I have tried many techniques and offered reassurance, but nothing seems to work. I've told them that they won't solo until I'm sure that they can handle all of the challenges. I am at a loss as to what else to do to alleviate their fears.
Any advice that you might have would be greatly appreciated.
Buck
Greetings Buck,
I think I'd be scared to land at that airport under those conditions, too! I suspect that hangar stories from other more experienced pilots around the airport are the possible genesis for your students' concerns. Unfortunately, it's unlikely that you'll be able to obtain a restraining order to prevent others from blabbing these stories in the presence of your students.
I think that I'd handle all future students the way salespeople handle a client's most common objections - up front. Specifically, address this difficulty with your students during the first few hours of flight training. Address it in a way that educates but doesn't scare them. This should provide at least some degree of inoculation against the effects of exaggerated hangar tales.
Regarding the difficulty with the students you now have, try this: Solo them at another airport with a longer runway, under calm conditions (in the morning, for example). After they've landed a few times on a 3,000-foot (or longer) strip with no obstacles, they should be better equipped to handle your home airport runway.
I think it's important to emphasize that a pilot never needs to land if things don't look right. He or she can always go around. Perhaps you should place more emphasis on the go-around as a vital option when things don't look right.
Make it the rule, not the exception. Do at least two or three go-arounds on every lesson in the pattern. Let the student see them as being an appropriate course of action instead of a failure to fly properly. And emphasize that a go-around doesn't represent a personal failure or a lack of airmanship. It's simply another maneuver.
You might also give your students the option of landing at another nearby airport if they don't feel that the conditions are comfortable at the home airport. In other words, solo them at a nearby, easy-to-land-at airport, one within 25 miles of the home airport. Give them instructions on how to fly over the route from the home airport to this nearby airport in accordance with FAR 61.93. Then, solo them at this airport.
This way, if they return from a solo to the home airport and don't feel they can land safely, there is always the option of landing at the nearby airport. Yes, someone would have to go over and pick them up, but this would last only a short time until they gained enough confidence to handle landing at the home airport.
I believe it's important to give your students options. Give them a few alternatives for handling their discomfort. And make sure you're not conveying your personal landing fears to your students. If they see you tensing up or getting edgy during the landing, they can't help but interpret this as a sign of danger and risk. It's very easy for instructors to unintentionally convey this message without realizing how it affects their students.
Stop Shouting At Me
Dear Rod,
I am a commercial pilot working on my instrument rating. I have been working with a young instructor, using my own airplane. It seems that this kid got some training from his dad and, by the way he sounds, it was a nightmare. I believe his dad yelled at him about every single mistake.
He is doing the same thing to me, and I have gotten to the point where I am considering quitting flying. I have tried to discuss this with him, but he tells me that he has to be extra tough with me to make me a better pilot.
Is there any truth in this?
Tammy
Greetings Tammy,
Like father, like son? That's what this sounds like to me.
Sorry, but his rationale for yelling is pure nonsense. You don't have to yell at anyone to make him or her a better pilot. If that were the case, we could improve the skills of every new airline pilot by encouraging the passengers to yell at him as they walk past the cockpit. Yelling is more likely to confuse a pilot and give him or her a case of bad hearing.
As I see it, we all teach others how they should react to us. Therefore, in situations of verbal abuse, there are no victims, only poor teachers. You need to teach "old yeller" how to show you some respect.
I have taught classes on dealing with difficult people. A fundamental premise of this training is that people who yell expect their victims to cower or respond submissively. This results in the yeller finding it easier to abuse the power of his position with each outburst, often resulting in more frequent outbursts.
The next time Sparky yells at you, inform him that you will no longer tolerate this behavior. Be firm and assertive, but not aggressive. Be specific about the behavior you won't tolerate. Say it like you've just instituted a zero-tolerance policy on yelling. People like this instructor only respect strength, not courtesy. Soon the cockpit will be quieter than a Buddhist monastery.
If, for some reason, he continues to insist on exercising his vocal cords, you can oust him from the cockpit. Even though you may feel like doing it while on downwind, please wait until you land. There are too many other wonderful, exciting, kind, caring, and mature instructors out there. You just need to look for one.
Tattoos, The Airlines, And You
Dear Rod,
I am currently a junior at a major aviation university, and I plan on pursuing flying as a career when I graduate. My question is, will a tattoo hurt me in any way in trying to get a job with the airlines? If one does not have a tattoo but is looking to get one in a hidden location, would you advise against that?
Thanks a lot for any help that you can offer.
Mr. Simpson
Greetings Mr. Simpson,
When I was 15 years old I remember asking my dad if I could get a tattoo. He said, "Sure you can have a tattoo. Just give me one good reason why you need one."
Well, that put the parking brake on the ink tip. Every reason I could come up with sounded absolutely ridiculous. The best I could do was say that our neighbor, who had a ship tattooed on his chest when he was a young sailor, looked cool. Unfortunately, after our neighbor had spent decades consuming cheeseburgers, the ship's keel looked a lot longer than it once did.
No, don't even think about doing something so foolish if you're considering an airline job. A tattoo never gives you the chance to change your mind. Airlines are operated by conservative people. If they hear about a tattoo from the company physician, they'll probably ask why you got one. Will you say, "Because Fred's got one?" That will go over like a safecracker at a banker's convention.
In aviation, a tattoo gives you absolutely no advantage over someone without a tattoo. It only gives you a chance to regret a choice you made in your youth.
If you are the type of person who insists on getting tattooed, at least wait until after you have been hired by the airline of your choice and you are off probation. Then, go all out. Have every emergency checklist permanently inked onto the various parts of your body. But be prepared for the day a captain says, "Simpson, we've got an emergency. Quick, get into your Speedo."
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