Instructional Philosophy

[Ted]

my point being is there is potential in every "250 hr wunderkid"

I was agreeing, even though it might not have been obvious.

 

[RogerT]

A great instructor once advised me, in regards to teaching, "Tell them what you're gonna tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you told them".

This was for lectures but it fits for most instructing.

Great thread Tony. Lots of good instructors and potential instructors here.

I think this is key. From a student perspective I learn the fastest when
it's done according to a syllabus and I know what we're going to work
on. In an airplane is not the best place to introduce new material. Let
the student know before they show up what the goals for the day are
so they can review. Before flying .. brief the student on what's to be done .. use visual aids (such as model airplanes) .. make sure the student understands the material or maneuvers to be covered and what the performance criteria is. After the lesson debrief the performance ... make
some notes about problem areas so they can review them and think them
through. Encourage them to call you with questions or clarifications
between lessons.

RT

 

[dmccormack]

I think this is key. From a student perspective I learn the fastest when
it's done according to a syllabus and I know what we're going to work
on. In an airplane is not the best place to introduce new material. Let
the student know before they show up what the goals for the day are
so they can review. Before flying .. brief the student on what's to be done .. use visual aids (such as model airplanes) .. make sure the student understands the material or maneuvers to be covered and what the performance criteria is. After the lesson debrief the performance ... make
some notes about problem areas so they can review them and think them
through. Encourage them to call you with questions or clarifications
between lessons.

RT

Absolutely dead on.

Learning to fly is a team effort -- the ideal progression is that the CFI instructs, then coaches, then sits quietly.

Too often students show up rushed, waiting to be prompted to do a preflight.

That's ok at hour 3 -- not hour 30.

Somebody I know is pretty cheap and didn't want to spend more than he needed to. So he went to a 141 school and followed the syllabus (even though he wasn't worried about a 141 cert).

He flew each lesson in MS Flight Sim before the lesson, then talked through the lesson before he got in the airplane, then practiced what had already been practiced many, many times before on the computer and in mental rehearsals (which didn't cost a thing).

That guy had the PPL in 43.5 hours, the IR in 41.0 hours, the Comm at 253, and the CFI at 285.

The guy is a pretty good stick, too...

 

[RogerT]

Ah, but hours are meaningless.

I don't know if I'd say they're meaningless ..but it's important to remember
that flying ability and teaching are two different skill sets. I've ran into
high time ones that weren't particularly good at teaching and low time
ones that understood teaching and had the patience and teaching skills
to get the student up to speed on what they needed.

RT

 

[dmccormack]

I don't know if I'd say they're meaningless ..but it's important to remember
that flying ability and teaching are two different skill sets. I've ran into
high time ones that weren't particularly good at teaching and low time
ones that understood teaching and had the patience and teaching skills
to get the student up to speed on what they needed.

RT

Agree completely -- hours aren't "meaningless."

While it's true some people fly the exact same flight 500 times, and others fly all sorts of missions, every hour in flight inculcates some lessons, and for the vast majority of pilots, more time spent airborne equals greater familiarity with the environment.

 

[RogerT]

Absolutely dead on.
Somebody I know is pretty cheap and didn't want to spend more than he needed to. So he went to a 141 school and followed the syllabus ..

Pretty much me. I got my private on my own by flying with a very high
time minister who wasn't doing it as his primary job, and was an outstanding
instructor. I took my PPL at 40.0. I then went to a 141 school (on the VA's
dime). I worked very hard at it, being prepared every time and understanding
the lesson's goals. But I got every rating in the minimum time. Comm/Instr,
MEL, Helicopter, CFI-RH, CFI-ASEL. I was working against a fixed VA amount
and wanted the most for my money.

 

[Ted]

Hours aren't meaningless, I'll agree (I look for instructors with far more experience than I'm likely to ever have). However too many people look strictly at the quantity of hours and not the quality of hours. I've come across people with many, many more hours than I have who are downright frightening as pilots.

I think the point is more that a 250 hour wonderkid may be as good or better than a 2000 hour veteran of instruction, depending on that person's inherent abilities and the quality of that person's experience. Plus there is the good pilot vs. good instructor question, and the two are definitely not always one and the same.

 

[jason]

Most of the negative feelings I have about flight schools come from the school's policies, not from the CFI's. I went looking for a flight school where I thought I would be allowed to learn in the manner I wanted, and luckily I was able to find one nearby.

Here's what the good flight school's policies are: Grass and private fields are allowed, go/no-go and basically all other decisions are entirely up to the PIC, renters are covered as named insured, NO minimum hourly fee on overnights, and they have reasonable prices and good CFI's. The ability to fly into grass strips was one of the main reasons I went to this FBO - I wanted to learn how to land on grass, and be able to stay proficient at it, just in case the big fan up front quit one day and I had to do it for real. I wanted to be as comfortable as possible in that situation.

Wow! That's amazing. I've often dreamed of finding an FBO like this one. If they charged tach I might just move to them.

Another flight school I looked at had okay prices, but the worst policies I've ever seen: Separate checkouts for day, night, VFR, and IFR; have to fly one of their planes every *60* days (90's pretty standard I think, but 60? Come on), you're on the hook if someone breaks into the airplane... If you go on a cross country (even if you're an ATP!) you have to submit your flight plan to them (though I see they finally got rid of the requirement that one of their CFI's had to sign off on it), you have to call them if there will be any changes, you have to file a flight plan for any cross country, you can only land at paved strips, IFR is only allowed for climbing through a layer to clear on-top conditions and you have to fly a visual approach, night VFR requires an instrument rating, and there's a 2-hour minimum on weekdays and 3-hour minimum on weekends for any rental of 4 hours or more. What a crock! As a result, I never rented from them and I never will.

I used to work at an FBO that was kind of in between, and it was kind of sad - I'd see people work toward their private pilot certificates, and after their checkride was over I'd never see them again. At the good FBO above, I see lots of people continue flying. I can't believe the bad FBO, and I think their policies not only create bad pilots and don't encourage real learning, they are bad for GA overall. Somebody's gotta keep the small and/or grass strips going!

Unfortunately, this is WAY more common than not. I simply don't understand it. The Archer that I brought to Ames the first year was owned by an FBO that was somewhere in between, but I did have to turn a flight plan in to them to make that flight.

Jesse and I were in Omaha late last year and I was showing him this same FBO (at the Millard airport). I had been flying there before I found Clay (taters) and his planes here in Lincoln. Anyway, I had brought my flight bag so I showed Jesse around and at the end of the tour I thought we should go for a short flight.

I walked in and asked which of the Archers were available and instead of answering the question the owner said "what are the winds doing?". It really came across as if I had to justify my ability to judge conditions to him before he'd let me take his airplane. I'm not sure I'll ever rent from them again. It simply isn't worth it when they make me feel like a student pilot every time I fly.