Insights

When glossed over, students lose

Flight instructors often overlook the importance of placing heavy emphasis on flying's elementary elements. They seem so simple that after the initial explanation and demonstration, the instructor assumes that the student understands these concepts completely.

Student pilots seldom gain a perception, regardless of its simplicity, if it is briefly explained and demonstrated. Flying is so dynamic and multifaceted that it takes time for elementary perceptions to develop. If this does not occur, the proper insights are not established, and learning to fly becomes a frustrating experience.

A common problem occurs when an inexperienced instructor works with a strong-willed student. If the instructor allows the student to advance because he claims to understand what the instructor is teaching and wants to minimize the cost of flying, a serious mistake occurs. Instructors should never let students direct a training program.

My rule for students is this: No study, no fly; no review, no advancement. I have always advocated that the extra time spent during basic flight training in order to develop the proper perceptions and insights will be recaptured for the most part during advanced training. The following elements are a few examples.

• Evaluate yaw in relation to bank angle and airspeed while looking outside the cockpit. This perception is easy to master, and it's the secret for keeping the inclinometer's ball centered without continually referencing that instrument.
• Feel a slip or a skid. This perception is easily mastered if the student is relaxed and conscious of body motion while flying.
• Listen to engine power whenever attitude or throttle position changes. During the level-off from a climb, for example, the student should leave climb power set for initial acceleration and set cruise power when engine noise starts to increase excessively.
• Evaluate wind conditions. This must be reinforced on every lesson until the student automatically verbalizes the wind condition during each phase of flight.
• Attitude and power are inseparable. If you simultaneously select a desired attitude and a reasonable power setting for that attitude, you will be safe. I instruct students to select the various attitudes and power settings that will achieve the normal performance objectives, and I do this with the flight instruments covered. Basic training must start with outside references, not instrument references. This exercise is reviewed during several lessons until attitude and power selection becomes habitual.
• Pitch and power for airspeed and altitude control. This is a complex issue for students that must be rectified during initial training. Both pitch and power affect airspeed and altitude, so their use depends on the existing situation.

When power is fixed (throttle set at a specific position or rpm), pitch controls airspeed if climbing or descending, and it controls altitude if cruising. When power is variable, however, the problem becomes more complex. If airspeed is high while maintaining altitude on the traffic pattern's downwind leg, power must be reduced and pitch increased to make airspeed decrease; if airspeed is low, power must be increased and pitch decreased to make airspeed increase. If low on a landing approach, pitch and power must be increased until the desired altitude is regained; if high, pitch and power must be decreased.

Simultaneous pitch and power corrections compound themselves; if both corrections are large, the result will most likely be excessive. Unless you are flying in turbulence, a small pitch correction coupled with a small power correction will result in a reasonable correction.

Mastering pitch and power control for airspeed and altitude takes considerable practice and review. And yes, to speed up the learning process, I do this, too, with the flight instruments covered. By using their physical senses, students learn to recognize large changes in airspeed and altitude.

While you're at it, make certain that students learn to recognize when they are 1,000 feet above the ground without using the altimeter. It just takes a little practice and review, and it is a key factor for forced landing proficiency.

Ralph Butcher, a retired United Airlines captain, is the chief flight instructor at a California flight school. He has been flying since 1959 and has 25,000 hours in fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. Visit his Web site.