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The Student
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Contents
Initiatives in Learning to Fly;... Pilots Are Special;
...Living Your Dream; How
to Get Interested in Flying; ...Selecting Your Instructor;
...Where to Go; What
to Do; ...Evaluation of CFIs; ...Factors in
Successful Learning
; ...Directed Study; ...Immersion Program; ...Why?;
...Preliminaries
to Flight; ...First Flight Preparations;
...Learning to Fly; ...Changing
You; ...Using Flying to Change You;
...Helping Your Instructor Help You;
...A Pilot Extrudes Confidence
and Poise; ...Memory Is the
Second Thing You Lose; ... Using
Forgetfulness; ...Helping
Yourself; ...A Study of
Manners and Consideration... Talking
Airplane Is Not Just Talking; ...The Student
as a Student; ...Keeping Anger in Its
Place; ...Face the Unpleasant; ...Student Evaluation; ...My
Kind of Student; ...Side Note; Suggested
Student Order of Reading this Site.. Finding
Time to Read about Flying; ...Getting Started;
...Being
Left Handed as an Advantage; ....
Initiatives in Learning to Fly
---Plan a course of action that gives an orderly sequence of things to do and to
get going effectively.
---Get life insurance simply because as a pilot it will become more expensive
for pilot to get coverage.
---Get your medical simply because you need it to get a pilots license.
---Get enough money to carry you through solo and better beyond your license.
(2004 about 5-7 thousand}
---Understand that keeping your proficiency will annually cost as much as
getting your license.
---Once you know how to fly you will never forget it but your timing and
anticipation skills deteriorate.
---Locate a rental facility at small airport as close as possible with several
planes to use as trainers.
---Do not buy an airplane, pay in advance, go into debt or fly less than 2-3
times a week.
---CFI experience has little long-term effect on quality of instruction.
---Most important that you be taught how to do things correctly and efficiently.
---You must become accepting of unexpected multiple delays that are endemic in
learning to fly.
---A pilot must learn to overcome any tendency toward wavering decisions.
Decisiveness is a virtue.
---The very nature of flying requires that anticipation be decisive. Know what
to do ahead of time.
---Once of the character changes inherent in becoming a pilot is removal of
indecision.
---The beginning pilot must make mistakes and learn from them what not to do
next time.
---The instructor must create mistake situations to guide the student on a
course to survival.
----The principle cause of indecision is the fear of making mistakes.
---Look forward to the making a mistake as a learning opportunity and not
something to be feared.
---Signs of indecisiveness require instructional periods that include mistakes
as learning opportunities.
---The habitual student indecisiveness can be corrected with examples of
successful anticipation.
---The cardinal principle in forming proper habits is to allow no exceptions of
any kind.
---The worst thing that can come of a mistake is to get-away-with-it.
---Correct habits of perception allow the pilot to anticipate what to do and
thus improve flight efficiency.
---Decisiveness does not preclude smoothness in use of controls. Smoothness is a
sign of skill.
---Do not fly hungry since fatigue is more than just feeling tired, it is also a
mental condition.
---The hungry or thirsty pilot is both physically and mentally deficient in
flying skills.
---Nutritional deficiencies will cause a pilot to distrust his capabilities and
slow his responses.
Pilots Are Special
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.
Living Your Dream
---To most pilots flying is a dream come true and the only regret being that
they couldn’t start sooner.
---Aviation heroes of the past have the capability of inspiring dreams of
accomplishment in others.
---The dangers of flight lie mostly in misconceptions, lack of perception and
incomplete skills.
---You can repay your enjoyment of flying by finding ways to do it more safely
for others.
---Flying is one activity that inspires planning in pleasant anticipation for an
enjoyable experience.
Living Your Dream
---To most pilots flying is a dream come true and the only regret being
that they couldn’t start sooner.
---Aviation heroes of the past have the capability of inspiring dreams of
accomplishment in others.
---The dangers of flight lie mostly in misconceptions, lack of perception and
incomplete skills.
---You can repay your enjoyment of flying by finding ways to do it more safely
for others.
---Flying is one activity that inspires planning in pleasant anticipation for an
enjoyable experience.
How to Get Interested in Flying
---It helps to be able to do self-study about flying. Self-study still
requires perseverance and aptitude.
