Flight Training Archives - FLYING Magazine https://cms.flyingmag.com/tag/flight-training/ The world's most widely read aviation magazine Tue, 22 Oct 2024 21:30:01 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.1 CAE Develops AR For Flight Training https://www.flyingmag.com/training/cae-develops-ar-for-flight-training/ Tue, 22 Oct 2024 21:29:57 +0000 https://www.flyingmag.com/?p=219905&preview=1 Company has developed a system that is based on the Apple Vision Pro AR system

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Pilot training company CAE is developing an augmented reality system to supplement simulator training for pilots.

The company has developed a system that is based on the Apple Vision Pro AR system. The high-fidelity imagery of aircraft flight decks allows trainees to manipulate all the controls and view the instruments and status indicators in real time as they do so.

The system won’t replace full-on flight training device hours, but it will allow trainees to master homework tasks.

“The Apple Vision Pro App developed by CAE will allow pilots to familiarize themselves with the flight deck, practice critical procedures and develop muscle memory for key functions from anywhere,” Emmanuel Levitte, CAE’s chief technology and product officer, said in a statement. 

The company has fully developed the app for the Bombardier Global 7500 but says it can be adapted to any aircraft.

AVweb’s Russ Niles took the goggles for a spin and said the system is startlingly realistic.

“The fidelity and the virtual manipulation of the controls is hard to describe until you’ve done it,” Niles said. “With some practice, a trainee could be confidently running procedures and dealing with emergencies in a realistic way without leaving the couch. The prospects for this kind of training device are significant.”

Niles spoke with CAE’s Director of Incubation Eric Fortin, who developed the system, about its possibilities.


Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

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How to Ensure Stable Approaches https://www.flyingmag.com/what-a-cfi-wants-you-to-know/how-to-ensure-stable-approaches/ Tue, 22 Oct 2024 14:50:30 +0000 https://www.flyingmag.com/?p=219872&preview=1 Rushing a landing checklist can lead to a late configured airplane and an unstabilized approach.

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When a pilot gets behind the airplane in the pattern, it is never a good thing. 

Rushing the checklist—or worse, forgetting the checklist items—leads to a late configured or nonconfigured airplane or being too fast or too high on final. All these things result in an unstabilized approach.

Unless there is an emergency on board, the best course of action is usually going around, flying the pattern again, and focusing on staying ahead of the aircraft.

Teaching the Stable Approach

There’s a lot that goes into a stable approach to landing.

The aircraft has to be at the correct speed and correctly configured for landing, such as landing gear down (that’s the big one), flaps at the proper setting, proper speed, etc. This includes trimming the aircraft so that it stays on speed and can land on the first third of the runway, preferably on the numbers, and stops within 100 feet of that mark with minimal braking.

Configuration of the aircraft should not be done aggressively. Slamming down the landing gear and dumping in the flaps all the way in at the same time results in unstable pitch moments. This can be demonstrated at a safe altitude in the practice area. The addition of flaps on one fell swoop followed by their rapid retraction is definitely a teachable moment, as the pitch change is often surprising, dramatic and swift, and not something you’d want to experience a few hundred feet over the ground.

Learn the Landing on the Ground

Learning to land and the stabilized approach should begin with a ground session.

I have found the use of a whiteboard with a drawing of the runway, anointed with the aircraft configuration, checklist use, appropriate airspeeds, and altitudes for each leg and distance from the runway to be an excellent tool. I ask my flight students to copy the drawing with their own drawing (and not take a photo), and in future lessons are asked to re-create it from scratch to show learning has taken place.

This diagram should also include notations of when the checklist is used.

Faux Pattern

One of the best techniques to teach pattern procedures is something I call “faux pattern,” which is done in the practice area several thousand feet in the air to facilitate recovery at 1,500 feet agl.

The cardinal compass points are the “legs” of the pattern. After clearing turns, the learner configures the airplane to enter a 45-degree angle to downwind and performs as if they are in the pattern. This includes managing airspeed and aircraft configuration.

When the aircraft is on “final,” the CFI calls for a go-around, or gives the learner a scenario like “Uh-oh! There’s a disabled aircraft on the runway! What do you do?”

After a couple of run-throughs, a learner’s pattern work usually improves substantially.

