12 yr. Old flights - ideas

Jeanie

Jeanie

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Jeanie
12 yr. old boy lessons - ideas

I had a grandpa call me today to say that his 12yr old grandson thinks he'd like to fly and could I take him up for a couple lessons during his summer visit. And he said if he likes it and wants to do more then maybe he would arrange to do that. According to grandpa he is a bright kid and is bored in school, I think he hopes that flying is something that engages the boys interest

Seems to me the first flight will be a normal pony ride flight... But, obviously depending on his demeanor etc it's possible that I will be covering more with him. So, any ideas of what to do with a 12yo kid?
 
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After the first couple show him how doing good in math and studies would help in his flying. If he likes flying he may motivate himself to do good in school.
 
Explain on the ground how a plane flies, ect. In the air give him some stick time, turns, holding altitude, etc. 5 mins, then take back control and talk about his performance. Let him try again. Praise him for anything done right. Follow up in a day or two away from the airport and judge his reaction to another flight.
 
Re: 12 yr. old boy lessons - ideas

Jeanie said:
I had a grandpa call me today to say that his 12yr old grandson thinks he'd like to fly and could I take him up for a couple lessons during his summer visit. And he said if he likes it and wants to do more then maybe he would arrange to do that. According to grandpa he is a bright kid and is bored in school, I think he hopes that flying is something that engages the boys interest

Seems to me the first flight will be a normal pony ride flight... But, obviously depending on his demeanor etc it's possible that I will be covering more with him. So, any ideas of what to do with a 12yo kid?
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As someone who took his first flight at 10 and took a lesson a year until just two years ago, I was in the shoes of the guy you'll be flying. I'd definitely say that you should let him fly as much as possible! I know that's what really got me going. When I was that age, I basically took off, flew around, flew the airplane down final, and then in the last few feet or so before roundout, the instructor would take over. This assuming it wasn't too squirrely, of course. If you can tell that he's comfortable with everything, loving it, etc., you could try letting him talk on the radio. I distinctly remember talking to Potomac Approach (we were in the SFRA (ADIZ at the time) out at Manassas, HEF) and being called "ma'am" because my voice hadn't broken yet. Of course, information overload is not good. Don't give lectures on aerodynamics, aircraft systems, etc. The key point is for him to have fun and enjoy himself, while a side effect should be that he learns as well. The point is to make him interested to continue. But yeah, I think that the key is to make it as interactive for him as possible--not a so-called "pony-ride."

Hopefully he enjoys it!
 
My advice, worth every penny you paid for it, is to treat him as you would any student.

My CFI had a young student about that age (actually closer to 13 or 14 I think) and that is what he decided to do. The student's mother was paying the kid's bills and driving him to the airport for every lesson. It worked out and he eventually got his certificate (he had to wait till he was old enough of course; the lessons went over the course of a few years!)

Oh - he did blow his first check ride; bad ADM. There were low ceilings and he made the mistake of going ahead with the check ride and eventually the DPE took the controls because he felt it unsafe to continue.
 
We have a young man that just joined our glider club. He's 12 1/2, can't solo until he is 14 and he knows that, but he'll get a lot of stick time until then. He is able to come out about once a month and takes a couple of short lessons.

We do as a previous post mentioned, work his flying into math and sciences so he can see the connection. Science in aerodynamics and weather.
 
Great, thanks. I'll make sure he flies as much as possible. Lots a flying and nearly no academic info is my "pony ride" norm.

Naturally, a lot depends on how he is. Should be fun for both of us!
 
I took a friend's 9 yr old flying for his first time in a small plane. I took off and landed. He did every thing else. He held altitude reasonably well and made the plane go where he wanted it to go. Took me up the river about 10 miles. Showed me where he lived, flew around some and then flew back to the airport like it was no big deal. It must be all the computer based flight sims and video games. It just depends on the kid.

One of my granddaughters has natural hands. The other one just goes up so her sister won't make fun of her, has no interest or "knack".
 
Re: 12 yr. old boy lessons - ideas

Jeanie said:
I had a grandpa call me today to say that his 12yr old grandson thinks he'd like to fly and could I take him up for a couple lessons during his summer visit. And he said if he likes it and wants to do more then maybe he would arrange to do that. According to grandpa he is a bright kid and is bored in school, I think he hopes that flying is something that engages the boys interest

Seems to me the first flight will be a normal pony ride flight... But, obviously depending on his demeanor etc it's possible that I will be covering more with him. So, any ideas of what to do with a 12yo kid?
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I started flight training at 13. I honestly don't know where I'd be without that part of my life existing. My neurons are molded to the aircraft and I'd like to think it has made me a better person... Show him whats involved with everything, I.e. Planning, preflight etc.
 
