Way it Should be??
The truism that the way you first learn something stays with you for life applies doubly to flying. The student who is taught procedures in flying that were acceptable or even standard forty years ago may be dangerously unsafe today. The God-like ability of the instructor to perform flying miracles of precision and performance gives a halo to even antiquated instruction. You will remember forever the way you were first taught. The way you hold the yoke, move the trim, hold the throttle, tune the frequencies, or use a checklist from the beginning will influence the way you fly for ever. I my opinion, the most difficult teaching/learning process is to change a flying process learned early on. In a stress situation the pilot will invariably revert back to the first learned procedure. The radio techniques of forty years ago are the equivalent of Elizabethan English in today's airspace. "Roger" and "wilco" still live. The visual perception of what makes a good landing approach will always be the one you first learned. The student, with his flying career ahead, can only proceed oblivious to any deficiency of procedure and the hazards created thereby. There is enough poor instruction around to make learning to fly still potentially dangerous.
Flight instruction should be a planned sequence of behavior forming and modification. You are learning to survive in an extremely complex environment. Your ability to perform must be increasingly precise. Failure to perform can and will result in serious consequences. Much of what you are expected to do is completely contrary to all your most basic instincts. Behind every major flight performance there is a multiplicity of small movements and skills required to make a safe result possible. Students learn their attitudes toward flying from the instructor. Attitudes affect behaviors. The teaching of a safe flying attitude is even more important than a high skill level. As an instructor I will try to always give the "why" of what we do. If I forget, ask. The reason behind doing a particular act makes the act more meaningful, more likely to be remembered, and more acceptable to the student.
If the student has not prepared for the lesson, then the lesson should be cancelled, changed to a review, or otherwise adapted for best utilization of resources. On occasion, cancellation is the best way to get the student to pay attention to the requirements of learning to fly. The student should be told the sequence of maneuvers the instructor plans to follow. New skill elements will be introduced early in the lesson. Review and skill maintenance will be covered as time allows. Any discussion, along with diagrams and walk through, should cover the procedure, control movements, power settings, common errors, and performance standards.
The individual lesson is homemade and hand made to fit the student. The success and failures of the prior lessons are blended into the plans and expectations for today. I will preview on every succeeding flight some of the basics of airspeed, turns, and changes of configuration. The transition, entry, and recovery from every maneuver requires constant review just to maintain the present skill levels and to continue improvement. A given student has different needs than any other. The instructor must have a repertoire of instructional devices capable of meeting a variety of student requirements. The basic 30 degree banked level turn is comprised of a multiplicity of subtle yoke pressures and rudder applications. Very often the pressures must be anticipated in one direction but not the other. for this reason it is instructionally desirable to practice as much to the left as to the right in every maneuver.
Prior to every flight I will spend at least 30 minutes discussing the skill building blocks upon which the coming maneuvers will be based. I will walk through, diagram, and 'handee' so that the student understands both the maneuvers and the performance parameters. I will depart up wind if possible to make the flight less costly. I use the climbout to teach skills such as Dutch rolls. I plan the entire lesson so that when completed we will be in position to contact our home base. If opportunities allow I would suggest that every instructor have a diagram of the airport and its taxiways on the asphalt of size sufficient to allow a walk-through of procedures.
We make a sequential listing of the expected frequencies we will need for the radio. We will occasionally review the universal frequencies that we should know. The most common are: 122.95, 122.0, 122.1, 122.2, 122.9, 122.75, and 121.5. If you cant say what the frequencies are used for or how, you should do some studying. According to experience I will help the student to mentally, orally, or write the expected communications to accompany the frequencies. Additionally, we plan the taxi route to the departure runway and the way we will depart. Our return is planned the same way with a pre-decided call-up checkpoint and a requested landing entry. As much as possible a different departure and arrival will be used on every flight.
The instructor should have given the student some idea as to what to expect on the next flight. This information is basic to any student preparation required. My students are expected to follow up with a phone call the night before a flight so that in addition to discussion of the planned flight alternatives caused by weather or time can be covered. As a student, you can reduce the stress of a lesson by being prepared. Your instructor will set your standards of expectations and preparation. The biggest problems will be scheduling and student preparation. Most of the expense of learning to fly is due to a poor scheduling program. Scheduling more frequent lessons is always better for the learning/teaching process.
The night before we both will check with the FSS for the forecast that applies to our expected flight time. An hour before leaving home we will make another weather check with the FSS and perhaps even make a phone call to our expected destination if no weather is available. I help in arrival planning to know the runway in use and wind conditions. You will save far more than the cost of the phone call by being able to make an efficient arrival.
