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Contents


Eight Opinions
Anyone can fly an airplane onto the runway, but it takes skill to land one.

Student basic safety rule for weather safety is the "Times Two". Double all visibility and cloud clearance requirements.

Opinion on Aviation Knowledge
A chief instructor once told me that there's three kinds of aviation knowledge.
Stuff which impresses the FAA, stuff which impresses girls at parties, and stuff which keeps you from rolling it up into a ball of smoking aluminum. Learn as much of the first as you have to, learn as much of the second as you want to, and learn as much of the third as you possibly can.
Roy Smith

Opinion on Personal Minimums
The minimums you set for yourself due to your currency, equipment, experience, and judgment.

Opinion #1 Patterns in a C-172
The idea in any airplane is consistency in all flight realms. Yet, one should also learn the planes full capabilities. With trainers like 172's there isn't much to screw-up other than landing mode. I hate to see anything but a tight approach. Keep it very tight in downwind, a short base and then do what's necessary to land. Full flaps, slip, idle power in trainers. A military approach. Adjust for winds and configuration as appropriate.

Too many instructors allow wide long down wind with idea of slower flight and a long slow finals which they teach techniques that should be demonstrated elsewhere. Over the fence @ 60-70 kts is too fast for a 172 - you should slow to 55 over the fence and touch down slightly higher than stall with power to improve the flare. Again, too many instructors work upon stall speeds at some safe altitude concentrating upon PTS rather than showing a student the aircraft capabilities. For example, I can show you how to be 100 kts on base & arrive over fence @ 55 kts, executing a perfect full stall landing. You can do this too with about ten minutes of training.

Opinion 2 Type of Instruction
Sounds like a couple of instructors who actually have their student's welfare in mind! Different approaches or at least different ways of expressing it. Those who restrict their teaching methods by the student's fears of the unknown are setting them up for a fatal accident. Bottom line is to give the best instruction you can based on what you can teach.

Opinion 3 Use of Yoke
Every comment so far has related to pulling the yoke BACK. I teach pulling/lifting the yoke UP. The geometry of the human arm and the structure of the yoke makes the yoke twist pull down and bind when pulled. The pilot must not use a full fist. Instead, use one or two fingers and lift up and the yoke will achieve its maximum movement. Check this movement out on the ground and note how much the last few inches have an upward thrust.

Opinion 4 On FAA
Problems with the FAA are uncommon. In dealings with the FISDO they have been great to work with. I have found my FAA inspectors to be courteous, helpful, understanding, and cooperative.

Try to have all the paper work in order before going to them. Don't do anything questionable without talking to them first. They will help you find an acceptable way to get things done.

There are a few people who work for the FAA who are not so great. Never a problem that we couldn't resolve and remain friends..

Opinion 5 Bank Angle and Speed
Bank angle determines the amount of your total lift that is toward the center of the turn. This lift provides a force that moves your momentum vector. This allows your direction to change. This force is in direct proportion to mass. The momentum vector you are changing is proportional to the square of your velocity. As your speed increases the momentum change you have to make for a given number of degrees of turn increases with the square of your speed. As a result, you need more central acceleration to change the direction of the momentum vector at a constant rate. By making constant rate turns at different speeds. You will find that your bank angle increases as your speed increases.

First Lesson
Gene, for a first lesson this is all too much (who am I to talk, I've got a total of 5.3 hours!) Hey, make sure you go to the bathroom first and then >get in and enjoy it! After the first lesson is when you can start working on things! Just get to know how your instructor works a little (talk to them, and don't be afraid to ask questions that you have!). Steve

Gene's response:
Steve,
I do believe that on close examination, you will note that I have not included any "flying lessons" in my suggested list of things to be introduced during the first flight. What I have tried to present are some very basic elements that once permitted will come under the learning law of primacy.

Gene Whitt wrote in original message
Don't let more than one finger touch the back of the yoke. Use only the thumb To push with.

Why: To allow the 'natural' full-fist grip to fit all of the bumps on the yoke will lead a student down the wrong path.  Use only one finger to move the trim wheel. Don't pinch. Keep track of how far you move it.

Why: The Cessnas have designed into the trim movement a relationship with flap movement. This is an 'unknown and untaught' relationship mostly due to moving the trim by pinching. Starting out with the finger tip as the correct way to move the trim is a problem preventative.

How you sit and where you sit must be always the same.
Why:
A person must be taught to correctly adjust the seat in height and distance. To allow a student to sit incorrectly or with variations means that the required 'sight' pictures will be difficult to find.

Use your index finger as an index to set the power and control all power changes.
Why:
If you learn to properly set the throttle with your finger you can accurately and quickly get desired power settings. My students set the required run-up power setting in one move using the finger.

Never turn without looking and talking about being clear.
Why:
Because clearing is essential for every turn.

Don't get into the plane until you know what the instructor's plan is for the lesson.
Why: If the first flight is a joy ride, tell the student. The student must be informed just how much is expected of him and what to expect of the instructor.

Try to leave and arrive from a different direction on every flight. Always take time to find out where you are and where everything else is. Learn the sounds of flying.
Why: The more quickly you can orient the student to the area, the better will the student be able to concentrate on aircraft control. Knowing where you are gives a sense of security.

Don't leave the plane until you know what to prepare for the next lesson. Prepare by reading and asking questions.
Why: Every lesson will consist of review, new, and setting of standards. Students need to know what to expect and what is expected.

Tape record every lesson on the ground and in the air. When you become an instructor the tapes will be a good way to determine how to or not to instruct.
Why: Steve indicates that this is all too much. It certainly is unless you have a way to relive all the events and prepare questions for the next flight. Your memory is on the tape.

Ask questions before you fly. Ask questions after you fly. Ask for answers to questions from this group.
Why: The only question that cannot be answered is the unasked question. I have never charged for my talking time because I do not want 'money' to be used to prevent learning. Besides, no one could afford me.

Learning to fly can be overwhelming. Any time you do not succeed in a lesson, the cause of difficulty does not lie with you if you came advised for and prepared for the lesson.
Why: Any lesson, including the first, will overwhelm the student who has not adequately prepared. I never spend less than half an hour flight preparation with the student. Usually, I spend much more.

Write out (copy from tape) the radio procedures for each lesson. Practice aloud what you are going to say. Read what you have written without punctuation. Radio is 90% canned ...always the same. You will soon learn to hear better by knowing what to expect over the radio.
Why: It is important that the student succeed on the radio. Before the first flight my students have visited the tower so as to put faces with the voices. Every communication is rehearsed and if necessary, written. Knowing what to say, when to say it and how to say it best begins with the first lesson.

You will never know all you are supposed to know. Don't fake it. If you don't know, say so.
Why: One of the most difficult things a pilot will ever say on the radio will be to reveal a lack of knowledge. Interestingly, the more experienced the pilot, the more willing the admission of ignorance.

So many students, so little time.
Why: The system is becoming more complex, the aircraft faster and FAA enforcement more punitive toward pilot deficiency. The less than competent pilot is almost guaranteed to violate the FARs just getting into the airplane with intention to start the engine.
Gene Whitt

P.S. Steve, thanks for giving me a reason to expand on my original remarks. I had never realized how overwhelming a first flight could be without ever taking off.

 

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