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Cecil Chapman · Guest

October 29, 2005

By the way when you read the following account, where you see the word
'student',, I'm obviously referring to John my CFII posing as a student! :0)

Monday I did an instruction session where I gave John a ground lesson on the
Federal Aviation Regulations. I'm getting better at the ground sessions,
largely in-part 'cause of the confidence that comes with doing something a
few times, first. My other ground session required me to teach a ground
session on aerodynamics (what makes a wing produce lift) followed in the
same lesson teaching a session on stalls, slow flight and steep turns -
which included, of course, what goes on in terms of aerodynamics in each of
the latter flight modes/aspects.

As odd as it sounds, what helped me the most was (what I mentioned before)
going down to the local office supplies store and buying a whiteboard with
dry erase markers and an eraser. I mounted the whiteboard to the left of my
flight planning area on the wall and would use it to practice giving a
lesson to my 'imaginary' student.

Taking the time to figure out the best way to use illustrations (also
figuring out how to draw <grin>) of the various things I would be
explaining. For instance the aerodynamics session was practiced this way and
when it came time for my lesson where I taught a ground session to John; it
all flowed very easily (all accomplished with approx $30 for the board and
the markers - quite a cost effective training preparation aid!)

Until my in-flight lesson, yesterday, with John,,, the in-flight lessons I
was teaching were going 'okay', but it was certainly a new skill to develop;
explaining a maneuver in a manner that would be clear to a primary student
and flying the maneuver properly while I was explaining it. A couple of
weeks earlier I had done an in-flight training session with John playing the
role of my student on his first flight. It's funny how I've acquired certain
skills and really don't give much thought to them,,, I just do them. The
challenge is learning how to explain/translate the skill into something the
student can understand.

I'm learning that one of the most useful tools is to use something that is
familiar to the student and tie it to some thing I'm trying to teach (even
if it is done by having to contrast that 'familiar thing' I am alluding to).
For instance, in helping a student to remember the right-of-way rules in
aircraft the student can be made to see many parallels in his/her experience
in driving a car. As an example, if two planes are converging on the same
position at angles to one another the airplane on the right has the
right-of-way (just like with a car at an intersection). An airplane may
overtake another slower aircraft by passing on the right while in an auto
(at least it used to be - it has since changed in California - why, I don't
know) one overtakes another vehicle from the left side.

If two planes are heading at each other, head-on, then both planes give way
to the right.. Also similar to something one would (hopefully) do in cars.

There is a concept/phenomenon called 'interference' which is where the
acquisition of a previous skill interferes with the acquisition of the new
skill. Nowhere is the latter more obvious than in learning to taxi the
aircraft. Although one can show the student that turning the yoke will not
turn the airplane on the ground and that steering is effected by using the
bottom of the rudder pedals and NOT by turning the yoke - the skill they
acquired first (that is: steering/driving a car) will initially interfere.

While giving a taxi lesson to my 'student' (John in 'disguise' <grin>) I
impressed upon the student that when learning to taxi with the rudder pedals
it is most useful to not think about it in terms of 'steering' (especially
with Cessna bungee steering - the Piper's I've found the steering to
actually be more precise and proportional), per se; rather the student
should guide the plane during taxi by thinking of applying control pressures
on the rudder pedals and then 'neutralizing' the previous control input with
opposite bottom rudder.

It's easy to forget how much you learned. For instance, when John originally
told me he wanted me to give him a lesson on taxiing I looked somewhat
perplexed because I thought about just the act of guiding the plane along
the taxiway; which requires practice. I told John this and he answered, "So,
you just start the engine and roll down the taxi way for the runway." I
said, no,, one must first call ground control to get permission to taxi to
the runway. John, then asked me,,, how do 'I' (playing the student for me)
do that? From there on,,, all the possible questions came to mind: What do
I say on the radio, how do I say it and what do I say back? What do all
those lines on the taxiway mean? What about those signs what do they mean?
How fast do I taxi? How do I stop? Once ground tells me to go to the
runway, can I just go right onto the runway and takeoff? .. You get the
idea. :0)

I have to say the latter was eye opening; I really HAD forgotten what it was
like to not know any of these things and that is precisely what I had to
recall in order to be an effective flight instructor.

Language is very important; as in the words you choose to communicate an
instruction or concept (John focused on this a bit when an instruction of
mine could be misinterpreted due to imprecise or overly complex/involved
language). When teaching a new student you really have to make sure you are
precise and clear and that (as much as possible) the way you say things
doesn't lend itself to a multiplicity of other interpretations. Precise
values,,, NUMBERS are very important to a beginning primary student. If you
tell a,relatively, brand-new student to reduce the throttle tell them to
reduce it to a specific RPM, if you ask them to turn,, tell them to what
heading they should turn and what bank angle they should use.

Many other things to share, but I did want to go on with the lesson I gave
to John (posing as a student), yesterday.