I like to begin every lesson by getting the student to ask me any questions. Some students are better at this than are others. The question and the way it is asked is revealing about the depth of student awareness. The final flight preparation should be a check with the student to see if there are any unanswered questions. Every instructor who enjoys flying will respond to the student who is inquisitive and makes the extra effort and time to learn more. A good student helps the instructor do a good job. Students, don't wait until you get into the airplane to ask the "What if...," questions.
I tend to be, too, intense in my instruction. I want my students to succeed, save money, and learn quickly. I love flying and teaching it and have difficulty accepting that others may have other conflicting interests like jobs, vacations, and family. I am constantly narrowing the student's perceptual field to flying or a single aspect of it. Students, on the other hand, fail to see that flying is not just the 'fun' of being in the air. Flying is the homework, preparation, and required knowledge to make the 'fun' safe. The best flight instruction takes place on the ground, it is on the ground that you are exposed to the habit of preparation that makes flying safe. Learn the habit of "What if..." before you ever get into the plane. Murphy's Law exists in flying as in everything else.
The teaching process requires that the performance objective proposed to the student be explained, diagramed, and demonstrated. Demonstrate those objectives that are difficult to explain. I will create situations that are likely to be a part of the students later experience such as all the things that can go wrong during landings. In all maneuvers I will try to give the student the cues to use. Not all are visual. Sound is a very important first cue to changes in airspeed. The element of success in any flight lesson is the best motivation. Find some success to tie up the flight package. Don't relate problems of the lesson as a 'blame'. We learn as much from our mistakes as from our successes.
While there may be more than one way to teach a flight skill, some ways may be quicker, more efficient, better, cheaper, or safer. Behind the way I do or teach a given skill is what I have learned from resolving my mistakes with numerous students, pilots and instructors. Since the ultimate goal extends beyond a trainer, the student should be taught from the beginning, as though he was in a higher performance aircraft. The instructor who initially takes the easy way to teach is performing a disservice to the student and thus to aviation. I have detected in checkrides such instructional faults as allowing a tight grip on the yoke, not using trim, always making partial flap landings, not verbalizing clearing, and not permitting the student to do the radio communications. I try to concentrate on procedures that are safe to use in the worst of likely circumstances.
If, for some reason, a particular maneuver is not performed by a student to acceptable levels the instructor should choose the most efficient and economic method of correction. Instructional skill is demonstrated where the instructor is able to detect, analyze cause, and provide corrective feedback to the student immediately. Some correction of errors should wait until landing. Perhaps a demonstration by the instructor is required. (My past students have indicated that I may not demonstrate often enough.) Have the student repeat the exercise while the instructor talks through the procedure. Have the student talk through a dry run before doing it again. Every student and maneuver will require a slightly different instructional touch. Rules and requirements will not make you a knowledgeable, safe pilot--instruction will.
If the flying process is tending to overload the student it is best to remove the pressure. The instructor may assume radio and traffic watch or even talk the student through a procedure. Make sure that the student is reducing the work load by correct use of trim for airspeed. Have him talk through each maneuver as an aid to the anticipation required for smoothness. Be aware than much of 'getting behind' in flying has to do with airspeed control. Trim!!
An intensive flight instructional period should not exceed 45 minutes of new material. Any instruction of new material beyond this time will result in deteriorating performance and frustration. However, it is important that a student's endurance be extended. It is little clues that warn the instructor of student fatigue. Failure to clear, pull carburetor heat, or trim correctly are common signs. As an instructor, I point out to the student my detection of fatigue and continue the lesson only to review material while returning to base. Physical fatigue is not as significant as is fatigue brought on by emotional pressures inside the student.
During the post flight debriefing it is beneficial if the student is able to make a self analysis of how he performed. It is important that the student recognize good, fair, satisfactory, and poor performances. This means that the student must know what the tolerances of acceptability are. It is even more important that the causes be determined. If, for whatever reason, his solo performance is outside these limits he must so advise his instructor and plan for a corrective lesson. Every student flight should have its parameters designed to meet requirements for the flight examination. To fly otherwise is a waste of time and money.
A note about the relative importance of what you learn. There are certain basics that can never be replaced by technology. The stall warner, engine gauges, the feel, sounds, and sensations related to flying can never be replaced by computers and other devices. You can be fooled by false indicators, stress reactions, and illusions. The basic skills, kept proficient, will not fail you when most needed, technology, can and will fail often at the most inopportune moment. The first priority is always aircraft control.
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