Neat Idea for XC training

Tristar

Tristar

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Tristar
I'm always up for discovering new ways to understand concepts and possibly teach those new ways to students someday. I love toys and rules of thumbs and other things that seem to spark attention in those that will listen. There are always things in flight training I wish were explained to me better as with many pilots I've spoken to that might have appreciated them. Cross countries seem to be one of them. So, I've come up with a neat idea I'd love your opinion on as well as any ideas of your own.

"Puzzling Pilotage"
Puzzling Pilotage (temporary best name I could come up with) is a simple puzzle like what we put together when we were younger but with a small twist. Picture a standard puzzle but instead of putting a picture of an animal together, you're student or whoever plays, will be putting their Cross country route together. The route would probably be within reason, something like 10-20 miles wide by 50 miles. Now unlike a puzzle where you just pick a piece to start, the player will be given the first piece which will of course be their starting airport just like in real life. From there, the student will be asked to find the next pieces until they reach their "destination." At the end the student may be looking at you wondering what the point of the excercise was.

"Why am I doing this?" Points of the puzzle
1. When flying on a VFR cross country, you don't look out aimlessly into the horizon. You are looking for what on the chart makes sense to what you're looking at on the ground (or vise versa). Obviously you can't see to your destination, so you look for what comes next. Exactly like a puzzle. The idea of an XC is to put all the pieces together in order to make a big picture in your mind. You can ask the student, "tell me how you put this next piece together." The student may respond, " well I noticed this piece of a road was next to a lake and the piece after that also had the same lake by a city." "Correct! that is how you fly Cross countries!" You are looking for things to connect, where a road might be in relation to a town or the lake in this example. Thus, a puzzle is born.

2. By putting a puzzle together and asking them to emphasis details in each piece, it not only teaches them to look for their key checkpoints but also details to help fill in the gaps. Sometimes when students are working on XCs, they're so busy trying to find that one checkpoint that they miss all sorts of great details that could even build confidence. Just because a lake isn't in front of you, doesn't mean its not a great reference point. Or lets go even further to point out emergency airports along the side of the route or any other key factors that may help them depending on the student.

3. "I'm lost!" There are of course many ways to get yourself out of being lost, pilotage is of course one of them. By playing, as I've mentioned, it teaches to notice details and help not to rely solely on their preplanned checkpoints. If a student becomes lost, sometimes its due to loosing those points they know. Now they can say "hey, that railroad is connected to that city with a lake to the north, just like.....it's Monroe City!" AKA, student no longer lost and it may have not even been directly on their route.

3. This can be used as a entertaining, learning, and motivational tool outside the standard sectional chart which can be overwhelming at times to a student. It breaks it down into a game we've done since we were kids. Now don't let me degrade those of you who caught on, but I would have appreciated something like this during my XC training.

I haven't made it yet but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be too hard. It's simple, different, entertaining and each CFI can explain it according to the students needs. Of course any pilot could play also and unconsciously teach attention to detail or if they're just bored!
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Tristan, as I said in chat I like it! But you know that landmarks don't join together in a tight fit. That is, those RR tracks and that lake 20 nm later don't fit. It isn't a jigsaw puzzle where the pieces match.

I think this could be a seed of a great idea. Thumbs up!
 
I am not going to discourage this idea, because I recognize that appropriate teaching aids will vary significantly from student to student. I do think that I would have considered this game a waste of time and money when I was a student.

The reason? I spent many, many hours over the years on the water in boats of many different sizes and capabilities from a self-built 8' planing hull to a 4,000 ton cargo ship. I know pilotage and charts, and navigation in general.

So my message is for you to keep developing what could be a great tool for those who have trouble with pilotage. The message is also "know your student."

-Skip
 
I understand the problem you're addressing but I don't quite get the puzzle process yet. I think it might be very helpful if the puzzle used Google Earth satellite pictures and the student get's to use a sectional or terminal chart.

Skip is right about "know your student", but the time and money issue can be addressed by making it a take home optional exercise.

Joe
 
Areeda said:
I think it might be very helpful if the puzzle used Google Earth satellite pictures and the student get's to use a sectional or terminal chart.
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I like that idea... using some comparative pictures of actual visual references to those depicted on the chart can be a pretty good help before making them do it in the air. Perhaps sort of a flash card or the student choosing a card based on points selected on the chart?

I think that could be of help.
 
KennyFlys said:
I like that idea... using some comparative pictures of actual visual references to those depicted on the chart can be a pretty good help before making them do it in the air.
Click to expand...
I also think that comparing the same location on a sectional to the same location on a satellite or aerial photo is a good idea. However, it would be good to use an oblique angle view rather than a vertical shot since that is how a pilot views things from an airplane. Translating a vertical view as depicted on a map to the way things look out the window is an acquired skill.

As far as the puzzle or game part goes, I agree with Skip and Joe that it depends on the student. Some people like that kind of thing while others prefer the more straightforward approach.
 
Everskyward said:
I also think that comparing the same location on a sectional to the same location on a satellite or aerial photo is a good idea. However, it would be good to use an oblique angle view rather than a vertical shot since that is how a pilot views things from an airplane. Translating a vertical view as depicted on a map to the way things look out the window is an acquired skill.

As far as the puzzle or game part goes, I agree with Skip and Joe that it depends on the student. Some people like that kind of thing while others prefer the more straightforward approach.
Click to expand...
I was thinking about the angle issue as I typed that. The only option is using the slanted view in Google Earth. It's not perfect but it will provide something.

The only other option is to go up and take actual pictures.
 
I had a flight instructor that played "I spy with my little eye" with me. Her rules included:
-it had to be visible on the sectional
-once the item was guessed, I had to point it out on the chart
-if appropriate, the significance of the item should be explained (for example- on the edge of the ADIZ, class B, SUA, etc).
 
So while I was out riding my bicycle just now I thought of an idea. What if you gave a student pictures of, for example, three towns with railroad tracks running by them and asked them to pick the correct one. That would get them looking at more details than just the obvious. Another idea for subject matter would be three lakes. I learned to fly during a time they were having a drought in the region and the lakes looked nothing like the way they were depicted on the sectionals. This definitely caused some confusion at times.
 
I like Everskyward's idea of showing similar pictures of different lakes, towns, etc. and having the student pick out from chart details which one is the one on or near his route.

A little off topic but related to matching objects on the ground to depictions on charts. I bought a pair of sun glasses once only to discover on a cross country that they totally filtered out a color used on sectionals. I was seeing things on the ground that weren't on the chart - until I took off the sun glasses.
 
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I'm not sure I understand exactly what the "pieces" are... are you talking about cutting up a chart with no course line on it and seeing if the student can put the pieces together into a route? If so,a s long as there are no lat/long numbers on the pieces that could be an interesting challenge... in addition to the usual methods it could enhance the learning of pilotage for most students. I think I would've enjoyed such puzzles as a flight student.

I also really like the other idea: sitting the student down with a bunch or aerial shots and a chart and having them place the photo with the chart location. That would be trickier in most cases, but also fun.

I spent a lot of time looking at charts on the ground and in the air when I was learning, mostly because I love maps and finding my way with them... one of those guys who is typically loathe to ask for directions, but atypically obsessed with having a map for my journey.:D
I always enjoyed trying to eyeball everything that I saw on the chart just for fun, and it's important to learn how the symbols and marking look in real life- helps you make quicker and more accurate IDs when you are using pilotage in earnest.

It's a fun game for me still... a big part of the pleasure in flying in strange areas the last coupla years while on business trips has been having a new sectional to compare to all new scenery.
 
It seems like a neat idea, but I agree with the "know your student." For me, it was pretty cut and dry - Missa went over planning my first XC with my instructor via pilotage, and went over what would be good landmarks to spot vs. bad ones. This way I had good landmarks picked for roughly every 10 minutes of travel.

But, I am an engineer. I work best with procedures to follow, and games are usually of less value to me. Some students will work best with the procedure bit, others may work better with your game idea.

What also helps in terms of getting used to the landmarks bit and figuring out where you are via a chart is going on a low and slow flight where it's easy to spot things. If I wasn't already decent at using a chart, I would be after yesterday flying 5.6 hours in a helicopter. Especially on that thing where you are going so slow, you can pick off exactly where you are pretty easily. It really helped with familiarity with using charts. I think the biggest thing is experience, and being familiar with the general area where you are. Both are hard to teach.
 
Skip Miller said:
I am not going to discourage this idea, because I recognize that appropriate teaching aids will vary significantly from student to student. I do think that I would have considered this game a waste of time and money when I was a student.

The reason? I spent many, many hours over the years on the water in boats of many different sizes and capabilities from a self-built 8' planing hull to a 4,000 ton cargo ship. I know pilotage and charts, and navigation in general.

So my message is for you to keep developing what could be a great tool for those who have trouble with pilotage. The message is also "know your student."

-Skip
Click to expand...
I know you just like many have countless hours of experience navigating water, road, etc. I believe I stated and also agree that it depends on the student. I must point out that I was not one of those people with countless hours of experience. I was very slow at understanding maps and even cross countries in general. I find that also many other students are/were in my same shoes. Those are the students I wanted to consider in creating a fun and simple game. No it will not consist of a thousand pieces but just enough to get a point across.
 
Areeda said:
I understand the problem you're addressing but I don't quite get the puzzle process yet. I think it might be very helpful if the puzzle used Google Earth satellite pictures and the student get's to use a sectional or terminal chart.

Skip is right about "know your student", but the time and money issue can be addressed by making it a take home optional exercise.

Joe
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I do not understand how using Google earth will help you with understanding sectionals and then referring them to what you see on the ground. You will not be using print outs from google earth.
 
KennyFlys said:
I was thinking about the angle issue as I typed that. The only option is using the slanted view in Google Earth. It's not perfect but it will provide something.

The only other option is to go up and take actual pictures.
Click to expand...
Actual pictures might be okay but would it not be a waste of time to take pictures along a whole cross country? I mean if you guys are really into wasting time for students, I could find a ton of ways beyond that. Lets both be careful on how we define wasting time. I know what things I would have appreciated as a student and I know I'm not the only one with similar problems so as a potential CFI, I'm trying to find ways to solve problems that were skipped over during training. I wasn't a captain on a ship after all. I was a 16 year old who just wanted to fly.

If I remember correctly, students are shown things such as lakes and railroads in a local lesson and compare them to sectionals anyways.
 
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rottydaddy said:
I'm not sure I understand exactly what the "pieces" are... are you talking about cutting up a chart with no course line on it and seeing if the student can put the pieces together into a route?

It's a fun game for me still... a big part of the pleasure in flying in strange areas the last coupla years while on business trips has been having a new sectional to compare to all new scenery.
Click to expand...

I'm still working on that. I know in most cross countries at least initially, students/pilots draw lines to their destinations. Unfortunately when creating a puzzle, that would make it a little too easy since all they're doing is connecting lines and not looking at surrounding features. But yes, I mean cutting up a chart to create actual puzzle pieces. Give the student the first piece and then ask them to "get to the destination." It's a work in progress.

I honestly found it helpful and more fun if someone else flies the plane and gave me the opportunity to just find things on the map. That way, once you understand how to find features, you then can add the task of flying the aircraft. I'm not sure it would be something to do during a lesson (student depending) but more of a fun flight with a helpful friend. I too used to make it a game to see if I could find the smallest towns on the map or certain curves in the road.
 
Tristar said:
Actual pictures might be okay but would it not be a waste of time to take pictures along a whole cross country? I mean if you guys are really into wasting time for students, I could find a ton of ways beyond that. Lets both be careful on how we define wasting time. I know what things I would have appreciated as a student and I know I'm not the only one with similar problems so as a potential CFI, I'm trying to find ways to solve problems that were skipped over during training. I wasn't a captain on a ship after all. I was a 16 year old who just wanted to fly.

If I remember correctly, students are shown things such as lakes and railroads in a local lesson and compare them to sectionals anyways.
Click to expand...
The time and expense is why I mentioned Google Earth. You can print images of those visual references to give a comparison betwen it and what is shown on the sectional. You might have to do print screen commands and paste them into a graphics program to give you a workable image file to print.

That sounds the closest to what you're wanting to accomplish.
 
And one advantage that something like a Google Earth-like visualization is that it would allow students the experience of recognizing features that they may not be able to find in their local environs. For example, here in the midwest everything is flat, with N/S roads. As a student I had no experience finding inlets, valleys, etc. that I'd find on a trip to one of the coasts.
 
Grant- I'm used to finding inlets, valleys, etc on the coast. I get away from the Platte River & everything looks the same out here in the Great Plains. Towns stand out a bit more though.
 
Tristan -

I think that most students pick up on the navigation stuff pretty quick. Ive never had one get seriously confused or lost. However, the best way to teach is from the perspective that you have. The fact that you struggled with cross country flying allows you to develop a really complete training syllabus for the task. I mean, shoot, you even wrote an article in Fligth Training about it! You've got this stuff figured out to the basic level. So speaking as someone who's never really been lost (except on the way to Gastons with Jesse;)) Id say whatever you come up with to teach the subject is at least but probably better than what I do, because you've been there done that and know what you need to do to not make it happen again. carry on :)
 
I don't hear too many people really getting too lost on xc's. The worst it gets is if you question if you passed a town or a little landing strip yet...Usually tuning in a VOR or a ADF will straighten things out pretty quickly if you get too messed up. That is where matching up landmarks plays a part, in my view. Usually I cheat and use a GPS and go direct which I may track with a line on a sectional. To be honest navigation with today equipment is one of the easiest things to do. But CFI's need to be ready for the student who may have trouble with about anything....
 
More like a poker run, Tristan gets 10 landmarks from an earlier flight or from a sectional. Student gets 10 landmarks and initial heading. They have to navigate to the airport that the landmarks lead them to.

It's not about getting lost it's about can I fly the plane while looking out the window the whole time. How good am I locating landmarks. (How's my altitude now?)

Great idea Tristan

Dan
 
drizzt76 said:
I don't hear too many people really getting too lost on xc's. But CFI's need to be ready for the student who may have trouble with about anything....
Click to expand...
My student long cross country was a bad dream and I thought I was in the Bermuda Triangle. At one point in time, I looked down and thought I could be anywhere in the four-state area. I found my position just before I was about to enter a Class D. After I landed back at Lamar, I got out of the Skyhawk and dropped down in the grass and laid there for a long time staring up at the clouds trying to re-group. This was before GPS. ;) Before I drove home, I put a note in the Skyhawk for my CFI asking if it was OK for the Heading Indicator to spin furiously as I was flying along. :dunno: I was NOT an easy student.
 
Interesting (and good!) idea, Tris... I just have one suggestion: Make all the puzzle pieces square, so that the student isn't putting them together by shape, but instead is actually looking at what's on the chart. It'll certainly make them notice the various unique features on the chart before they go.

BTW, I think the things that you struggle with and overcome are the ones that you'll be best equipped to teach in the future. :yes:
 
Yep, good idea. I was debating if I wanted to just cut the pieces out myself or look into a company that creates personalized puzzles. Not sure I'll go quite that far but it'd be an interesting idea for a Christmas present?

Has anyone ever played the game Hold Short?? Is it helpful or even fun?

BTW, I created a lesson once to talk about gyroscopic forces. I had no idea how easy it was to entertain a group of pilots with a $5 gyro from Hobby Lobby, they were truly captivated! It doesn't have all the gimbals but it gets the basic point across.
 
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