Mistakes Happen

Instructors need to be very careful about what they allow the learner to do, as in mistakes they are allowed to make, because the pattern can be very unforgiving. I have seen a few techniques that gave me pause.

I was doing a stage check for a learner who kept revving the engine on downwind. When I asked why he did that, he said, “because it’s fun!” Another pulled the mixture to idle on downwind to “check it,” claiming that is what the previous CFI taught him to do. This was incorrect information. The previous CFI informed me that he couldn’t break the learner of the habit, so he fired him.

It is not just primary learners who develop strange habits in the pattern.

A “return to flying” commercial pilot and a former CFI announced his technique for landing a Cessna 172 in gusty winds was to come in with no flaps then dump all the flaps in on short final and put the aircraft into an aggressive slip to landing. He revealed this during the preflight briefing as we discussed aircraft performance. I was staring at him, waiting for the punch line—hoping there was one—but before I could reply, the owner of the flight school, who was sitting a few feet away in the lobby, loudly announced, “Not in one of my airplanes, you don’t!”

For the unfamiliar: there is a placard in the C-172 that reads “Avoid slips with flaps extended.” 

Be Ready for the Go-Around

Does your pre-landing checklist include verbalization of the phrase “go around is always an option”?

A senior instructor I flew with told me he added it because he was trying to reduce the startle factor when he told his learners to go around. He also made it a rule that if the aircraft wasn’t perfectly on speed, configured, and on glide path to touch down by the second center stripe on the 3,400-foot runway, the learner would go around.

Occasionally, some students pushed back when it appeared they would land long, as the Cessna and Pipers they flew didn’t need the entire 3,400 feet to come to a full stop. The instructor replied, “Someday you won’t have that much runway.” He was right, of course.

If you are flying at a towered airport and the controller tells you to go-around, it’s not up for debate—go around. It is possible that you don’t have the bigger picture. There could be something larger, faster, and turbine coming up behind you. Know what to do, and the order in which to do it.

If You Go Around

When the go-around goes bad, it is often because the pilot does not use enough right rudder and the aircraft has too much nose-up trim resulting in a stall. Anticipate the need for right rudder and be ready to push the nose down to counteract the left turning tendency and pitch up with the adding of full power.

Another bad habit particular to aircraft with retractable gear is taking the flaps out abruptly while simultaneously bringing the gear up. This creates a lot of drag, and it is not uncommon that the aircraft will settle back on to the runway with the landing gear—or part of it—retracted. This is expensive and embarrassing.

Make the practice of go-arounds something you do on a regular basis as part of your personal proficiency and currency program. You never know when you will need those skills.

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Radio Failures While Learning to Fly https://www.flyingmag.com/what-a-cfi-wants-you-to-know/radio-failures-while-learning-to-fly/ Tue, 15 Oct 2024 17:51:32 +0000 https://www.flyingmag.com/?p=219595&preview=1 Thought of losing radio contact can be a frightening experience for some pilots.

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Learning to talk on the radio and be comfortable with it is one of the more challenging aspects of learning to fly.

Most pilots fall into one of two camps: If they trained at a towered airport, they may be anxious about flying at a nontowered airport. If a pilot trains at a nontowered airport, they may be anxious about flying at a towered airport.

There are pilots who, after they earn their certificates, alter their flying so they can avoid talking on the radio. You may know someone like this—they will fly almost “Z” shaped patterns instead of a straight line during a cross-country flight to avoid transitioning airspace that would necessitate them getting a clearance from a control tower. Often this reluctance is rooted in a bad experience they had during their student pilot days, such as the dreaded radio failure during a cross-country or at an airport with a control tower.

The thought of losing radio contact can be a frightening experience for some pilots—and a nothing burger for others. It comes down to how well you have been trained. Radio failure under IFR is considered an emergency when you are in IMC, but in VFR conditions it is more an annoyance and distraction.

Radio procedures need to be learned before the student pilot is soloed. Turning on the radio, tuning in the frequency, determining transmission (look for the “TX” on the display) and adjusting volume should be demonstrated and practiced. Some radios can be finicky.

The light gun signals should be memorized or, at the very least, written down and kept handy for quick reference. Some kneeboards have them printed on them. Some pilots carry reminder cards that have the information on them along with notes on troubleshooting an apparent radio failure: check the volume, check the frequency, check that your headset is plugged in, use the hand microphone, try the other push-to-talk if installed, etc.

The most important thing is don’t forget to fly the airplane and maintain situational awareness as you troubleshoot.

Many pilots carry a hand-held radio that interfaces with their headset in the event they experience radio failure. That’s a great idea—just be sure the batteries in the radio are charged. It is incredibly annoying to reach for the handheld, hook it up, and find it dead as rock.

If a hand-held radio is not in your budget, consider getting a portable intercom. They can be battery powered (most use a 9-volt battery), or plugged into the aircraft’s cigarette lighter. Get one that utilizes an external push-to-talk (PTT)—it’s handy to have one of your own.

Sometimes, it is the push-to-talk that fails and this can be a hassle when the PTT is hardwired into the yoke or stick. You find yourself pushing the button at weird angles and there is that click, but the TX doesn’t appear on the radio stack face. If this happens, check to see if the aircraft has a hand mic stashed in the glove box. If it doesn’t, be ready to hook up your PTT.

Although portable PTTs aren’t terribly expensive and are easy to install and remove, be advised that they do wear out. That’s because they are mostly plastic, which is an unforgiving material. When it breaks or wears out, it’s done.

Light Gun

Show of hands: How many of you have seen the ATC light signals from the air?

If you have a towered airport near you and they aren’t too busy, you might ask the controller to give you the light gun signals when you are on approach. I often do this with my learners. The caveat is we are usually the first airplane in the pattern when the tower opens in the morning. I usually call the tower a day in advance to set up the light gun flight.

We fly the pattern and I take the airplane on base to final as that is when the controller hits us with the light gun. The learner looks at the tower and tells me what colors they see. The approach terminates with a go-around. On the second pass, the student flies, and the controller brings us in for a full stop landing with the light gun signals.

Landing with the light gun is a pilot rite of passage.

The first time it happened to me, I was a post-solo private candidate based at Tacoma Narrows Airport (KTIW), a Class D facility under the Mode C veil of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (KSEA). It was at the end of a dual instructional cross-country flight. We were about halfway home when I noticed low voltage light activated in our mighty Cessna 172. The appropriate checklist was run in an attempt to troubleshoot the issue, but no luck. Load shedding took place.

We discussed diverting to nearby Bremerton National Airport (KPWT), a nontowered facility in Class E airspace where radio communications are not required, but a good idea for position reports and situational awareness. At a nontowered airport you stay outside the pattern and observe the flow of traffic, then enter when appropriate. However, we knew from experience that Bremerton was much busier than KTIW as so many of the pilots who trained there did so because they didn’t want to “mess with a tower.”

We listened to the automatic terminal information services (ATIS) at KTIW then monitored the tower frequency. There were two other aircraft in the pattern. The CFI contacted the tower when we were 10 miles out, telling controllers we were approaching from the west and about to lose the radio, so could they please bring us in with the light gun? Before they could reply, he said, “This is my last transmission,” as I put 7600 into the transponder.

A few minutes later and with heads on a swivel, we rolled on to downwind. He watched the tower while I flew.

“There it is,” he said.

I looked over to see a flashing green light plain as day. The steady green came when we were on base, and I did my first no-flap landing—the flaps were also electric, so I wasn’t even going to monkey with them. Learning had taken place.

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Hurricane Milton Prompts NAFI to Postpone Summit https://www.flyingmag.com/training/hurricane-milton-prompts-nafi-to-postpone-summit/ Wed, 09 Oct 2024 17:45:54 +0000 https://www.flyingmag.com/?p=219231&preview=1 Wednesday afternoon, the Category 4 hurricane had wind speeds of about 145 mph and was predicted to create a storm surge of more than 10 feet.

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The National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) is postponing its summit in Daytona Beach, Florida, due to Hurricane Milton, the organization announced.

Wednesday afternoon, the Category 4 hurricane had wind speeds of about 145 mph and was predicted to create a storm surge of more than 10 feet along west-central coast of Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The NAFI Summit was scheduled for October 15-17 at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University campus. The event is touted as an opportunity for flight instructors of all levels to increase their skills through mentorship, presentations, and peer support. 

“Our top priority is to keep everyone safe,” NAFI said in a statement to FLYING. “The aftermath of this storm will likely cause transportation issues for attendees and exhibitors. Also, we want to free up resources like hotels and rental cars for Florida residents impacted by this hurricane. We have therefore decided to postpone NAFI Summit.”

NAFI officials said they are in touch with the staff at Embry-Riddle in regard to alternative dates.

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Ottawa Executive Airport Sets Sights on Future Growth https://www.flyingmag.com/real-estate/ottawa-executive-airport-sets-sights-on-future-growth/ Mon, 07 Oct 2024 16:10:23 +0000 https://www.flyingmag.com/?p=219044&preview=1 Michigan airpark is home to more than two dozen residents and boasts a 3,800-foot-long paved runway, 36 hangars, and a flight school.

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Ottawa Executive Airport (Z98) in Zeeland, Michigan, is a vibrant airport with a mix of commercial and residential activity. 

It wasn’t always, though. The airport dates back to 1990, when Randy Pugh graded the first runway onto a section of recently acquired farmland.

“Everybody asks that question. Why in the heck did you build an airport?” Pugh said. “I was young and wanted my own place. That’s how it started out, and it just snowballed from that. I actually had two other partners when we started the airport originally. Both are gone now, but we really just wanted a place of our own. So, we bought a 240-acre farm and started to figure out how we’d get a runway.”

The Ottawa Executive Airport opened in 1990.  [Courtesy: Ottawa Executive Airport]

Creating the runway, as well as adding roads and utilities, required a significant amount of work that he has shared with his wife, Gail. Their son Brad is now the airport’s primary caretaker and majority owner. Pugh has two partners, Bryan Redder and Mike Koetje.

The airport features a flight school, several rows of hangars, an on-site aviation medical examiner (AME) at Ottawa Executive, and 26 residences have direct taxiway access.

“After we built the runway, everybody that we knew in the aviation community all wanted a piece for themselves,” Randy Pugh said. “We thought that since we had already built the runway, maybe we would sell them a lot. That’s how the airpark started. I was in the construction business and built homes my whole life, so this really fit into my wheelhouse. I would sell lots, then build the homes and develop the airport as we went along.”

An aerial view of Ottawa Executive Airport (Z98) in Zeeland, Michigan. [Courtesy: Ottawa Executive Airport]

The first 10 lots sold quickly, with the remaining later acquired by aviators sporadically in the years since.

“I am a pilot, my husband is a pilot, and many of the others here are pilots, which is one of the reasons that we moved here,” said Linda Walker, who has lived at the airpark with her husband, John, since 2021. “After we retired, we decided to live the dream by living with our airplane [a Piper Arrow] and fortunately found the perfect place to live.”

The airpark, which is in a town of about 5,000 residents located about 30 minutes outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan, is also a short drive from the sandy coastline of Lake Michigan.

“We had previously come to visit the area to see friends and had known about the airpark,” Walker said. “So, when we decided to retire to an airpark, this one was in front of our minds, and it was a perfect fit.”

According to Walker, living at the airport’s executive estates has been an experience that has been better than they could have ever imagined.

There are 26 residences within the airpark.  [Courtesy: Ottawa Executive Airport]

“Having a large, attached hangar and garage allows us to keep all our ‘toys’ (plane, cars, and boat) right at home in one place,” she said. “We love being able to walk into our hangar and go flying at any time without driving to an airport. Where we lived previously, we had to drive 45 minutes one way to the airport to go flying. We also enjoy the camaraderie of our pilot neighbors and love watching planes take off and land right from our home.”

Phil Cook has firsthand experience with both the residential and commercial sides of the airport. He moved to Ottawa Executive in 2016, which ultimately led him to pursuing an unexpectedly early career change.

“Well, it just happened by happenstance actually,” Cook said. “We built our house out here and moved in eight years ago. It wasn’t long [after] living here at the airpark that I became a part of several aircraft partnerships, which led me to getting more involved with the airport. That’s when [Randy Pugh] asked me if I might consider taking over the flight school.”

In August, the business celebrated its sixth year under Cook’s leadership, and he was able to recently retire from his former career as a technology consultant to focus on the flight school full time.

“I had always thought that I may become a flight instructor as a retirement job one of these days, way in the future,” Cook said. “But with this opportunity that was presented to me, I leased the airplane from the current flight school and the airport and it kind of grew from there. Now, we have six instructors and seven aircraft: everything from a Cessna 150 to a Liberty XL-2 to a Twin Comanche. We also have contracted with a local instructor for seaplane training as well.”

The airport’s 3,800-by 60-foot asphalt runway has pilot-controlled lighting.  [Courtesy: Ottawa Executive Airport]

The airport is poised well for the future. All residential lots are spoken for, but there is growth at the south end of the field. According to Brad Pugh, this activity positions the airport well for the coming decades.

“We are working on a lot of different stuff right now,” he said. “We have an RNAV approach coming soon that we have been working on for three years. And we just upgraded the runway lights, got a PAPI system put in, and remodeled the FBO.”

The airport currently has a 3,800-by-60-foot  asphalt runway with pilot-controlled lighting. There are currently 36 hangars at the airport.

“We do have room to build more hangars and hope to in the future, we will also offer a land lease option,” Brad Pugh said. “We just broke ground on another phase of the airport where we are developing an area to sell lots and allow people to build and own their hangars. We currently have the site prepped and are in permits for the first units.

“We are also looking at the runway. It’s going to need to be resurfaced in the next five to eight years, so we are also looking at maybe even lengthening it. We are constantly looking at different avenues to improve the airport.”

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Flying Musicians Association Now Accepting Scholarship Applications https://www.flyingmag.com/training/flying-musicians-association-now-accepting-scholarship-applications/ Thu, 03 Oct 2024 17:17:13 +0000 https://www.flyingmag.com/?p=218909&preview=1 The organization has awarded 17 scholarships in the past 11 years.

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What do flying and music have in common? Both can be lifelong passions. And the pursuit of both can be expensive. 

The Flying Musicians Association (FMA) would like to help students discover aviation and enhance their musical skills through scholarships.

The FMA, which was founded in 2009, recognizes the link between musicians and aviators. Both pursuits require dedication, focus, and the acquisition of knowledge and physical skills. And both can bring together people from diverse backgrounds on common ground.

The FMA has two scholarships available. Its Solo Learn to Fly Program will take a high school student up through their first solo, and the Swing Wing scholarship will enable a deserving young person to attend New York Hot Jazz Camp.

“FMA members love assisting others who share our passions of flying and music,” John Zapp, FMA president and CEO, said in a statement. “To be able to assist and watch our student members grow through aviation and music while inspiring and assisting others is such a rewarding experience.”

The FMA has awarded 17 scholarships in 11 years. In addition to the scholarships, each nominee is onboarded as a student member of the association and assigned a mentor. Mentorship is key when beginning an aviation career. A mentor can provide guidance on selecting a flight school, what to look for in an instructor, and offer encouragement along the way.

How to Apply

The  Swing Wing scholarship is open to all members of FMA between the ages of 18 and 28. Exceptions can be made for members under 18 with parental consent.

The scholarships are made available through support of organizations, businesses, and individuals in both the music and aviation industry. One of the association’s key members is country music star Aaron Tippin, who also holds a commercial pilot certificate and A&P rating.

More information about how to apply for the Solo Learn to Fly Program may be found here, and the Swing Wing scholarship here.

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FAA Filing Opens Up Operations for Logging Time https://www.flyingmag.com/news/faa-filing-opens-up-operations-for-logging-time/ Thu, 03 Oct 2024 13:22:29 +0000 https://www.flyingmag.com/?p=218861&preview=1 Some troublesome restrictions may be on the way out.

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The FAA on Wednesday announced a public filing in the Federal Register of a 118-page final rule that states it will open up several areas of operations enabling pilots to credit flight time toward civil regulatory requirements.

Notably, under the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, the final rule amends the operating regulations for “experimental aircraft to permit certain flight training, testing, and checking in these aircraft without a letter of deviation authority.”

Also, under the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, the “same relief will be extended to certain flight training, testing, and checking in limited category, primary category, and experimental light sport aircraft.” That ruling also revises certain amendments related to logging recent flight experience, flight instructor privileges, flight training in aircraft holding special airworthiness certificates, and the “related prohibitions on conducting these activities for compensation or hire.”

The new ruling also allows pilots conducting public aircraft operations to log that time toward their civil regulatory requirements, consistent with the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018.