---Aptitude can be gained but only by concentrated, intensive effort.
---Those who fail to acquire aptitude fail usually because interest in other
things take precedence.
---No success follows a person who lacks an ideal sufficient to drive
inspiration.
---Money, pleasure, and health do not drive success as well as does helping
others to succeed.
---Knowledge is accumulative like a snowball. The push gets harder but the
results multiply quickly.
---The accumulation of knowledge improves your insight, and attitude toward what
is learned.
---This happens to flying and to any other subject that has personal
satisfaction and social value.
---The more you join activities with others involved in flying the better you
will appreciate its potential.
---The reading of biographies and autobiographies of famous pilots will give you
visions for the future.
---In flying it is more important whom you know than what you know knowledge is
contagious.
---You will be known by those you associate with as pilots as much as any other
part of your flying future.
---Cultivate contact with the best instructors and pilots. Seek pearls of wisdom
for future reference.
---Do as much as you can to make the acquisition of knowledge efficient.
---You should plan to turn your thinking about flying into something worthy of
the name.
Selecting Your Instructor
Your instructor is but 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.
Where to Go; What to Do
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
Evaluation
of CFIs
Where did you train?
Discuss experience and background
Why do you instruct?
Do you belong to a professional organization?
What is your own recurrent training program?
What flying sources do you use regularly?
Factors in Successful Learning
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 en route
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.
Directed Study
---The minimum aviation study should be two hours for every hour of flight.
---Even recreational aviation reading will help you in the correct meaning and
use of airplane English.
---You will better remember and associate your reading by talking about it with
others.
---A twice read book means that you will improve your insight into what you have
read.
---The true value of what you have read is displayed in how it
changes your behavior.
---Reading on diverse subjects can be a gold mine of ideas applicable to flying
and instruction
---Take aviation materials with you that can be accessed in spare moments of
waiting.
---Wisely used waiting-time may be your best and most flying learning time.
---Always take some form of flying -study materials with you.
Immersion Program
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.
Why?
1. Flying will give you enough other concerns. Money should not
be one.
2. If you don't keep ahead of the flying lessons in your studying,
you will not learn as well, money and time will be wasted. Don't
put off lessons unless you are not prepared. Give plenty of notice
to the instructor. Your death is always an excuse.
3. You don't want to be dependent upon just one airplane. It
is just as well to get some flights in a different type. One
instructor is best only if available and always on time. Death
is an acceptable 'no-show' excuse.
4. By flying at different times of the day you will find that
early morning is best but training winds are best in the afternoon.
The late afternoon sun can make navigation more difficult. Dusk
to dark transitions are good experience. You should also experience
morning aircraft ice, frost, and carburetor ice.
Preliminaries to Flight
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
First Flight Preparations
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.
9. Before going to the airport eat some ginger candy (Prevents airsickness)
Learning to Fly
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.
Changing You
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.
Using Flying to Change You
A collection of thoughts, ideas, and suggestions
---Flying gives the power of purpose to your efforts.
---Flying requires economy of effort, efficient study and financial caution.
---You need to fix your aspirations and what you do on the goal.
---You must direct your time, money and efforts to your flying goal.
---Total immersion is the best way, most rapid, cheapest and rewarding.
---You must be confident in your ability, intention and situation.
---Your peace of mind is dependent on how your confidence carries you over
difficulties.
---You learn to fly because you see it as providing a service either to you or
others.
---The flying is a personal benefit that you see as also of benefit to others.
---Having flying as a dynamic motive removes the drifting aspect our lives.
---Flying has the capability of making you happier and thereby others happier.
---You need a ‘can do’ and ‘will do’ entrance into flying.
---You also need an instructor and facility that is equally supportive of your
potential.
---Along with desire must be adequate resources of time, support and money.
---We all have resources and capabilities that we have never reached.
---Your unused, un-awakened and untried talents needed in flying lie awaiting.
---Your life’s experiences have some door opening capability waiting to be
found.
---Your life’s experiences have some door closing capability waiting to be
found.
---Flying requires that you separate the applicability of your experiences and
ideas for flying.
---You possess reserves of mental and physical power yet to be realized. Use
them.
---Your subconscious is a well of information that will solve most difficulties
if brought to the surface.
---The subconscious can use your conscious senses to bring awareness not
previously realized.
–-Think about your flying difficulties and successes when going to sleep and
before fully awakened.
---Many of an individual’s greatest achievements occur through the use of the
subconscious.
---The use of your subconscious is what separates the ordinary from genius.
---Genius is but the belief in your capability commonly known as
self-confidence.
--You must believe in your own latent powers to do what you want to do.
---Your special interest in things about flying will improve you recall ability.
Helping Your Instructor Help
You
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.
A Pilot Extrudes Confidence
and Poise
---Poise is a calmness, quietness and emotional control in dealing with
adversity.
---Well-controlled behavior reduces the trauma of an aircraft emergency. It’s
called poise.
---Flying confidence limits instinctive reactions and gives training an
opportunity to prove its value.
---Training in calmness and poise control the unexpected without an incessant
waste of nervous energy.
---This is not to imply that you resign yourself to fate. You use the checklist
and keep trying.
---Poise is controlled power where knowing what to do keeps the odds in your
favor.
---Do not let the annoying things that are always a part of flying surprise and
irritate you. Pilots do not.
---The exterior demeanor of a pilot does more than mirror attitudes it
intensifies and creates them.
---The acquired self-confidence of a pilot is reflected in sincerity of speech
and manner
---Beginning pilots sense trepidation, concern and fear in varying degrees. A
some point it becomes fun..
---Doing what you enjoy builds the mind and the body.
---Beginning pilots sense trepidation, concern and fear in varying degrees. At
some point it becomes fun.
Memory Is the Second Thing You
Lose
---Memory requires interest triggers to exist.
---You will remember that to which you pay attention with intent to remember.
---You will also remember that which occurs in conjunction with a significant
event.
---Memory exists with associated triggers, the more the better.
---A better memory depends upon the weaving of memory triggers or facts than can
be associated.
---Anything vividly presented and paid attention to is more easily remembered.
---There is reason to believe that an increase in oxygen while studying can
improve retention
---The greater the fatigue the less will be remembered.
---Forgetting is equal in importance as remembering. Selective forgetting is a
valuable skill.
---Speakers often tie ‘war stories’ to information as a memory aid.
Using Forgetfulness
---The selective activity of the mind has a utility for forgetting just
as does a computer.
---The ability of the mind to forget is what preserves its usefulness.
---We must forget to retain our sanity.
---Forgetting skills require that we do all we can to avoid any aspect or
association that improves memory.
---Diversion of your attention into high interest activities is the secret to
the art of forgetting.
Helping Yourself
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.
A Study of Manners and
Consideration
---Lack of consideration between pilots is rare but when it occurs very
noticeable.
---Oddly, I have noticed it most when airplanes are being shuffled about an
airport like cars.
---In a runup area at a runway I see planes park in the middle of a
four-airplane area.
---I have seen aircraft unintentionally or unknowingly cut in front of an
aircraft on final. It happens!
---In the upper airspace I have never seen such.
---As a group, pilots are the most sharing of people always helpful and willing
to give help and ideas.
Talking Airplane Is Not Just
Talking
---You cannot think about flying without having the vocabulary of
necessary words.
---The development of a technical vocabulary requires an orderly daily number of
new words.
---A new word is not ‘yours’ until used 32 times in meaningful context. Talk
and write your new words.
---You do not truly understand your flying material until you can explain it to
a ten-year old child.
---Try to simplify clearly and directly with an illustrative example to help the
audience remember.
---Use associative ‘war stories’ to clarify and aid remembrance.
--- Get to the essentials and stay there in any discussion or presentation.
---Do not use words unfamiliar to your audience without synonyms, antonyms or
explanation.
---The more associative ideas we have to support an idea and its explanation the
better we remember.
---Any weakness of vocabulary limits thinking as well as speaking and writing.
---In flying it is best to avoid superlatives such as never and always.
---I have yet to find any aspect of flying without exceptions but
that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
---Being able to use words with appropriate meanings gives conversation power.
---Answering a question with an appropriate answer avoids the hidden humor of
giving mismatch.
---Listening is a skill as important as is talking and opens the way to enlarge
knowledge.
The Student as
a Student
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 before 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.
With delays due to winds, weather and scheduling will take about two months.
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.
Keeping Anger
in Its Place
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.
Face the Unpleasant
---Among the hardest aspects of flying is the necessity of dealing with
unpleasant facts.
