Extra skills we should have learned as student pilots

EdFred said:
Man, reading through these post, a lot of you had **** CFI's. My first CFI covered probably 90% of the suggestions in this thread before I took my checkride.

I try to pass these lessons and others on when I instruct.
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Sounds like you had an experienced pilot as a CFI. Unfortunately, that's the exception rather than the norm.

aterry1067 said:
Adding to the beneficial procedures that aren’t typically taught to PPL students, I would add an off airport landing (landing on an unpaved airstrip as practice). It sucks that the first landing on any unpaved surface is often done as an emergency procedure.
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That's a great one - And I specifically shopped for a flight school that allowed unpaved ops for this exact reason - I didn't want my first unpaved landing to be in an emergency.

The bonus is, I've had MANY enjoyable experiences at unpaved fields over the years. Gaston's, 6Y9, and a ton of others. That's where the real fun is.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Sounds like you had an experienced pilot as a CFI. Unfortunately, that's the exception rather than the norm.


That's a great one - And I specifically shopped for a flight school that allowed unpaved ops for this exact reason - I didn't want my first unpaved landing to be in an emergency.

The bonus is, I've had MANY enjoyable experiences at unpaved fields over the years. Gaston's, 6Y9, and a ton of others. That's where the real fun is.
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I was his first (and after reconnecting after 20+ years still his only) student. He went to Moody, and apparently part of the deal was you had to fly it and fix it doing missionary work in Central America after graduation. I think I ruined him, and he didn't want to teach anymore after me. He's now head of the aviation department at a $20B/yr company and he won't hire me to fly for them.
 
EdFred said:
I was his first (and after reconnecting after 20+ years still his only) student. He went to Moody, and apparently part of the deal was you had to fly it and fix it doing missionary work in Central America after graduation. I think I ruined him, and he didn't want to teach anymore after me. He's now head of the aviation department at a $20B/yr company and he won't hire me to fly for them.
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Bummer. Well, at least you got your CFI to pass on those lessons!
 
Pi1otguy said:
I think most flight schools prohibit landings on unpaved surfaces. Heck, if you check the paperwork, most clubs and schools prohibit operations on unpaved surfaces. Implying that if I park on dirt, gravel, or grass, I would only use the towbar .
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Might be less prohibitive if pilots were trained on it.
 
MauleSkinner said:
Might be less prohibitive if pilots were trained on it.
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I think it depends on the school. I know of one at an airport with a dedicated grass strip and that’s the only authorized unpaved landing surface.

They don’t want someone and a plane stranded off-airport somewhere from a recovery perspective given a flat tire.
 
Not all places are the same, I got my primary training in a champ, and the exclusion was FOR paved runways until given permission..(grass is much more forgiving in a conventional geared airplane)
 
TCABM said:
I think it depends on the school. I know of one at an airport with a dedicated grass strip and that’s the only authorized unpaved landing surface.

They don’t want someone and a plane stranded off-airport somewhere from a recovery perspective given a flat tire.
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That is one cool thing about teaching is Idaho. We have two "back country" strips within about 30 minutes of the airport I mostly teach out of. Barring complications, Snow, Smoke, Density Altitude, or inappropriate aircraft; part of my private curriculum is to take my students two these to airports as part of their x/c navigation practice. Was interesting doing it in 5 miles visibility (smoke) flying down in the mountains.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
 
SoonerAviator said:
Why would you nee to be selecting a flight school after you're already training for your Private ticket?
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Private is just the start. Instrument, complex endorsement, high power endorsement, instruction in other makes/models, a CFI for flights to enhance your personal limits (high altitude airports, etc).
 
TCABM said:
I think it depends on the school. I know of one at an airport with a dedicated grass strip and that’s the only authorized unpaved landing surface.

They don’t want someone and a plane stranded off-airport somewhere from a recovery perspective given a flat tire.
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I've gotten a handful of flat tires, and not a one has been on anything but pavement. In fact, at least one would probably not have happened on grass - Shop put too much talc in when they were assembling it and it spun on the wheel and sheared off the valve stem. It probably wouldn't have spun up so fast on grass.
 
Pi1otguy said:
I think most flight schools prohibit landings on unpaved surfaces. Heck, if you check the paperwork, most clubs and schools prohibit operations on unpaved surfaces. Implying that if I park on dirt, gravel, or grass, I would only use the towbar .
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Can't speak for most, but the one I worked at the past 15 years encouraged us to teach students on unpaved runways.
 
When I was a student pilot I told my instructor I wanted to do spins and grass field landings before my solo cross countries. He obliged, and told me not to do them solo... with a smile as he no doubt assumed that I would anyway.

This was a 141 school (Parks College)... they probably wouldn't have approved, but he was one of the few older CFIs and I doubt he cared. He had me do 3 turn spins in both directions; he would only do spins himself in one direction because his artificial leg gave him trouble in the other direction, though I didn't know that until years later.

I was also taught fueling (we were expected to fuel up and return the plane full for the next student) as well as tying down and being courteous with prop blast. I don't know how much of that was taught by the younger puppy mill CFIs who made up the buik of the instructors. I was lucky in being assigned to him.
 
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My first instructor taught how to fuel the plane. The school did not allow truck fueling because of the higher cost, and wanted the planes parked with full tanks, so every lesson included that.

He also taught to be considerate with prop blast - stay aware of other planes, people, and things at startup, use the minimum power necessary to get the plane moving on the ramp, pull it forward by hand from the pump if someone parked right behind us.

The only time that a towbar is connected to the plane is if your hand is connecetd to the other end.

Upon lining up for takeoff, verify the runway number, cross-check the compass, check that there isn’t any traffic crossing on a runway or taxiway, and verbalize it. “Runway 20, heading 198, clear left and right.” That saved our butts one afternoon during multiengine training. I’d announced our takeoff on the CTAF, lined up, and halted doing anything further when I saw a helo hovering taxiing from the right and about to cross 100 yards ahead - which they did. No radio traffic from the helo. I later talked with the helo CFI; he’d been talking with his student and didn’t hear the radio. He was mortified.

During the third or fourth lesson, he fixed my over controlling by saying to fly the plane like there are 300 passengers in back and we want them to fly with us again.

Do a preflight any time the plane has been out of your sight, such as on a lunch stop. Also do a runup and mag check before takeoff after every startup.

Plan A is a go-around. Plan B is to land, but only if everything is just right.
 
With all the lakes around here, engine-out drills should include ditching, but I suppose that would use up too many planes.
 
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