should be outlined in red with emergency procedures.
THE ashtray makes a good pen-holder. Fasten a pen or pencil to your clipboard with a string long enough to make it useful. Hang a pen or pencil with a couple of rubber bands from the yoke as an emergency scribble digit. Always carry an extra supply of rubber bands.
TAKE TWO (one) old sectionals and cut out a circle 10-12 inches in radius centered on your home airport. Take an old record album cover and cut a circle to maximum size. Center the cardboard and your home airport. Glue the sectional to the cardboard and trim to size. Get a piece of fairly stiff wire or a rubber band. Bend the wire so that it goes through the center of the circle and the other end so that it folds under the circumference. The rubber band must thread through the center and the ends held with a paper clip. Mark the outer edge of the sectional in 10 degree marks and 30 degree numbers as though it were a VORs. These marks should be magnetic courses centered on your home field. If your home field is near the edge of a sectional this card will make it very easy to plan local flights as well as courses requiring both sides of the sectional. Just slide the wire to the desired course. Crease the circle so it will fold for easy storage. The backside makes a good place for emergency checklists, etc. Backside printout of radio procedures is part of radio material. Design radio callups, reporting points, and runway expectations so that when looking at the chart on one side, you can flip it over and read the appropriate radio material.
A BASEBALL type cap is invaluable when the sun is low on the horizon. It serves well as a barf bag if not ventilated. A bee in the cockpit is a problem best solved with a cap.
A THIN tube of plastic about 15" long serves well as a fuel gauge. Be sure the plastic is fuel resistant. Hold your finger over the end to hold fuel in tube for measuring. Mark the tube at different levels to get accurate time/fuel/flight conditions consumption. Take fuel measurements before and after each flight until you learn to estimate fuel consumption accurately for the flying you do.
SILICA GEL can be purchased with a plastic basket at Motor Home Suppliers. This will absorb cockpit moisture and protect the interior of an aircraft.
LOSING fuel out of the overflow tube can be fixed. Raising that side of the plane on a 1x12 or 1x12 ramp for the low wheel will solve the problem.
A long CLIPBOARD can be cut so as to be 2" narrower and then used sideways. Keep permanent checklist data and flight information such as clearance sequence, rate of climb per mile, time over 5, 10 mile distances, on one side. Have a supply of extra clips to hold notes, etc. Wide clip boards interfere with the yoke.
SUN GLASSES
Sunglasses that pass less than 15% light will reduce acuity. Photochromic
lenses may not work well with aircraft windshields. These glasses
may not change rapidly enough for certain mountain conditions.
Polarized sunglasses should not be used through a laminated windshield.
Many glass cockpit aids cannot be read with polarized glasses.
Wearing sunglasses will protect the eyes and reduce visual fatigue.
Get the best 'blue-blockers' you can afford.
Keep a partial roll of duct-tape and electrical tape in your flight kit. Carry a "Leatherman" knife, tire pressure gauge, and cellular phone. Wear walking shoes.
Make card that covers the flight just flown:
I learned... I feel better about... Worried about...
Analysis... analysis... analysis...
Next time... Enjoyed... Look out for...