---Most unpleasant of all is the ‘medical’ that takes flying out of your
life.
---For most the medical is a slow process of self-deception in ever-increased
inability to accept the truth.
---The ‘Sport Pilot’ option awaits in the wings. ‘Till then, what?
---In affairs of any kind evading the issue will not succeed but especially in
flying.
---One form flying unpleasantness comes through contact with the FAA over a ‘violation’.
---A deficiency in skill, judgment, attitude or luck can make an unpleasant
situation balloon into a problem.
---Failure to acknowledge and regret mistakes means that little will be learned
from the experience.
---Ideally, from every unpleasantness you will learn from errors the lessons
that are there to be learned.
---Even great men make mistakes but never the greatest of mistake of failing to
accept accountability.
---You can begin to train yourself to face the unpleasant. Every day face up to
an unpleasantness.
Student Evaluation
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
leads to clearer understanding and interpretation of the technical
terms of aviation.
During the proficiency phase of 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.
My Kind of Student
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.
Suggested Student
Order of Reading this Site
Read as fast as you can, do not study. Mark areas of special interest
or concern with an I or a C. If you become confused or do not understand,
phone me any time before 11p.m at night or after 7a.m. in the morning..
Call me if you can...No more than three questions at a time or time
limit of 20 minutes per call.
Read all the ONE’s, then all the TWO’s etc.
Seven one’s; nine two’s; Seven three’s;
Page1.0 My Month as a Student
Page 1,1 The Beginning Student
fourPage 1.2 The Student
onePage 1.35 Living with Mistakes
twoPage 1.4 Lessons for a Good Start
Practical Test Standards
Page 2.1 Performance Test Standards
Page 2.2 PTS Engine and Airframe Paperwork
fivePage 2.25 PTS Engine and Airframe Technicalities
twoPage 2.3 PTS Basic NEED to KNOW Material
twoPage 2.4 PTS Airport and Ground Reference Patterns
twoPage 2.5 PTS Slow flight and Stalls
eightPage 2.6 PTS Spin Awareness
tenPage 2.7 PTS Navigation
threePage 2.8 PTS Airspace
Page 2.9 PTS Emergencies and Night
Page 2.91 PTS Hood Flying
Health
Page 2.92 PTS Health Factors
Page 2.93 Age, Your Senses and Fatigue
Page 2.94 Health, Smoking and Stress
Page 2.95 Medical from Hell Opinions
Page 2.965 Medical from Hell Discussions
Page 2.97 Medicals from Hell - Cases 0 to 19
Page 2.98 Medicals from Hell - Cases 20 to 64
Page 2.99 Medicals from Hell - Cases 65 to 71
Basic Flight Operations
threePage 3.11 Preflight and Checklists
onePage 3.12 Trim and Holding the Yoke
threePage 3.13 Flying Surfaces Controls and More
onePage 3.14 Use of Flaps
threePage 3.21 Pilot's Operating Handbook
onePage 3.23 About Aircraft Speeds
onePage 3.24 Turns are Complex
fourPage 3.25 Skids and Slips
fourPage 3.265 Stall Origins and Performance
Page 3.275 Spin Causes and Recovery
fourPage 3.28 Ground Reference
Special Flight Situations
ninePage 3.3 Hood Flying and Illusions
tenPage 3.31 Flying at Night
Page 3.32 SVFR and Scud Running
Standard Airport Procedures
twoPage 3.4 Takeoffs and Departures
twoPage 3.41 Planning Arrivals
threePage 3.42 Avoiding Other Aircraft
fourPage 3.43 Charts, Airports and Procedures
fourPage 3.44 Uncontrolled Airports
All About Landings
fourPage 3.45 Flying Airport Patterns
fivePage 3.46 Flying Winds in the Pattern
sixPage 4.12 Types of Landings
sixPage 4.34 Thoughts on Landings
sixPage 4.56 More thoughts on landings
fivePage 4.70 Elements of a Landing
fourPage 4.71 Landing in Winds
threePage 4.84 All about Go-arounds
twoPage 4.86 Understanding the Flare
onePage 4.88 Airport Ground Procedures
Solo
Page 5.15 Requirements for Solo to Private Pilot
Radio skills
fivePage 5.31 Bay Area ATC System
onePage 5.315 Basic Airplane Radio Procedure
twoPage 5.32 Talking Airplane
sevenPage 5.33 Kinds of Radio Use
threePage 5.34 Radio procedures for CCR
sixPage 5.35 Radio Procedures CCR to local airports
twoPage 5.36 Ground Radio Talk is Important
eightPage 5.37 Special Radio Situations
eightPage 5.38 Radio makes SVFR possible
Page 5.41 Electronic Navigation
Page 5.42 RADAR
sevenPage 5.43 Radar and Procedures
Getting weather and flying
Page 5.535 Weather and Wind
Page 5.536 Turbulence and Moisture
Page 5.537 Avoiding Icing and Thunderstorms
Page 5.538 Weather Flying Decisions
Page 5.539 Cold Weather Flying
Page 5.54 Mountain flying and Turbulence
Page 5.541 Weather Detection and Reporting
Page 5.542 METAR Weather
Page 5.543 Reading Terminal Area Forecasts
Page 5.544 Reading Weather Contractions
Page 5.545 NOTAM Contractions
Page 5.546 Inside Wx Charts and Notices
On Taking Trips
Page 5.550 Preparing a Cross-Country
Page 5.551 Student Cross Countries
Page 5.554 Flying the Cross-Country
Aircraft
Page 5.61 Cessna 150
Page 5.62 C-152
onePage 5.63 C-172 Procedures
onePage 5.64 C-172 Techniques
Page 5.65 C-182RG
Page 5.66 Piper
Page 5.67 Beech Skipper
Systems
sevenPage 5.715 Carburetor Ice and Heat
sevenPage 5.72 Engines and Systems
sevenPage 5.73 The Electrical System
Page 5.74 Maintenance and Paperwork
On Your Own
Page 5.81 Staying Proficient and Current
Page 5.82 Checkout and Flight Review
Page 5.83 Rules of Thumb
You Against Everyone
elevenPage 5.91 You, the FARs, FAA and the NTSB
ninePage 5.92 Safety's more than being lucky
tenPage 5.93 The Risks of Flying
eightPage 5.94 Risk Management for Pilots .
ninePage 5.942 Making Decisions
tenPage 5.951 Emergency Strategies.
elevenPage 5.961 Kinds of Accidents .
tenPage 5.971 Emergencies and Simulations
ninePage 5.98 Handling Engine Failures
Scan for areas of interest
All the Help You Can Get
Page 6.21 Instructors Learn too
Page 6.22 Instructors Learn more too
Page 6.23 Instructors Learn much more too
Page 6.24 Instructional Opinions
Page 6.25 Problems and Advice
Page 6.26 Problems with Advice
Page 6.27 Problem and Advisory
Page 6.28 FAA Problem and Advisory
Page 6.31 The People
Page 6.32 Sources of Information
Page 6.33 More Sources of Information
Page 6.34 Statistics of Flying
Page 6.35 More Statistics of Flying
Page 6.36 Forms
History Extends your Memory
Read only for enjoyment
Page 6.37Learning from History
Page 6.38 Learning More from History
Q & A
Read one page of questions and answers a day or ten minutes which ever
comes first
Page 6.41 Questions and Answers
Page 6.42 Questions and Answers
Page 6.43 Questions and Answers
Checkrides
Page 6.44 Checkrides
Page 6.45 Checkrides
Page 6.46 Checkrides
Page 6.47 Checkrides
Page 6.48 Checkrides
Page 6.49 Talking Points
Try to read 1000 words a day or three minutes which ever comes first
Page 6.51 One Hundred Quickie Lessons.
Page 6.52 Second Hundred Quickie Lessons.
Page 6.53 Fifteen 'Concerns' Articles .
Page 6.54 Ten Articles about Training
Page 6.55 Fourteen More Articles on Training .
Page 6.56 More Articles
Page 6.57 Still More Articles
Page 6.53 A Mix of Articles
Page 6.61 The End of VFR Material
Finding Time to Read about
Aviation
---Let others drive so that you may read.
---Always carry something to read with you.
---You are digging a ditch in the mud of ignorance. Highlight pertinent points
of what you read.
---Used books can give you valuable information Often the older the better and
more interesting.
---The public library has fee novels, biographies, autobiographies and technical
books about aviation.
