Flight Training Interview

How many hours of experience do you have?

9,000+ flight hours.

Approximately how many hours of dual instruction have you given?

8,000+ hours dual given.

1) In your opinion, what is the most important thing for a wannabe student pilot to consider when he or she looks for an instructor?

Find a good one. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING! is more important than finding a good flight instructor. In fact, it's better to spend three years looking for a good instructor than to spend just three minutes with a bad one. As AOPA's national flight instructor representative I hear so many horror stories about students who've hooked up with bad instructors. It's a real shame because a bad instructor can ruin aviation for a student on just one flight, and, in my opinion, that should be a criminal offense. If a student finds him- or herself in the presence of a bad instructor then run like the wind. Get away from this person. On the other hand, if a student has a good instructor (and the vast majority are), tell everyone! This is one time bragging at the airport is good for everyone. The fact is that there are some incredible flight instructors in this business and they don't get enough credit for all the good work they do. It's the bad ones that wreak havoc and attract all the attention, and that's a terrible shame.

Unfortunately, some students don't know that they have a bad instructor. All they know is that they aren't having fun flying with there instructor, "Iri Tating,"  "Udid Wong" or "Maddy Atyou". Their instructor shouldn't: yell at them, belittle them, mock them, dismiss them or scare them. He or she shouldn't consistently show up late for lessons or show up for lessons unprepared. He shouldn't behave like his or her interests come before the student's interests. Equally important, he or she should be guiding the student in their training in accordance with the PTS or practical test standards. If a student has soloed and hasn't heard of the PTS, then this doesn't look good for that student's home team. The student should get with the instructor and ask what syllabus he's using and why a copy of the PTS hasn't been provided or requested for training. If a student isn't satisfied with the instructor's response, then he should change instructors.

2) How should the wanna be pilot go about finding an instructor?

There are two things all aviation students needs to do when looking for a good instructor. First, visit the local FAA designated flight examiner (call the FAA for a listing of these folks). Ask these examiners who they might recommend for flight training. They should tell the designee that they're looking for a patient, capable, safety conscious flight instructor who has a good record of getting students past the checkride. After all, the designee knows a lot about the local instructor population and knows who the good ones are.

Second, the student should check on the instructor's reputation. There's nothing, and I do mean NOTHING! more important in determining a flight instructor's worth than his or her reputation. Pound the pavement at the airport, ask questions of the local pilots, do a little gumshoe work with a thoroughness that a Sherlock Holmes would appreciate. Ask for references. Call the students of the prospective instructor and ask them questions. Ask, ask ask! Then ask more questions until the potential student is satisfied that this instructor is the right one for the job. The more a student knows about a prospective CFI the more likely he or she will have a fantastic training experience.

3)What pilot supplies should the wanna be pilot purchase? What items are “must haves”? What are “nice to haves”?

I recommend that every student have two good aviation text books. One should help them understand basic aviation knowledge while the other discusses the fundamentals of maneuvering an airplane. Students should also have a good written test guide to help them prepare for the private pilot knowledge exam as well as a copy of the PTS (if the instructor hasn't already provided a copy). An E6-B manual computer, plotter, a local sectional chart, logbook, a seat cushion (if necessary) and a comfortable headset should be sufficient for starters. These items are "must haves." A nice-to-have item might include M&Ms to dispense to the flight instructor when he or she says nice things about your flying skills and/or mentions how good you look while wearing a headset (just kidding on that one). Nice-to-have items might include videos on basic flight maneuvers, a handheld GPS unit, electronic E6-B computers, flight bag, etc.

4) What kind of syllabus should the student use? What are the pros/cons of Part 61 vs. 141?

The instructor is in the best position to recommend a syllabus. The student should, however, make sure to ask for a copy of the syllabus so as to better prepare for each lesson. In regards to Part 61 schools vs. Part 141 schools for private pilot preparation, there's no significant, practical or meaningful difference, in my opinion. The fact is that a student's success has very little to do with the regulations he or she trains under but has everything to do with the instructor doing the training.

It's true that a Part 141 school has a minimum of 35 hours for private pilot training while Part 61 has a 40 hours minimum. The national average range, however, says that students acquire 60 to 70 hours of flight time before earning their private pilot certificate. On the other hand, capable students with good instructors (and good weather, good airplanes and time to train) can expect to earn a private pilot license in about 30% less time.

5) What should the student do if he or she does not seem to “click” with the CFI? What should the CFI do?

The student is the consumer and deserves the best return on his or her investment. If things aren't clicking between the instructor and the student, then the student should immediately change instructors. The best way to prevent this process from being too uncomfortable is for the student to agree to no more than three lessons when initially signing up for flight training. The student should tell the instructor that, at the end of the third lesson, he or she will evaluate the prospect for a longer term flight training commitment. This way, at the end of the third lesson, if the instructor's behavior doesn't suit the student (perhaps because the instructor likes to make bird calls into the mic when the student is talking to the tower), it's much easier to stop the training and switch to a more compatible instructor.

While I've emphasized how important it is to find a good instructor, it's equally important for the flight instructor to recognize that he or she might not click with all students (especially if the student is the one making those bird calls when it's not the appropriate time to do so). The fact is that an FBO may expect a flight instructor to fly with a student that may not be the most enjoyable person on the planet. The CFI, however, is a professional and is performing a service for his or her company. Therefore he or she can't always expect the flight training experience to be full of party hats, streamers and horns. On the other hand, the instructor has a right to expect his student to behave in an educationally responsible manner. This means that the student is expected to do the required homework and study to the satisfaction of the instructor. After all, the instructor's neck is on the line if his or her student crumples an airplane or, heaven forbid, hurts anyone in the process. If the instructor doesn't feel that his or her student is studying sufficiently to meet the basic standards of knowledge and proficiency, then the instructor should discontinue that student's flight training.

6) How can the student expedite his or her training experience?

Aside from visiting Kitty Hawk and rubbing dirt from Kill Devil Hill into their scalps, there are three things students can do to help them learn faster. First, they should begin training during the months when the weather is accommodating (or move to California and train anytime). Second, they should be willing to teach their instructor how they learn best. It's amazing to me that we'll throw ourselves at the mercy of an instructor without giving that person even a hint about the strategies with which we learn best. Third, all students should use visualization techniques to help them review the principles learned on each lesson. It's not at all unusual for good students to spend at least twice as many hours in visualization practice for ever hour in the cockpit. Fourth, purchase Microsoft  Flight Simulator 2004 and practice all the basic and advanced flying lessons in that package. I wrote those lessons and am the instructor's voice in that software package. Those lessons are very close to the real thing. In fact, the Navy uses Flight Simulator to help its Naval candidates learn about flying. From the letters I've received from students all across the country, it's obvious that these lessons produce a big benefit on expediting a student's flight training.


7) Your view on accelerated training programs (the ‘give us 10 days, we'll turn you in to a private pilot' programs.) What are their positive and negative aspects?

Let me answer that question this way. There's no way in the world I could make someone a legitimate martial arts black belt in one month, even if that person could train every day, for 12 hours a day. No way. That just can't happen. It takes at least three to five years of intensive training to acquire legitimate black belt skills. It's just not possible to see enough or hear enough to gain a sense of what is or is not possible or what works and doesn't work in the sense of defending one's self in that short time period. Similarly, a primary student trained over a period of 10 days (as compared to one trained over a period of three months) is not likely to have a sense of right and wrong or what's possible and what's not possible in the air. On the other hand, my web site ( www.rodmachado.com ) has an article describing someone who obtained her license in 13 days. She was able to do this because she had already passed her written, was in an area having fantastic weather and had one of the most capable, competent and experienced flight instructors in the business. To be fair, these accelerated programs work quite well for the instrument rating for two reasons. First, the pilot in training already knows how to fly. Second, the accelerated instrument training programs almost always guarantee that you'll get an excellent flight instructor (were this not so then the companies that do this training couldn't stay in business).

8) Does the type of aircraft (Cirrus vs. Cessna for example) the student learns in make a difference?

I've taught primary students to fly in both complex and simple airplanes. For primary training, my preference is to always train in the simplest, least complex airplane possible. A Cessna 150 or a small taildragger are excellent choices for anyone learning to fly. The reasoning here is that most of what a student would learn when flying a complex or advanced airplane (using a propeller control, raising and lowering gear, operating cowl flaps, using advanced GPS interfaces with moving map displays and so on) is incidental to the basic act of flying. These items are ancillary skills and/or areas of knowledge that can be acquired after one learns to actually fly an airplane. The important point is to learn to FLY first. That means learning basic stick and rudder skills sufficient for a student to develop confidence in his or her flying ability. This is one reason why I can teach someone to fly in a non-rudder-pedal equipped Ercoupe in the minimum FAA allowed time and transition them into a Cessna 172 in as little as five additional hours. That's a fact. On the other hand, I'm always amazed at how many pilots there are flying advanced aircraft that are deathly afraid of stalls, slow flight, crosswind landings and so on. This occurs because they didn't learn to fly an airplane. Instead, they learned to move the controls in such a way as to pass a private pilot checkride. This is a terrible shame and it often makes flying an uncomfortable, unpleasant proposition for these folks.

Another very important issue with learning to fly in a complex airplane and/or an airplane with complex avionics is that a student might spend way too much time with an instructor before soloing. I've heard it said that it's just fine in a pilot spends 50 hours with an instructor before soloing in a technically advanced airplane. The problem here is that the student, spending this much time with an instructor, starts to become dependent on that instructor for his or her feeling of comfort aloft. Remember, the purpose of solo isn't to give the instructor a rest and let his nervous system regenerate. It's to give the student confidence. I've seen it happen over and over again where an instructor is reluctant to let a qualified student solo (for whatever reason) and keeps giving that person dual instruction. Eventually, after about 35 hours or more of dual, the student no longer feels confident about his or her ability to fly the airplane alone.

