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All of Rod Machado’s books are now available as custom iPad and iPhone applications, with unique capabilities. This includes Rod Machado’s new Sport Pilot “Airplane” Handbook, too. These are far more than just ordinary e-books for your iThing. Download the free book sample app and check them out for yourself. With these apps, you’ll receive book updates any time Rod makes changes. No more having to purchase a new book every year to keep up with major changes in aviation. While you’re at it, check out all of Rod’s new downloadable videos by clicking here.

A Turn for the Better

During a memorable flight review several years ago, my applicant rotated, established a positive climb rate, retracted the gear, crossed his ankles, then retracted his legs by drawing them back under the seat. As nearly every force on earth appeared to yaw the airplane to the left, this fellow sat there calm and serene, like a pilot Buddha in a meditative posture.

I couldn’t help but say, “Excuse me, Lotus Blossom, where are your feet supposed to be?”

I think he replied with an “Ohhmmm,” then promptly put his feet on the rudder pedals. It quickly became clear, though, that his feet had little or no intention of participating in any effort to fly coordinated. Foot faults are not confined to tennis.

By way of contrast, I recently flew with a fellow in a high performance airplane who had me smiling the entire flight. It turns out that he knew something about the rudder pedals, probably because he once towed banners in a hefty taildragger. During a climbing left crosswind turn, in the presence of the airplane’s strong left turning tendencies this fellow applied constant pressure on the right rudder pedal while using a little right aileron to sustain a perfectly coordinated, medium banked left turn. The nose was continuously aligned with the airplane’s curved path, neither pointing outside of it (a slip) or inside of it (a skid).

Rolling out of the left turn for the crosswind leg, his right leg applied additional pressure on the right rudder pedal and a tiny amount of right aileron for a perfectly coordinated rollout. During these pattern maneuvers, it was easy to tell that all his turn entries and exits were perfectly coordinated, but not for the reason you may suspect. When rolling into or out of any turn, the lateral movement of the airplane’s nose appeared to stop as the airplane rotated about its longitudinal axis. That’s the takeaway point here.

Sure, you can fly coordinated by looking at your inclinometer, or by the seat of your pants (assuming you wear your pants when you fly, which I highly recommend). But you can also coordinate the flight controls by controlling the lateral movement of the airplane’s nose by looking directly over the cowling. To do so, you must understand that your rudder pedals serve one very important purpose: They point the nose in the direction you want it to point.

For instance, in straight and level flight, when you roll into a left turn, adverse yaw wants to pull the nose opposite the direction of turn (to the right). Coordinating the turn requires looking over the cowling and applying sufficient rudder to keep the nose from yawing to the right, but not so much that it yaws to the left. During the roll in, the nose should appear stationary as the airplane rotates about its longitudinal axis. When rolling out of a left turn to the right, adverse yaw wants to pull the airplane’s nose to the left. Coordinating the rollout requires that you look directly ahead and apply sufficient rudder to keep the nose from yawing to the left, but not so much that it yaws to the right. During the rollout, the nose should also appear stationary as the airplane rotates about its longitudinal axis. The key here is that when rolling in or out of any turn, the airplane’s nose won’t show any significant lateral (sideways) motion if the turn is properly coordinated.

How can that be? After all, once the turn is started, doesn’t the nose begin moving with the turn? Yes, it does, but since airplanes have inertia, it just doesn’t move all that fast. That’s why you can make a coordinated roll into the turn at a reasonable rate while the nose initially appears not to move. During a coordinated roll out of a turn at a reasonable rate, the lateral motion of the nose appears to cease as the bank is reduced. That’s why the heading remains nearly constant as the rollout begins. To fly coordinated, you should apply appropriate rudder pressure to stop any initial lateral motion of the nose (i.e., yawing) when rolling into or out of a turn at a reasonable rate. This is the same principle that allows you to practice your rudder and aileron coordination by rolling right and left about a distant reference point while your heading remains nearly constant.

Once you’re established in a bank, rudder pressure is adjusted to keep the nose aligned with the curving path made by the airplane, instead of it pointing inside or outside the turn. Sure, you need some outside reference by which to sense this curved path, but once you have that, you can keep the nose pointed in the general direction of turn. Practically speaking, however, it’s the pressure sense on your derriere that helps you keep the airplane coordinated once you’re established in a turn (unless you fly standing up, and I wouldn’t stand for it).

A graduate of the Maharishi Yogi Flight Center might assume the lotus position after liftoff, but hopefully you don’t fancy that idea. It’s far more fun and far safer to fly coordinated, and this is even easier to do now that you know how to control lateral nose movement with your rudder pedals. The results should produce a turn for the better and not for the worse.

Copyright 2012 by Rod Machado. Originally appeared in AOPA Pilot magazine.

All of Rod Machado’s books are now available as custom iPad and iPhone (3GS and 4, not 3G) applications, with unique capabilities. These are far more than just ordinary e-books for your iThing. With these apps, you will receive book updates any time Rod makes changes. No more having to purchase a new book every year to keep up with major changes in aviation.

Every word and illustration is there, for your reading and viewing pleasure. It’s all in vivid color, and easily portable. This is the optimal way to take Rod with you anywhere you go.

Each book has a detailed and easily referenced table of contents that provides direct access to any topic, and there is a comprehensive search feature that provides instant reference to specific words or phrases along with the page numbers, title and subchapter where those references are located. Bookmarks? You bet. You can bookmark any page for reference, too.

Read a full page at a time in portrait mode, or go to landscape mode for a larger view of a little less territory. Turn the page with at the flip of a finger, just as you do with a paper book, and enlarge any spot with the pinch gesture.

Purchasing any book app allows you to read it on both your iPad and iPhone. For those without an iPad (you know you want one, right?), you can read the book on the iPhone. This does require a bit of finger spreading, but for many pilots the iPhone is their go-to mobile device. Pocket or Pad, the choice is now yours. Click here to visit app page.

Years ago, during a class on human behavior, a psychology professor said that when teachers are speaking, only 11% of the class is actually paying attention to what is being said. On the other hand, 23% of the people are thinking about a personal problem, while 66% are having a sexual fantasy. According to the professor, no matter what he said that day, at least two-thirds of the class was sure to have a good time.

Isn’t this the problem that most folks have? No, not sexual fantasies. I mean paying attention to the thing that most deserves your attention. In the classroom, it’s the dialectic that deserves your attention. In a car, it’s the road that deserves your attention. Flying an airplane also demands that we pay attention, but not necessarily in the way we normally think. After years of pondering this, it’s now clear to me that those with an extraordinary ability to keep themselves safe in the air do so because they—there’s no other way to say this so I’ll just say it—mimic the behaviors of what the self-help literature calls the enlightened individual.

Whoa! Hold on Kwai Chang Caine. I know you’re thinking, “Don’t shimmy that Sholin up my sleeve. This is aviation pal, and its subjects are ruled by laws, equations and test tubes. So back off, Monkman.”

Not to worry. I share your sentiments, having gone through my “New Age” stage in my early 20’s. My kick in the karma came at a seminar where an unemployed engineer claimed to channel a wise, 30,000 year old spirit. For $20 a pop, you could ask the spirit anything. So I asked him to sing a song from the Late Pleistocene’s Top 10 radiocarbon list. I realized that I had just lost 20 bucks when I heard something similar to Mowtown’s Four Tops. Perhaps I really heard the Four Triceratops. Who knows?

No, none of that jumbo for you, but only the best mumbo from me.

The fact is that the term enlightenment has both historical and respectable roots and this makes it an idea worth exploring. My thought is that a person’s enlightenment in any realm of life (be it aviation, car racing, or muffin making) has nothing to do with his or her ability to speak sotto voce from the lotus position. The answer is (thank goodness) more practical than that. The enlightened person is someone whose situation-specific behavior is guided by a single dominant and permanent thought that both informs and influences his behavior in a meaningful way.

Either because of practical experience or proper training, a person acquires the habit of sustaining one important thought in the background of his consciousness without having to work at keeping it there. His or her behavior is now permanently moderated by this idea. Let’s call it “background awareness.”

For instance, research on consistently happy people—I would certainly call these individuals enlightened in the area of life—indicates that their permanent and dominant thought—their background awareness—is that of gratitude. These individuals are seldom unhappy, because they sustain an awareness of the good things (relatively speaking) that they have in their lives.

Of course, it goes without saying that enlightenment in any area means nothing if it doesn’t further the values of the culture in which the enlightened individual resides. In other words, you may be an enlightened Satanist, but you and your pitchfork shouldn’t plan on receiving an invite to Friday night Catholic bingo.

So, just what does all this have to do with you, the pilot of an airplane?

In my opinion, pilots with an extraordinary ability to fly safely—enlightened pilots—have also learned, either through directed training or the good fortune of having had an appropriate role model, to sustain one extremely important thought as part of their default background thinking.

What is that thought? It’s one that produces self-referential thinking. Said another way, it’s the type of thought that compels a pilot to objectively evaluate himself, his airplane and the environment in which he’s flying. It’s as if, by thinking the proper thought, the pilot has an “OOFE”—an out of fuselage experience—and is now able to examine all three critical conditions as an independent flight observer.

For many pilots, mentally stepping outside their fuselage begins with the thought, “What’s happening to me?” If a single thought can be the catalyst that initiates an awareness of one’s environment, an evaluation of the airplane’s performance and an honest assessment of a pilot’s present mental acuity, this has to be it. I can think of no other idea that so completely informs a pilot about his or her present level of in-flight safety.

When this thought becomes a dominant and permanent part your background consciousness, then you’re certainly closer to cockpit enlightenment than most other pilots.

The important question is, “How do you make this thought a permanent part of your background thinking?” While there are many paths to the same endpoint, the simple answer is that you force yourself to think “What’s happening to me?” until it becomes part of your reflexive behavior. In this instance, practice makes permanent.

Unfortunately, other than constant practice, there is no easy way to cockpit enlightenment. There’s no Zen-koan question to accelerate the process. Besides, if I asked you, “What is the sound of one cylinder firing?” I know you’d say, “That sounds like a rental.”

Copyright 2010 by Rod Machado

Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, is more important to a person’s success at learning to fly than having a good flight instructor. Yes, there are many good flight instructors in the aviation business, just as there are many good doctors and lawyers in their respective businesses. Unfortunately, there are also individuals who don’t represent their professions well. Sorry, but that’s life in the big city (or big sky).

Unlike golf clubs and fancy cars, flight instruction is likely to be something a prospective pilot has never shopped for in his or her entire life. That’s why most folks have nary a clue about what questions to ask (or even if they should ask questions) in order to winnow the instructor wheat from the chaff. Without the right information, lots of students wind up with chafe from the chaff, and people who should have been pilots become pedestrians.

I’ve assembled a list of questions that will help any prospective student (and that includes you if you’re going back for advanced training). The objective is to try to spot someone who will be a good instructor. No single question is going to reveal all the strengths and weaknesses of an individual, but ask a variety of well-targeted questions and you’ll learn a lot about someone.

Keep in mind that a good CFI is worth his or her weight in airplane parts. Once you find one, treat him or her well. Pay him what he’s worth, and sing his praises to everyone. Good CFIs seldom get the credit they deserve.

1. Why did you become a flight instructor?
The reason you want to know this is because the person might talk only about flying professionally. Most likely, this is someone who is flying to build time. There’s nothing wrong with this, of course, but if he doesn’t talk about, mention, or even hint that he loves to fly and share flying with others, then I might be a bit concerned about him not having my best interests at heart.

2. What are the chances of your being hired by an airline or another aviation company in the next six months?
If she says that she’s got a good chance of being hired by a commuter airline in the next six months, you know that there’s a very good chance she won’t be around long enough to see you through private training. If she says that hiring in the next half-year is unlikely, then the chances are good that she’ll be around long enough to take you to the private pilot level.

On the other hand, I can’t say enough about the influence a good flight instructor has on a student’s initial development as a pilot. If this person is a gem with whom you’re simpatico, then it’s probably in your best interest to fly with this instructor, even for a few hours, despite him heading off for an airline job in the next few months. At least you’ll have a taste of good flight training, which will make you a more educated consumer when shopping for instructors at a later time.

3. How many private pilots have you trained, and how many have passed their checkride on the first attempt?
If the person hasn’t trained any private pilot students, then it’s likely that he’s either a new CFI or he doesn’t prefer doing primary training. A new CFI is often very enthusiastic, and for this reason alone he could do a great job for you. Sure, he is new, but the possibility exists that he can at least teach you to fly as well as he can, right? That’s a good thing. On the other hand, there’s nothing wrong with looking for someone with experience, if that pleases you. I’d be worried if this person trains private pilots and has had more than three out of 10 applicants fail on their first attempt. In this instance it might be wise to look for someone with an A or B+ or even a B average instead of a below-C average.

4. How many hours will it take for me to solo if I fly three times a week and learn in the simplest airplane available?
The answer to this question, even in a tower-controlled environment, varies but it should be around 14 to 18 hours. If you are told that it typically takes 25 hours or more to solo, then this should raise an eyebrow. It shouldn’t take 25 hours or more to solo when flying frequently in a basic training airplane (assuming that you don’t have any learning difficulties or personal struggles to cope with).

5. What is the average length of time and how many hours does it take your typical student who trains consistently to obtain a private pilot certificate?
The national average for the private certificate is around 70 hours, but there are instructors who can put people through in under 50 hours within a five-to-six-month period. Sure, weather, availability, training schedules, funds, and so on all affect this time, but if 70.1 hours is the average, then there are many students who complete their training in fewer hours. There’s no reason you shouldn’t be in this group. If the CFI says that his students who train consistently take 70-plus hours, then I’d check around for someone with more favorable numbers. If this person says that it takes about a year to obtain a private pilot certificate, then this isn’t the person for you. Most people who fly consistently plan to spend no more than six months to complete private pilot training.

6. If we assume that I’m your typical student, and if we assume that I might have the problems of an average student, what areas of difficulty might I expect to encounter during flight training?
The response to this question will tell you a lot about this person’s teaching personality. If he says that “most” students are lazy and don’t work hard enough, then he is likely not a good manager or motivator. Most people who pay money for flight training aren’t lazy and do indeed want to work hard. If the CFI tells you that “most” folks are afraid of stalls and emergency procedures, then this person may have difficulty assuaging the anxieties of his students. The fact is that most people aren’t frightened of stalls and emergency procedures if their CFI is sensitive enough to introduce and explain them properly.

If the CFI says that it takes a long time to learn how to land, then you want to be suspicious here, too. It doesn’t take a long time to learn how to land. In fact, given accommodating traffic and weather, a capable student can learn how to land in about four to six hours of pattern work. So use a bit of common sense here. If the CFI is emphatic about specific areas where his students struggle and have difficulties, then compare this with what other CFIs have told you. It’s quite possible that this person has problems teaching in these areas. If the CFI says that most students have general challenges but these are nothing that can’t be overcome, then that is the type of attitude you’re looking for.

7. Tell me about your best and your worst students and why they became the best and worst.
This will tell you a lot about the CFI himself. It’s a variation on question six, but it also can provide you with insights into what this CFI likes or dislikes in his students. If the instructor says that he likes students who understand if he loses patience or is late, then it’s possible that he is a hothead and is late a lot. If this CFI says that he likes students who are serious about learning to fly, then he is probably serious about teaching, too. So listen carefully to his responses, and let your head and gut tell you whether this person is right for you.

8. How much ground instruction do you do on every lesson?
If the CFI says that he does very little ground instruction and suggests that the student’s homework should cover this, keep looking. Good CFIs do both a preflight briefing and a postflight debriefing. That’s ground instruction. It’s not unreasonable to have at least one hour’s worth of ground instruction (which you’ll rightly pay for, of course) for every two-to-2.5-hour lesson block.

9. May I speak with three of your previous private pilot students?
If he says no or makes it seem that such a thing wouldn’t be possible unless a Ouija board is involved, consider flying with someone else. If he says yes, then interview these students or former students. Ask them about the quality of training they received. This provides an excellent window into the training style and capabilities of this individual. If the previous students suggest that this CFI has a problem with patience and tends to yell, then find another CFI.

Keep in mind that you’re looking for specific trends in the answers given above. Stop, look, and listen carefully. You’ll be surprised at what people reveal about themselves in what they say and what they omit from normal conversation. Finally, ask yourself if you’d like to spend 40-plus hours in the cockpit and under the supervision of this person while learning how to fly. Is this person the type of individual who seems like he will have confidence in you? If not, then find someone else. Remember, you’re the consumer, so act like one. If you feel that this person is right for you, then agree to fly with him for no more than three lessons up front, after which time you’ll commit to the rest of the training if the relationship is working out. At least this gives you a chance to escape with few hard feelings if you feel he isn’t right for you.

One of the best ways to put this information to work immediately is by participating in AOPA Project Pilot, which pairs experienced pilots willing to act as Mentors with students actively engaged in flight training. This program is so powerful that AOPA statistics show that a student with a Project Pilot Mentor is three times more likely to successfully complete his or her flight training. That’s why I’m such a big fan of AOPA’s mentoring process and hope you’ll find a way to participate.

So copy the question list and sign up for AOPA Project Pilot. Help a prospective student find a good CFI and you’ll be helping someone else, general aviation, and yourself.