John had asked me to prepare a lesson on steep turns (Private pilot
standard), slow flight and power-on and power-off stalls, after our previous
ground session on Monday.

So, yesterday (Thursday) afternoon (in the Cessna 172) my 'student' and I
went off for a lesson. Started with more taxi practice for my student - once
again trying to be precise in my instruction on correction.

I had the 'student' follow through with me on the controls on takeoff,
showing him to quickly verify 'green' on the oil pressure and temperature
and to confirm the airspeed indicator needle was coming 'live' on initial
roll-out down the runway and how to maintain control while we were rolling
down the runway.

Before long, we were in the practice area and I had the student perform 90
degree clearing turns to either side (clearing turns are performed to make
certain the practice area is clear). I told the student that instead of
looking at their heading indicator to find out where 90 degrees from their
current position was, to merely look at what the right or left wing is
pointed at and put what was off the wing to off the nose (i.e., since the
angle between the nose and the wing is a 'perfect' 90 degree angle).

I started by demonstrating a steep (Private Pilot standards is between 40 to
45 degrees) for my student. I showed him how after 25 to 30 degrees of bank
that either backpressure on the yoke or power would have to be added in
order to maintain altitude (as is required of the maneuver). So, I
demonstrated one full 360 degree steep turn to the right followed
immediately upon coming upon our beginning reference point to a 360 degree
turn to the left.

Now it was the 'student's' turn. I asked which side the 'student' would like
to make the first of the 360 degree turns towards and he picked the right.
The student begins a steep turn to the right and just after only 15 degrees
of bank starts adding in back pressure (pulling back on the yoke). I point
out to them that this is too early and that they will gain altitude if they
don't wait 'till there are past 25 degrees or so, until beginning the
application of the backpressure. Another reason a student will do this is
that in turns from the right from the left seat there is a visual illusion
(because of where the pilot is sitting) that the cowling on the nose appears
to be lower/descending and the student will pull back thinking they are
losing altitude (when in fact, they aren't). By the way a similar issue
hampers new students when turning to the left, the cowling appears to be
high so they end up 'diving' the plane.

So, the student is making the steep turn and starts to lose altitude so he
starts to pull back on the yoke while in the steep bank. I remind them (and
guide them with some suggestive pressures from the yoke on my side) that
pulling up in a steep bank significantly increases the load factor on the
wings - so what we need to do is to lessen the bank,,, apply the back
pressure until we've regained the lost altitude and then roll back into the
steep 45 degree bank.

Most of the things went well,,, my 'student' <grin> didn't make too many
mistakes. During the stall demonstrations John (playing the student) did
some very 'interesting' things. My 'student' was demonstrating a power-off
stall and didn't raise the nose high enough and the plane 'languished' in a
pre-stall condition. I explain to the student along with supportive control
input that they need to bring the nose up higher. We get the stall horn, the
aerodynamic buffeting and then the stall breaks. Student adds power as they
should but then sees (at least what looks to them to be) too much ground and
hauls back on the yoke about to induce a secondary stall - but I'm ready on
the yoke and apply the forward pressure to bring us to the horizon. Verbally
explaining very calmly what needs to be done. John was in 'rare form' as a
student on this particular day. He did some stalls where he failed to keep
the wings level (though he kept the plane coordinated - ball perfectly
centered) so the stall breaks and we are descending to the right and to the
left which I quickly correct, explaining the error as it occurs and what I
do to correct it and how to avoid it in the future (the trick in judgment as
a CFI is allowing the relatively new student to make some errors but always
correct it before it becomes anything that might seriously scare them and
explain the corrective inputs (following through with the appropriate
control pressures). In the very early stages of training I believe one is
endeavoring to build confidence in this new student - after all,,, though
that person may have dreamed of flying most of their life, a portion of the
'reptilian's part of our brain (as well as some of the student's higher
thought centers) are likely (in this early stage of exposure) concerned
about not being near to the ground that they have spent most of their life
upon. :)

I told John (the CFII at this point) before the lesson began that I never
wanted to be one of those instructors that were unnecessarily 'heavy on the
yoke' - i.e., wouldn't allow the student (based of course on level of
training/experience) to have as full control as their training to-date,
allows. Way back when I was starting work on my PPL (at the school I now
euphemistically refer to as 'the evil school' <g>) one of the 5 (yes
five,,, they kept leaving the school but not because of me <g>) instructors
I had was one of those that never relaxed a CONSTANT iron grip on the
controls. I remember performing stalls with that particular instructor and
he would ask if I felt 'such and such' and I would tell him 'no', I couldn't
feel much at all (but unfortunately didn't mention realize it was because of
the CFI's 'G.I. Joe Kung Fu Grip' he had on the yoke. While there were
certainly some good instructors at the 'evil school <w> I did (for later on
in my current CFI training) pick up a lot of things that I would strive NOT
to do as an instructor. One thing I'll always remember about one of the
five instructors I had at 'evil school' Smile

is he would come to each lesson,
saying out loud and then asking me what we did last time we flew. It was
clear every flight day that he didn't prepare and I thought very little of
him as a result - hence I write in stone for MY CFI instruction to always
make it a point to become prepared to each lesson; taking the time a little
before each session, also, to review what was done with the specific student
with clear objectives (also stated to the student) on what we trying to
accomplish and then where we would 'go' next. Maybe in hindsight, having to
endure the first 20 hours of my primary flight training at the 'evil school'
<w> gave me a lot of insights on what flight instruction should NOT be.