I started my flight training when I was 12. I had always loved to fly, however my school grades were less than par. My parents and grandparents used flight hours as a motivation to get my grades up, and boy did it work. I was signed off ready to solo at 14, however had to wait a few years before I actually could.

I would treat this prospective pre-teen aviator as just that, another person who wants to become a pilot. By the time he hits 16, he'll be set to solo and come 17, ready for the checkride.
 
He might be ome another David, waiting to do his commercial at 18!
 
According to hubby, he took his 10-year-old grandson up flying and on his 3rd flight he was doing power-off stalls. He was interested in stalls and wanted to do it. We eeeaaaased into it and played with it. No break. Just pulled the yoke, "We're stalled", released the yoke pressure, "we're not stalled," added pressure, "we're stalled," etc., over and over.

He handled it well. Of course, he isn't a good pilot and doesn't have the book learning, but he is learning to handle the plane. Hubby says it is just a matter of seeing what he is interested in doing and how he does.
 
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I make it a point to do a no-flaps power off stall for any passenger that shows any interest. They're always surprised at what a non-event it is. I've let several of them stall the plane if they want to.
 
Jeanie said:
Great, thanks. I'll make sure he flies as much as possible. Lots a flying and nearly no academic info is my "pony ride" norm.

Naturally, a lot depends on how he is. Should be fun for both of us!
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That is pretty much my advice as well. Treat him pretty much like you would any other student that you know is going to take a while to get his license.

Ask him what he wants to do and accommodate it as best as you can. I wouldn't push the homework part of it very hard, he will have a lot of time to get that down. Mostly just try to make it fun for him. Let him do as much as he can and wants to do. If he is interested he will learn a lot.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
 
dell30rb said:
I make it a point to do a no-flaps power off stall for any passenger that shows any interest. They're always surprised at what a non-event it is. I've let several of them stall the plane if they want to.
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Depends on the plane. Cessna's have a rather hefty nose drop that scared me when I first started training. Pipers just get mushy.
 
Mtns2Skies said:
Depends on the plane. Cessna's have a rather hefty nose drop that scared me when I first started training. Pipers just get mushy.
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I did mention flaps up.. the stall break is more pronounced with flaps down, as in a PTS power off "approach" stall..
 
dell30rb said:
I did mention flaps up.. the stall break is more pronounced with flaps down, as in a PTS power off "approach" stall..
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If we're talking FULL stall I've always had the experience of a fairly dramatic drop regardless of configuration and regardless of single engine Cessna
 
Mtns2Skies said:
If we're talking FULL stall I've always had the experience of a fairly dramatic drop regardless of configuration and regardless of single engine Cessna
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In newer (as in 1970's or later) C-172s I agree. The C-172C I fly now is very gentle. I guess it's light weight?

John
 
I took some of my first lessons at around that age. We mostly worked on PTS maneuvers, but if he doesn't seem interested in that, just have him fly around a bit and throw some relevent stuff in there (ex. "Let's follow that road. See how we have to adjust our heading to maintain a contant ground track" etc).
 
Re: 12 yr. old boy lessons - ideas

Jeanie said:
I had a grandpa call me today to say that his 12yr old grandson thinks he'd like to fly and could I take him up for a couple lessons during his summer visit. And he said if he likes it and wants to do more then maybe he would arrange to do that. According to grandpa he is a bright kid and is bored in school, I think he hopes that flying is something that engages the boys interest

Seems to me the first flight will be a normal pony ride flight... But, obviously depending on his demeanor etc it's possible that I will be covering more with him. So, any ideas of what to do with a 12yo kid?
Click to expand...


Everything you can think of, at that age and bright they're like a sponge. Just get a feel for the kid and his physical tolerances, kids 9-12 are always my favorite pax as if they are the ones with interest, they typically will have no fear hangups and notions on stability brought about driving cars. They typically take right to it and if I don't make a big deal out of things will quickly start playing with the plane testing its limitations, especially if they just spent 45 minutes flying a collection field on a pipeline job.:D

My 9 year old nephew landed a poorly rigged PA-12 on his first try with me only working throttle and trim, and he did it from the backseat after following a pipe for a while. He didn't realize it was supposed to be difficult so he just flew it to the runway and made a nice landing with just minor direction and no control corrections from me.
 
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