Effective dates for the changes are specified as 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.


Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

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FAA Drops Expiration Date on CFI Certificate https://www.flyingmag.com/training/faa-drops-expiration-date-on-cfi-certificate/ Tue, 01 Oct 2024 19:43:37 +0000 https://www.flyingmag.com/?p=218778&preview=1 A renewal based on activities is still required.

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The FAA is removing the expiration date of flight instructor certificates, it announced Tuesday.

The agency’s new rule aligning flight instructor certificates with other airman certificates goes into effect December 1.

However, according to the FAA,  instructors will still need to renew their certificate every 24 calendar months by completing a Flight Instructor Refresher Clinic (FIRC), acquiring an additional instructor certificate, or by additional instructional activity. That activity, according to the rule, includes, “at least 15 flight activities recognized under the FAA-sponsored pilot proficiency program, during which the flight instructor evaluated at least five different pilots and has made the necessary endorsements in the logbooks of each pilot for each activity.”

Additionally, the rule said that CFIs who endorse at least five applicants for a practical test in 24 calendar months and have a 80 percent passage rate can also use this per 61.197(b)(2)(i) to renew their certificates.

Aligning Airman Certificates

According to the 35-page document published in the Federal Register, the removal of the expiration date will bring the CFI certificate in line with the private and commercial certificates that do not have expiration dates.

Additionally, it is seen as a cost saving measure as it will save the FAA the expense of printing and mailing reissued plastic certificates.

The final rule amends Part 61 of Title 14 in the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) on the reinstatement requirements for flight instructor certificates providing a CFI who has let their certificate lapse a three-month grace period to do an FIRC to regain privileges. Prior to the rule the only option was for the lapsed instructor to take a checkride.

The removal of an expiration date will mean a change in the way instructors endorse a client’s logbook per FAR 61.51, as instead of noting the CFI certificate expiration date, the CFI will note recency of experience.

This final rule also adds two new methods for flight instructors to qualify to train initial applicants and relocates and codifies the requirements for relief for U.S. military and civilian personnel who seek to renew their expired flight instructor certificate but are challenged because they are outside the U.S.

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Finding an Advocate in Flight Lessons https://www.flyingmag.com/what-a-cfi-wants-you-to-know/finding-an-advocate-in-flight-lessons/ Tue, 01 Oct 2024 14:39:40 +0000 https://www.flyingmag.com/?p=218739&preview=1 Pilot training is a lot easier when a student is working with a CFI who is invested in their success.

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At many flight schools the business model is whoever is available that day and whose schedule matches your own becomes your flight instructor.

Most first-time flight students accept this, not knowing that they can change instructors if it’s not a good fit. They may not know it’s not a good fit unless someone points it out to them. 

Your instructor should be available at least twice a week for lessons, should be able to answer your questions and provide you with a syllabus, or at the very least an outline of what you can expect in each phase of training. And perhaps most importantly, your CFI should be your advocate—helping you over the obstacles and, to some extent, helping you move forward in your training.

School Culture

By definition, an advocate is someone who supports a cause or person. In this case, the flight student is also the customer.

Ask if the flight school business model supports CFI advocacy for the learners. You may get a deer-in-the-headlights look. It often boils down to a single CFI assigned to a learner, rather than the learner flying with whomever is available at that time. If there are multiple CFIs working with the learner, it can be challenging for the student to connect with an individual and for a particular CFI to become an advocate for them.

The benefit of having a CFI who will advocate for you can make all the difference. It is a lot easier to learn when you are working with a CFI who is invested in your success. This CFI will give you the tools you need to be a safe and competent pilot. You will be taught how to use the syllabus, Airman Certification Standards, Federal Aviation Regulations/Aeronautical Information Manual, Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge and the Airplane Flying Handbook rather than falling back on the dreaded phrase “my instructor told me.”

What to Expect

Having your CFI as an advocate doesn’t mean the CFI will pencil whip your logbook, bribe the DPE, or allow you to cut corners. On the contrary, they will learn how to best teach you and then apply that knowledge.

For example, if you are a flight student who needs something tangible to hold in their hand to grasp a concept, your CFI might create a model of airspace for you to hold as you learn.

If you are an athlete and play multiple sports, the CFI may use a sports metaphor to help you grasp a concept. Aiming at a particular spot on the runway and knowing that you will touch down just past it, for example, is similar to the way a forward pass in football is thrown ahead of the receiver.

A CFI who is your advocate will also likely experiment until they find what teaching method works best for you. They will also help you find a DPE that works best with your personality, and may even make introductions to help put you at ease.

A CFI that advocates for you will be supportive when you are successful and offer gentle correction when something needs to change. They will listen to your concerns, encourage you to develop your own weather minimums, and follow the IMSAFE pilot fitness checklist.

There will be days when the weather is beyond your capability and comfort level, and, to some extent, what can be managed by dual instruction. Remember, the purpose of flight training is to teach someone how to fly, not for the CFI to show off their skills. Both the CFI and learner need to ask themselves, “What will the learner get out of this today?”

There may be times when the flight student perceives they are not being treated fairly, such as if they were not allowed to fly because their airplane was given to someone else. Perhaps it was because those other learners had check rides coming up in a day, and those take priority. This needs to be explained to the student up front because hard feelings limit learning.

If it appears the school is trying to stretch out a learner’s training by only allowing them to fly once a week, it’s time to have a talk with the school scheduling department. It may not be aware that this tactic is not in the best interest of the flight student, as it makes it near impossible to retain knowledge or skill. 

If the student is getting in their own way but not having the time or resources to fly more than once a week, it is time to have a talk with them about putting off training until they have the time and resources to commit to flying at least three times a week.

If it comes down to a personality clash between the learner and CFI, it’s best for the flight student to fly with someone else. Be up-front, be polite, be professional, and make the change. Remember, learning to fly is about the student’s needs.

To the flight students, if your CFI suggests you fly with someone else, this can be a favor. If they truly are your advocate, they want what is best for you.

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Young Eagles Pass 2M Youth Flight Mark https://www.flyingmag.com/training/young-eagles-pass-2m-youth-flight-mark/ Fri, 27 Sep 2024 18:54:04 +0000 https://www.flyingmag.com/?p=218570&preview=1 EAA has added 700 new volunteer pilots this year.

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Young Eagles, the Experimental Aircraft Association’s youth aviation program, has flown more than 2.4 million flights, of which more than 38,000 came in 2024, according to the organization.

“It’s been great to see Young Eagles activity return to pre-pandemic levels,” David Leiting, Jr., Eagles program manager, said in a statement. “We thank all our pilots and ground support volunteers, who are planting those seeds with young people that will keep aviation vibrant for years to come.”

This year also marked a change in leadership for Young Eagles as former NFL All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham moved from the program’s co-chair to chairman. Already an active Young Eagles pilot, Graham succeeds airshow legend Sean D. Tucker, who spent a decade leading the program.

More Pilots Needed

Young Eagles flights are organized through local EAA chapters. Sometimes there are individual flights or daylong rallies where volunteer pilots take children between the ages of 8 and 17 for short flights.

There’s always a need for more pilots, Leiting said, noting that EAA added 700 new volunteer pilots this year. 

“As the old guard begins to hang up the headset, it is imperative that new volunteer pilots begin participating,” Leiting said. “There is always an abundance of youth thrilled to take their first flight, while the volunteer pilots can be the limiting factor. I challenge any pilot who is not involved in the program to consider flying just a handful of Young Eagles each year. It will provide you with a great reason to fly, you’ll be paying it forward to the next generation, and I promise you that the reaction out of these youth will be the best part of the experience.”

[Courtesy: David Leiting]

Most Young Eagles events are more than a ride in an airplane. Many EAA chapters offer an age-appropriate ground school. Sporty’s Pilot Shop, which is a program sponsor, offers the Sporty’s Learn to Fly Course at no charge to participants who want to take the next step and continue their aviation education.

In addition, EAA’s growing AeroEducate program provides free online resources for Young Eagles of all levels who want to explore more about the world of flight.

There are plans for more post-flight follow-up, Leiting said. Those include Young Eagles Flight Plan, which provides youths with a free EAA membership, free access to the Sporty’s Learn to Fly Course, reimbursement for the FAA knowledge exam, a $160 voucher toward a flight lesson, and enrollment in EAA AeroEducate. 

“It is so important that parents and their kids know about this program, so they can continue to explore aviation after their flight,” Leiting said.

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