BACK TO CURRENT DAY:

John told me that (not always being heavy on the controls) was a good thing
to always strive for, because a student needs to feel the control pressures
and how the aircraft responds. An instructor that is ALWAYS (i.e..,
inappropriate to the situation) heavy on the yoke, takes away any feel for
the student and seriously hampers his/her progress.

Of course the latter has to be gauged appropriately. Obviously a relatively,
fresh, new, student should be merely 'following along' with the instructor
when first exposed to and initially learning all the fine control nuances in
effecting a good landing or takeoff.

John (as my CFII) asked me to demonstrate some of the specialty stalls and
stall recoveries that can be asked for during the CFI checkride. So I
demonstrated an accelerated stall (a stall while in a bank), a secondary
stall, an elevator trim stall and (needed to be talked through on this one,
'cause I had only done a few in previous training) a cross-controlled
stall - probably one of the 'most important' (so-to-speak) type of stalls to
avoid and recognize very early. Most were okay,,,, they all could have been
better but John seemed pleased for the most part.

John told me that when we got within one and one half miles of the airport
(we had since been cleared for landing by the tower) that my 'student' would
reappear and that I should give a lesson, talking him through a landing
followed by a go-round,,, followed by another landing.

So, we're approaching the runway threshold the student moves throttle to
idle and begins his round out (the portion of the landing where one is
flying straight-and-level over the runway) a fair deal too high. So I tell
the student this and the 'student' pushes forward on the yoke,
overcompensating, to get to a lower altitude. I popped in with control on
the yoke showing and telling them that they needn't and shouldn't make that
gross a maneuver to lose altitude over the runway as we weren't THAT far
from the runway. So, my student is at a good roundout altitude and I talk
them through the flare. The student gets a little 'flighty' on the rudders
just before landing and has us going slightly out of line with the direction
of the runway (that is, the aircraft was very slightly cocked out of line
with the runway centerline) and I automatically kicked in the appropriate
amount of rudder and reminded the student as I did it, of the importance of
maintaining longitudinal alignment with the runway. Student did a beautiful
greaser landing (though I suspect the 'presence' of John in the 'student'
helped a lot <g>).. Brought up the flaps and did a go-round,,,, student came
around a second time with better control over all,, just a few issues which
I quickly addressed verbally and with physical inputs.

During my debriefing with John (my 'student' had 'mysteriously' disappeared)
we went over how the lesson went and I must say I was pleased in that I felt
it had gone pretty well for the most part (i.e., sometimes I have lessons
where John is pleased but I'm not as happy about my performance, feeling it
could have been better). He complemented me again on the prompt rudder
correction just before touchdown, complete with an explanation.

You know the work on the CFI came at the 'right' time. I know and have
experienced so much more (although I still can't help wishing I had been
flying for 30 years before getting my CFI like my instructor had under his
belt). For instance I could have never met the 'unique' stall demonstrations
my student was making (John purposely making some subtle and some glaring
errors) with a totally relaxed manner and appropriate action - without all
that I have experienced and learned over the past 6 years.

Had a great lesson!

P.S. Next week I will be flying (Commercial airlines) to the AOPA Expo in
Florida. I'll be there from next Wednesday and leaving Sunday morning.

My wife can't come this year due to scheduling conflicts, etc.. so I'm going
to bring my study materials to review on the plane and during the evenings
where I'm not attending one of the special evening events. I'm not going to
the Pirate Party on Friday night but I will go to the opening luncheon on
Thursday and the closing banquet on Saturday night and of course; I'll
attend all the educational seminars I'm interested in.

I look forward to these expo's; nothing but planes, fellow pilots, talking
about flying and learning about flying through a variety of different
seminars and getting to see the latest products in the vendor areas. Always
is 'heaven' for me; get to 'eat breathe and sleep aviation for three days in
a row! <GRIN> - probably a 'sign' that I really need to go to Airventure
next year, too! ;0)

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Good Flights!

Cecil E. Chapman
CP-ASEL-IA

Student - C.F.I.

Check out my personal flying adventures from my first flight to the
checkride AND the continuing adventures beyond!
Complete with pictures and text at: www.bayareapilot.com

"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery -

"We who fly, do so for the love of flying. We are alive in the air with
this miracle that lies in our hands and beneath our feet"
- Cecil Day Lewis -

Borislav Deianov · Guest

Cecil Chapman <bayareapilot (AT) sbcglobal (DOT) net> wrote: