Yoke Control
At the present time I am flying with three different pilots who are fighting practically the same IFR training difficulty. The way they hold the yoke is making progress very slow and frustrating for them and for me.

One of them I taught to fly for about 30 hours and then suggested that he quit until he had more time to fly more frequently. I had taught his father. He quit and then started again with another instructor because I was fully engaged. He got his private and came to me for his IFR rating. The other instructor allowed him to use a full fist on the yoke.  There is a difference between controlling and flying.

The second is my aircraft partner who has about five years of VFR flying since his private. As with most self-instruction he developed poor yoke habits. Finally he has realized that he was not making progress and is working through the withdrawal process of two-finger flying. Flying is not the same as controlling.

The third has been flying for 38 years and was referred to my by an FBO after 40 hours of instruction showed lack of progress. Just when I though I had him flying so that flying was not part of the problem, he went on a 61-hour flight to Alaska and on his return he has reverted back to the full fist grip again.  Control is stressful; flying is joyful.

IFR skills are complex and flying MUST not be a part of problem. All of these pilots have some weakness in communications. This weakness causes them to tense up when keying the mike. At one time or another depending on their stress their fist will turn white around the yoke will pressing this tiny-teeny lil' mike switch. One of them actually has a hole in his thumb at the end of a flight. Please don't key the mike with over one finger on the yoke.

The best way to prove to yourself that flying can be done with only one or two fingers is to fly hands-off. You can learn to climb, descend and fly level using only the rudder. Once you become comfortable using just the rudder then you can allow some single finger input. The yoke can be moved with only one finger. Do yourself a favor and practice the no touch and light touch flying at every opportunity.

The most difficult aspect of every pilots future flying will be devoted to 'unlearning' a previously developed inappropriate flying habit. The best legacy any instructor can pass through to any student is that there will be a minimum of inappropriate flying habits perpetuated.

Getting Radar Help
I believe that the question is really how to initiate a radar advisory.
Callup:
Norcal approach Cessna 1234X Request

When Norcal responds by something to the effect...
C1234X go ahead with request.

Cessna 1234X is C-172/Alpha (position) at 3500 request transit your airspace en route Podunk

You will then be given a squawk and perhaps a heading vector.

Several of the previous threads about radar had indicated that the students have not been instructed in how to initiate the process.

Specialists may have multiple frequencies, ground lines, paper work and be fully occupied. The quick call-up allows him to pick a time to respond. For this reason it is best to allow a bit of extra time before reaching the critical boundary.

My wife has a little sign on the refrig that seems appropriate.
"Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part."

Looking, Seeing, Recognizing
There is a talent that a few have in going from looking, to seeing and then having recognition.

As a teacher I had a rainy day game that I used to control the classroom. The class is grouped by tables or rows. One group would put their heads down and cover their eyes. Initially, I would take my keys, a coin or familiar object and place it in plain sight, where it could be seen from anywhere in the room. The actual placement would be unusual. Such as on someone's head, balanced on a doorknob or hanging on a wall.

The selected group are then free to rise and even walk around in search. A person finding it must control himself and not jump or shout but must proceed quietly to his seat. First one to his seat gets to 'hide' it next time. The other groups avoid looking in the correct direction. The quietest group gets to be the next 'looking' group.

Over the years the most interesting thing I found is that it seemed always the same students who seemed to find the object first. I did this on occasion during Adult Education Ground School and found that some are just better at seeing things. Instructors may be no better at finding unfamiliar airports than students.

Interesting thing about looking for airports. Everyone tends to look in the direction used by the most experienced pilot. Knowing this, on dual cross-countries I always look away from airports in the hope I can misguide the student.

Item:
If you are looking and flying into the sun, fly further and look back. Much easier to see with the sun behind you.

Climb and stay high when looking for an airport. You are far more likely to see an airport from 4500 AGL than you are from 1500 AGL.

Using Checklists
The habit patterns you develop now in the beginning will follow you all through the years that you fly. Checking an item more than once is standard procedure in flying. It's a grave mistake to develop a pattern that causes you to believe that just because you checked something once, you don't have to check it again. The prime reason for checklists or repetition isn't because the average pilot isn't smart enough to know when he/she has already done something. It's a safeguard against distraction. It forms a routine that translates into a safety margin you need, or will need sometime during your time in the air.

If the checklist calls for a check on an item; call it out to yourself; touch it; (in the case of a primer check, test it for a firm lock). Get in the habit of taking these checks VERY seriously. Your attitude about checklists and the way you use them will mark you faster than anything else I can image, as a good pilot or a bad one.
Dudley Henriques

Landing on the Numbers
Hmmmmm....okay, I'll play: "land on the numbers" means land on the numbers, which means you're in contact with the ground and beginning the roll out while on top of the runway "numbers".

In previous posts, there was a bit of discussion about the safety of this vs. landing longer in relation to emergencies and general piloting practice. While I'm all for safety (anal actually), to dismiss landing on the numbers with a wave of the hand as a practice that "shouldn't" be done seems overly cautious and not always applicable to me. What I teach students is to maintain situational awareness and suit their approach to meet the demands present at the time of the approach, while also maintaining the safety and integrity of the flight. Yes, the model by default is to aim for the numbers and touchdown afterwards, exactly where depends on the approach speed of the plane, the student's approach quality, etc. However, there are times when setting down on the numbers is more appropriate, say for example if the tower is asking you to keep your speed up, land and exit as soon as practical. Having a displaced threshold helps in such a scenario, but isn't necessary.

What seems to be missing in the discussion thus far is what is at the heart of setting a plane down "on the numbers": technique. To me, "setting a plane down on the numbers" has always implied a "precision landing", which means that you set everything up during the approach so that you touch down exactly where you plan to. IOW, a well-
orchestrated, short field landing that may or may not include the 'short' part. You have a steeper-than-"normal" approach with full flaps and you fly at an airspeed designated by the manufacturer of the airplane. You visualize the final approach to touchdown at a predetermined spot, say the numbers, and you decide where and when you need to be on base and final to make that happen. (this is where knowing one's airplane comes into play, but I digress)

The final approach is performed at a constant descent rate, angle and airspeed, and the flight path is aimed at the "spot", or the numbers in this scenario. There is little or no float involved (I insist on none), with touchdown near the stall speed. The 'short' in "short field" may then be applied at the discretion of the pilot. The key here is that if this is set up correctly and an emergency occurs, you can still make the runway, provided that you follow the proper emergency procedures. If you can do this, when the day comes that you have to set the thing down "on the numbers" for *real*, you'll be able to handle the situation.

I find myself bewildered by pilots who come in for checkouts or additional certificates/ratings and who claim to be able to land on a spot but make the same "normal" approach and blow past their designated point on a consistent basis, simply because they can't make a precision approach. I truly wonder if they could possibly ever touch down that close to the approach end of the runway. They seem to have something almost mystical about doing so, something I've come to call "number shyness". With some of them I wonder if they could set the thing down on any spot that they predetermine, but I digress again...

Knowing, perfecting and using a stabilized, precision approach is one of the elements that cause you to be in control of the plane (and where it sets down) instead of the plane being in control of you (and setting down wherever it damn well pleases). ;)Jerry Adair

 

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