All right, I'll admit that this is an extreme example of taking charge of your learning, and I don't recommend the "learn from experience if you survive it" method of pilot training. But there is a lot you can do to help yourself learn more, learn better, and get the certificate or rating you're after at a lower cost. It's the instructor who provides the training, but you must do the learning, and that's where you have to take charge. Let's take a look at the ways you can help yourself.
It's easy to get into the habit of thinking that the airport is just the place you go to take your lesson. In fact, your airport is a kaleidoscope of aviation activities, and learning opportunities abound. To help yourself learn about flying, take full advantage of all that goes on at your airport.
Watch other students. If you are a primary student, it can be very helpful to watch other students practice takeoffs and landings. Ask your instructor to suggest a good, safe place that you can use as an observation point. You might even plan ahead and do your watching when you know that another student is receiving takeoff and landing training. Watch the flare point and control movements. Look to see if you can spot the crosswind correction. It's amazing how different the landing process looks from outside the airplane. I recently had a student ask if he could get out and watch me land the airplane. He did, I did, and it improved his perspective considerably. While you're watching landings, see if you can predict how they will go. Try to spot the mistakes such as flaring too soon, inadequate crosswind correction, or landing with excessive airspeed. Catching such errors and predicting the result - sinking into a hard landing, failure to stay on the runway centerline, floating, and other problems-can add to your understanding of how the elements of each landing work together.
Does your airport have a maintenance shop or mechanic on the field? Find out if you can buy an hour of the mechanic's time to get a good look at the guts of an airplane. Ask him or her to show you the dual ignition system, the carburetor and its controls, the alternator, and other airplane systems. Ask about special problem areas to look for during the preflight. Be sure you know where to find the battery and the emergency locator transmitter. As a mechanic, I provide this type of orientation for all my flight students. Advanced students can benefit from learning about the standby vacuum and alternate static systems. Watching a landing gear retraction test can teach you a lot about how this system works. Operating an airplane does require more mechanical knowledge than driving your car, and show and tell is a great way to learn the basics.
While you're hanging out at the airport or FBO, ask questions of other pilots. Transient pilots, corporate pilots, and charter pilots often spend unproductive down time while waiting for service or passengers. Introduce yourself as a student and ask if they have time for a few questions. You might ask about the airplane that they fly - what type, how many passengers does it hold, what is it like to fly, what is its cruise speed? If it's an airplane with which you are unfamiliar, ask if you can take a closer look. Everything you see will help to broaden your knowledge. Most pilots are more than willing to encourage students and find it a welcome break from the boredom of waiting around.
Sit in the cockpit of your trainer and practice procedures. Work with your instructor to find out when you can spend some time just sitting in the cockpit to learn where everything is located. All this can be done without turning on the ignition or master switches. Practicing in the cockpit can be just as important for advanced students as it is for primary students. Perhaps you can practice checklists and procedures with another student. Close your eyes and see if you can locate the various controls and instruments. This type of practice is a good example of how you can save some money. It's much more cost-effective to learn your cockpit when the Hobbs meter is not running. If you can't get into the cockpit yourself, there are commercially available cockpit posters for some training aircraft. Hang one of these in your home or across from your desk at work and spend some time studying the instruments and their locations.
Use the airport to get yourself into flying mode before your lesson. In order to learn from your instructor's training, you must be tuned in. Why waste your money on a training session if your thoughts are on the leaky roof at home, the tasks piled up at work, the kids' most recent report card, or the new tires that are needed for the car? The point is, show up early and get ready to learn. If your airplane is there, preflight it even if you know your instructor will want to see you do it again. Watch other airplanes or just walk around the ramp or hangar. Call flight service and get a weather briefing, even when you can see that the weather is good for your planned local flight. Get your mental receiver warmed up and ready to go.
Get the idea? There is a lot you can do at the airport, but learning should also occur away from the airport. Let's look at what you can do at home and on your own schedule.
Become part of the aviation community by joining an aviation organization such as AOPA. Being involved in aviation at any experience level requires keeping up with what is going on. Aviation grows and changes, and belonging to an aviation organization is one of the best ways to keep up with those changes. You may also be able to find a local aviation club or group based at your airport or a statewide aviation association. In addition to my memberships in national associations, I belong to an airport boosters club that meets once a month. I have yet to find an organization that doesn't welcome anyone who is interested in aviation-and that includes family members as well.
Read about flying. Your instructor will recommend study material, but don't stop there. Read aviation magazines such as this one. Many pilot shops and bookstores also carry a wide range of aviation-related books and publications, as well as other training materials like videos and audiotapes.
Practice weather briefings. That's right, practice. Plan a make-believe flight, short or long, and call flight service for a briefing. You can give the briefer your name instead of an aircraft N number and use real departure and en route times. Learning how to listen to and copy the briefing takes practice. I have my students use the AOPA Air Safety Foundation flight-planning form when receiving a weather briefing because it keeps things in order. Other forms are available, and your instructor may be able to make suggestions. Instrument students especially need to practice the art of receiving a briefing.
Keep a training diary. Sure, your instructor made a brief note in your logbook, but what did you really learn from today's lesson? Even more important, what didn't you learn? Use a notebook to record your thoughts. Write down any new procedures or numbers that you must learn. Draw diagrams of maneuvers and make notes on the diagrams. What was the newest thing you learned today, and what left you confused? Prepare a list of questions for your next lesson. Don't try to write a technical manual; just use your own words and tell it like it is. Not only will this help you organize your thoughts, but someday it will also make great reading.
How would you like to get free training from some of the most experienced instructors in the aviation business? The AOPA Air Safety Foundation presents hundreds of safety seminars around the country every year. (For a listing of current seminars, see p. 16.) The seminars run the gamut of aviation topics and are paid for by donations and sponsors. Your local FAA Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) also sponsors training seminars. Check for posters at the airport announcing these FSDO seminars, or call the FSDO for a schedule.
Of course, don't forget the information superhighway. Whatever your aviation interests are, there is a Web site to meet your needs. Volumes of information can be found on the various FAA Web pages. AOPA's site, AOPA Online (www.aopa.org ), provides tons of valuable information.
Here's my favorite learning assignment. Picture yourself in the fifth grade and pretend that your teacher has assigned you the task of spending a few hours in a candy store and reporting on your findings. Well, that's my assignment for my students, except that airshows and fly-ins are the candy store. Fly in, drive in, or walk in. It doesn't make any difference-just get there. Every air event gives you the opportunity to see all kinds of airplanes and activities. Ask any pilot about the airplane that he or she has on display, and I guarantee you will get your ear bent for as long as you can take it. You will see many airplanes and products that you might never encounter otherwise. The aerobatic flying demonstrations and hamburgers are just the frosting on the cake. Use the setting as another learning experience.
How about trading in your TV set for an airplane? That's right, fly your favorite living-room chair. Sit in your most comfortable chair, close your eyes, and practice procedures. Let's see, to enter slow flight I must first reduce the power to 1,500 rpm, hold altitude, slow to 50 knots, and so on. Do the same thing for takeoff and landing profiles. If you suddenly find the Red Baron in his Fokker Triplane on your tail, your eyes may have been closed a little longer than you planned.
In aviation, you simply can't afford to stop learning. Whether you are an interested nonpilot or a certificated pilot in advanced training, learning is up to you. No instructor can teach you to learn. Apply your interest, and take charge of your learning.
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