Insights

Review, Review, Review

Review is an important but often compromised part of the aviation teaching process. I attribute this to the high cost of flight training and the desire on the part of many students to complete training, pass the tests, and acquire the desired certificates or ratings in minimum time. When these constraints influence a training program, the review process falls by the wayside. And even though the student may be able to display the required proficiency at the time of testing, without regular review, the skills have not become habitual.

The FAA practical test standards list tasks and objectives. Unfortunately, some students and instructors look at these objectives simply as requirements for passing the checkride. They don't think of them as permanent. But the ability to meet these standards is not just a one-time requirement for the checkride. These are time-after-time objectives required for performance as a pilot long after the checkride is over. Students must be able to habitually perform to those standards if they are to continue to meet or exceed those standards throughout their flying careers.

The "magic of three" reinforces this requirement. It means that for any given training task a student must demonstrate proficiency on three separate occasions. When the student can do this, both he and the instructor can be relatively sure that the proper habit patterns and thought processes have been established. This concept, which I have used and taught for many years, has never failed my students or me.

Some instructors assume that the review process simply means reviewing all tasks before a student takes a checkride. This is true, but the review process must also occur each time the student is taught a new task.

In the flight training syllabus that I use, each task is prefaced by three proficiency boxes. When a student first demonstrates competence, one box is checked, but that lesson is not signed off as complete. During each of the next two flights, that task is reviewed, and if performance is still satisfactory, the second and third proficiency boxes are checked. Proficiency has now been demonstrated on three separate occasions, so I am confident that the student understands the task, and I sign off the original lesson to indicate that all completion standards have been met.

New flight instructors often ask me if their first student is ready to solo. When they do, I remind the instructors about the magic of three.

After the instructor completes all presolo requirements in the private pilot flight training syllabus and the student meets the task objectives for takeoffs and landings, the first proficiency box is checked. On the next flight, the student again demonstrates satisfactory performance, and the second box is checked. On the third flight, the student performs the first three touch-and-go landings satisfactorily. Now the instructor is sure that it's time to endorse the student pilot certificate, get out of the airplane, and watch the student's first solo flight - one of aviation's most memorable moments.

Flight instructing is not always this simple. For example, on the second flight the student botches one landing but then continues to demonstrate satisfactory performance. Does the instructor check the proficiency box? I say yes, but only if the student can tell the instructor exactly what went wrong with the one bad landing.

On the other hand, if a new instructor tells me that his or her student cannot show consistency during the review process, I have the instructor schedule the student with me for a stagecheck. I will attempt to identify and solve the problem. If I'm successful, I brief the instructor about the problem areas. This process always enhances the new instructor's teaching skills.

When it comes to deciding what approach to take to training, ask yourself what is more important - accomplishing a training objective in the absolute minimum time or ensuring that the proper mental and physical habit patterns are firmly established? Everyone knows the answer to that question, so don't let time or money concerns compromise the teaching process. Make review a mandatory part of your flight training program and master the art of flying.