Insights

Attitude is the key

From the Aviation Instructor's Handbook, FAA-H-8083-9: "Professionalism exists only when a service is performed for someone, or for the common good. It is achieved only after extended training and preparation. It is based on study and research. It requires good judgment. It demands a code of ethics. And it requires the ability to reason logically and accurately."

From Black's Law Dictionary: "A professional is a person engaged in one of the learned professions or in an occupation requiring a high level of training and proficiency."

From Random House Webster's Dictionary: "Following an occupation as a means of livelihood. Engaged in one of the learned professions, as law or medicine. Following as a business something usually regarded as a pastime. Making a constant practice of something. A person who earns a living in a sport or other occupation frequently engaged in by amateurs. A person who is an expert in his or her work."

John Lauder, a highly respected former member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said this: "Professionalism is much like pornography; you'll know it when you see it."

From R.C. Morton's flight instructor workshop: "An occupation requiring a high level of training, knowledge, and proficiency. Unusually advanced education, knowledge, and skill. Training, skill, proficiency, preparation, study, research, intellect, judgment, appearance, language, and attitude."

Morton, a retired FAA safety program manager, ended that summary with the magic word: attitude! That is the key to aviation professionalism, in my opinion. Pilots and instructors who don't have the proper attitude cannot be professional regardless of the other attributes they possess.

Improper attitude does not imply that an individual possesses one or more of the five hazardous attitudes that affect a pilot's ability to make responsible decisions when flying: anti-authority--don't tell me, impulsivity--do it quickly, invulnerability--it won't happen to me, macho--I can do it, and resignation--what's the use? Individuals with any of those attitudes are a menace to themselves and to the aviation community.

A proper attitude requires enthusiasm, a strong desire to learn and do well, and the ability to readily recognize and solve problems that involve flight operations and people. Those traits are indicative of professionalism, and they apply to all levels of pilot certification--student pilot through airline pilot.

Those are traits that I look for when I interview a prospective flight instructor. They obviously have more to learn, but with the proper attitude, they will do well and truly benefit working as a flight instructor. Both their technical knowledge and people skills will be enhanced, an important factor in this era of proper cockpit resource management. In fact, if I owned an airline, I would hire only pilots who had two or three years of experience as a civilian or military flight instructor.

With those thoughts in mind, I question the sanity of the FAA giving flight instructor candidates a six- or seven-hour oral exam during the flight instructor practical test. To me, that's a waste of manpower. During my 47 years of flying, I've been subjected to numerous, intense oral examinations, which never exceeded four hours.

If I had the FAA's responsibility, I would start with specific knowledge factors, but my overall evaluation would include attitude, communication skills, and teaching ability. Specific factors would start with rules and requirements for student pilots, the learning and teaching processes, flight instructing techniques, and theory of flight. I would then ask them to teach two aircraft systems and two flight maneuvers. If I can complete a flight instructor interview in one hour, they most certainly should be able to do their work in four hours.

I, like the FAA, would definitely hold a flight instructor candidate to higher standards, which implies 90-percent correct responses, 100 percent with respect to student pilot rules and requirements.

Students and pilots who are inexperienced with oral examinations often cause an extended examination. They give more information than is needed when answering a question--information that may suggest faulty knowledge, which will always cause an examiner to investigate those areas. Think before you speak.

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.