---The internet has as much written about flying as about any other topic you
can think of.
---Carry a pencil and small notebook at all times. Write all the ‘why’s?
that occur to you about flying.
---Build your vocabulary about flying since you cannot think without words.
---You must keep working on anything related to flying that affects your
consciousness.
---Start to see, hear and feel where you are and where other things and places
are.
---You have this consciousness in your home, neighborhood and need to develop it
about flying
---Start your reading to be about what you want to know and not so much as to
what you should know.
---Begin small, collect ideas that while new, can be related to what you already
think you know..
---Never pass a word you do not know without referencing it with a dictionary.
---Never pass a place you do not know without referencing it with an atlas.
---Never observe a flying event without asking why is it happening and where
will it end.
---Do not leave things unknown behind you without arranging a subsequent
meeting.
---The early hours are best for probing new and unfamiliar knowledge areas.
---An hour in the morning is worth two at night.
---Be prepared to use your wait-time in lines as an opportunity to learn.
---Study pictures to learn the names of everything and its parts you see..
---I have a hundred more things to tell you but this is a start. Feel free to
write me again.
Getting Started
Advice to Tom...First some suggestions
---Get all the insurance you think you will ever need. Insurance Companies are still using 50 year old tables including the fact than Lindbergh ad only a life expectancy of 900 hours. Now you can expect to fly for 70,000 hours before having an accident with no one hurt..
---For 1/3 more cost you and your wife could learn together in a C-172 by changing seats in the air. If not your wife a friend you will save money watching and learning from the back seat.
---Tape or digitally record all your ground and flight instruction. Go over it together and start
a web site of your experiences. (See recorder on my site).
---Self study all the ground school Get tutoring for navigation and weather
---Flying is expensive but the faster you spend your money the less it will take in the long-run.
---Shop around for an FBO and an Instructor. Record what they offer, availability and future plans. You don't want to lose a good instructor in mid stream
---Get on the Internet news groups. Rec.Aviation.Student etc.
---Expensive is not always better. Use older planes to train in and don't buy a plane until you have a couple hundred hours finding what you really want. Then get an expert to select it for you.
---Don't take a flight lesson before you have read at least two hours about what will be in the lesson. It is a waste of money not to know what you should be learning and what the instructor should be teaching.
---If you are fortunate enough to get your spouse to fly and learn with you, don't be surprised if she does better than you do. Just keep learning but you'll never catch up.
---Never, NEVER conceal from your instructor any part of your program that gives you concern.
--If some part such as ground reference, stalls, etc gives you difficulty let the instructor know.
---Your greatest single regret about learning to fly will be that you never started sooner
---Do not be selective in your studying and learning…everything you know can become important
---Get local road maps and learn every geographic feature, highways, parks, landmarks and golf courses. bridges, tunnels, interchanges, distinctive buildings,
---Airports become easier to find if you become familiar with nearby landmarks. that show the way.
---The more you know about where you are the better able will you be to be proactive on the radio
---The best part of flying is that the time spent flying is not deducted from your life span.
---I have a hundred more things to tell you but this is a start. Feel free to write me again.
Being
Left Handed as an Advantage
I was left handed before any of you were born. The ink wells at my schools
were all on the right side and the ink was wet and smeared as I wrote across the
paper. Left was the sinister hand of evil in past religious teachings.
Punishment was usually a requirement to write 'lines' after school and I had to
fake writing with my right hand in order to get the lines completed.
My writing was so poor that I taught myself to touch type in high school. I
could not read my notes unless I typed them the same night in college. I was
told that I could never become a teacher because of my poor penmanship. I wanted
to become a teacher to 'get even'. I took college level business
penmanship courses using only my right hand. In the process I learned to 'write'
as an adult and was able to reduce all penmanship to six basic forms for all
letters and capitals. Now I only use my right hand to write on a blackboard. I
gave demonstration lessons in local schools for years after I
left teaching.
Of all the things I teach, including flying, I feel that I teach penmanship
best. Now penmanship is to the point of being dropped as a required skill in
schools all across the country.
Flying is the only field of endeavor where left-handedness should be considered
an advantage. See my web site in the history sections www.whittsflying.com
to see how this came to be.
Left-handers are the only ones in their right mind.
Return to Whittsflying
Continues on page 1.3
Living with Mistakes