Additionally, by 50 hours or so, it's possible that the student should already have his or her private pilot certificate. If the student wanted to move into a technically advanced aircraft after receiving his or her private license, it might only take an additional 5 to 10 hours of training to make this transition.

9) What are the most common learning plateaus for students?

There are two "major" learning plateaus that students typically experience during their flight training. Learning to land is the first plateau. After five or six lessons on basic airwork, most students begin work in the traffic pattern. It's here that the student's knowledge is being collected, connected and conveyed. It takes about another six to seven lessons in the pattern before the student is ready to solo. During the pattern work, students sometimes feel that they're just not improving quickly enough. The other significant learning plateau occurs when preparing for the private pilot checkride. Training for a higher level or precision can induce a noticeable learning plateau in many students. Now, many smaller learning plateaus are possible but these two are the most common. There are many ways a flight instructor can help his student off the learning plateau. One of which deals with practicing alternate tasks, such a instrument flying, when a student is stuck and not improving in another area. Another is to take a few days off and let the mind make sense of things at its own pace (no, I mean the student should take time off, not the instructor).

10) For the student who wants to fly in a glass cockpit aircraft (like the new C-182s) should they even bother to learn the steam gauges?

No. If a student insists on learning in an airplane with a glass cockpit then have at it. The only reason to learn in an aircraft with the typical "steam" gauges is that this airplane is more likely to be a simpler, less complex airplane to fly. And I've already given my reasons for taking training in these airplanes over more complex, technically advanced ones.

11)What is the most important thing for a newly minted private pilot to remember after they get the coveted ticket?

Do what I did. Leave the airport with private certificate in hand as quickly as possible before someone realizes what a terrible mistake they've made (I can't help it. Just kidding, again).

The real answer is: gain confidence and know where the real danger lies. The very best way to gain confidence in an airplane is to take long cross country flights. There's nothing that teaches self-reliance more than being away from home. That's why, when I was young, my mom told my uncle to drop me off at the nursery for a day. I hated it but it made me more confident. When you spend an entire day surrounded by plants, it's a real confidence builder. If a new pilot is nervous about taking long cross country flights, then he or she should remember that a long cross country flight is nothing more than a bunch of short cross country flights hooked together.

It's also important to remember the two main sources of aviation danger: weather and temptation . Bad weather can bite a pilot. On the other hand, no one has ever forced a private pilot to fly when the weather is bad.  Private pilots are not scheduled airline captains. So don't fly in bad weather. Second, the main reason pilots are likely to fly in bad weather, press on with low fuel or fly outside their skill level is that they don't have a schema for resisting the temptation to act improperly. In this sense, we are all our own worst enemies. What is the best way for a pilot to resist temptation? There are several ways, and one good method is to develop an aviation code of ethics (read my article titled Samurai Airmanship and other similar articles) in my book Rod Machado's Plane Talk). Any pilot that can master weather and temptation has very little to fear in an airplane.



FOR THE CFIS
1) In your opinion, what is the most important thing a CFI can do to be sure his or her student is getting the best instruction out there?

I have only one answer to this question. If an instructor wants to become the very best instructor possible, the he or she should associate with other people (instructors) that are smarter than they are. As a general rule, we are only as smart as the friends with which we associate. Generally speaking, every smart person (read: instructor) I've known got that way because he apprenticed himself to someone smarter than he was. This is how you become smart yourself. This seems to be the biggest secret on the planet without it being a real secret at all.

2) What are some of the most common mistakes CFIs make when dealing with new students?

Not asking the student how they learn and what's the best way to teach them. Instructors typically assume that they know (or should know) how their students learn best. This is like believing that putting hand lotion in your fuel tank will make your landings smoother, softer and younger looking. The fact is that the person who knows best how they learn is "that" person. So ask your students how they like to be taught (if they say they like hearing bird calls during their training, then you've got it made). Add this information to your flight instruction knowledge base then go about the business of teaching your students.

3)How can the CFIs stay ahead of the technology curve, such as the “glass” technology we are seeing now in trainers?

Unless you fly airplanes with glass technology, there's no way to feel competent using that equipment. On the other hand, if you don't plan on teaching in airplanes with glass technology or offering advice on its use, then there's no practical need to have those skills. I say this because many flight instructors feel inadequate because they know so little about using advanced technology. So what? Those same CFIs obviously have many skills and, if they aren't training in advanced airplanes, they don't need to know which button on a G-1000 to push for range information or to locate the nearest Starbucks. Don't feel bad if you don't know how to use glass technology. Only feel bad if you're teaching someone to use glass technology and don't know how to use it.

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