Insights

Don't be snookered

Ethics in the flight training community have always varied. Quoting minimum flight training times and costs in order to snag a student; and continuing to train an unsatisfactory student in the hopes of making an aircraft sale, providing an income opportunity for a faltering business, or acquiring flight time have frequently compromised ethical standards. The unsuspecting student may pay for these indiscretions financially-or with his life or the lives of others.

What should a prospective student do? You should not make assumptions or take a chance based on first impressions. You must determine the credibility of the person to whom you are speaking.

All flight instruction is not equal, and this has nothing to do with an instructor's age, gender, or experience. Earning a flight instructor certificate requires hard work, and I've known many dedicated, well-trained new instructors who trained students just as well as any experienced instructor. There is a limit as to what a student can learn, and no instructor can teach experience. Experience can only simplify what is taught.

I've never met an insincere flight instructor, but I have met many who are misinformed. That's not their fault, it's just a reflection of the training they received.

You must obtain references. Talk to pilots in your area and ask for recommendations. Talk to flight students at a school that interests you. Obtain a list of FAA-designated pilot examiners from your local FAA Flight Standards District Office, and meet with those individuals. They know the best instructors. (AOPA Online has a searchable database of CFIs. Also, see "Perfect Match: Picking a person to teach you to fly," May AOPA Flight Training magazine.)

You get what you pay for, and you must pay for quality instruction. The cheapest offer is seldom if ever the best deal in the long run.

Good flight instructors are teachers. They don't just point out errors; they tell you why those errors are occurring. They conduct preflight briefings to ensure that you have the proper knowledge before you start a lesson, and they conduct postflight briefings to review what you learned in the air and what to expect on the next lesson.

A good instructor will not advance a student in the training program until the current task has been mastered. Hoping that a current student problem can be solved by moving on to the next instructional area only compounds that problem and makes further learning more difficult.

Don't assume that your desire to fly qualifies you to fly. An ethical flight instructor will make that determination during the first stage of instruction.

As a student, you have many obligations. You must obtain FAA medical certification, and some medical conditions are disqualifying. Do this before you start training. Psychological testing is not required, but flight instructors are trained to recognize five hazardous characteristics that are disqualifying unless corrected: Anti-authority-willfully violates rules. Impulsivity-does not think things through before reacting. Invulnerability-assumes nothing bad will ever happen. Macho-takes foolish chances. Resignation-gives up when things are not going well.

You must have a good command of the English language, good judgment and awareness, and the ability to constantly divide your attention. You must have the time and desire to study. For every hour that you fly during training, you must crack the books for three to four hours.

You must be prepared for each lesson. If unable, work out a schedule with your instructor that gives you enough study time.

Never fly if one of the I'm Safe checklist factors exists: Illness-Any symptoms? Medication-Taking prescription or over-the-counter drugs? Stress-Worried about your job, finances, health problems, or family discord? Alcohol-Drinking within eight hours? Fatigue-Tired or not adequately rested? Emotion- Emotionally fit to fly? (Some versions of the checklist also refer to the E as standing for Eating-Adequately nourished?) As Paragraph 8-1-1 of the Aeronautical Information Manual notes, the emotions of anger, depression, and anxiety from such events not only decrease alertness but also may lead to taking risks that border on self-destruction.

Flight training is a team effort. Instructors and students alike must meet their responsibilities. If either one fails to do this, the other person must take action. A responsible student should find another instructor; a responsible instructor should terminate the student.

Ralph Butcher, a retired United Airlines captain, is the chief flight instructor at a California flight school. He has been flying for 43 years and has 25,000 hours in fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. Visit his Web site.