| Jim Anderson, 70 "Flying itself has always come relatively easy for me-except for the money part of it." |
| Wilma Melville, 75 "I'm less interested in obtaining the rating itself than going through the learning process." |
Finally, in their 50s, 60s, or even 70s-their family, professional, and financial obligations met-they climb into the cockpit, ready at long last to learn to fly. But older students tend to learn differently, and at a slower pace than younger pilots, and teaching them presents unique challenges.
Their hand-eye coordination probably isn't what it once was. Their preferred methods for learning are decidedly low tech. And possibly weak short-term memory makes it necessary to frequently review recently learned tasks.
"They key to teaching older students is patience," said Judy Phelps, vice president of CP Aviation in Santa Paula, California. Phelps estimates that half of her flight students are more than 50 years old. "Instructors have got to realize that older students learn differently, sometimes at a slower pace. And instructors have got to be willing to review, review, and review some more."
Ironically, she said, it's often younger flight instructors-not older students-who get frustrated by the relatively slow pace of progress. Senior students largely expect that the process of learning to fly will take more time for them, and they're willing to devote that time and effort.
Phelps said most young, career-oriented flight students have put in hundreds if not thousands of hours on computerized flight simulators before they ever show up at an airport-and their familiarity with electronics influences the ways they study, learn, and fly.
"Younger students aren't intimidated by technology," Phelps said. "They've grown up around personal computers, flight simulators, and the Internet, and they never remember a time when those tools weren't available. They're completely comfortable in that environment. They can figure out how to program a GPS from day one. Technologically advanced aircraft and modern avionics don't make them nervous or apprehensive at all. They're accustomed to getting and sharing information online, and they expect new information to come to them in that form. The same isn't true of older students. As a rule, they're not used to learning online. They require more personal interaction."
Jim Anderson, 70, is a veteran pilot and flight instructor-but this year he became a flight student again. The South Carolina pilot recently soloed a helicopter for the first time, and he said the experience of learning to fly a helicopter was more challenging than it might have been in his youth.
"Flying itself has always come relatively easy for me-except for the money part of it," said Anderson, a fixed-wing pilot since age 16 and a flight instructor for 38 years. "I've been blessed with excellent health, and that's certainly helped. I've seen student pilots in their 50s and 60s whose physical condition was a real limitation for them."
Anderson said student pilots in his age bracket prefer old-fashioned, one-on-one tutoring and classroom instruction to online courses. It doesn't matter how great the graphics or user interface. He just doesn't feel comfortable learning at a computer screen.
Also, his thousands of hours of fixed-wing experience worked against him at times in the helicopter as he habitually used the pedals in turns as if they controlled a rudder, not a tail rotor. "They say it's harder to teach a fixed-wing pilot to fly a helicopter than someone with no flight experience at all," Anderson said. "I believe that's especially true for old fixed-wing pilots with ingrained habits like me."
Anderson said he had no trouble taking direction from a younger instructor and said he looks forward to completing the cross-country and flight test portions of his helicopter training. As a seasoned instructor himself, he recognizes that his helicopter instructor has greater expertise in that aircraft despite his relative youth, and each person's roles and responsibilities are well defined.
Anderson said age shouldn't be an impediment to learning to fly-as long as older students are healthy and motivated.
"As long as a person has got good health and a strong desire to learn, there's no reason for an older student not to pursue flying," he said. "We may not learn as fast as we did when we were younger. But any good instructor tailors his methods to meet the needs of each individual student anyway, so that shouldn't present a problem."
Phelps, the California flight school owner and instructor, said a steady stream of certificated pilots who qualify for AARP membership seek advanced training through her school's aerobatic, emergency maneuvers, and tailwheel courses.
"Older students are usually more timid and cautious in their approach to aerobatics and emergency maneuvers," she said. "Younger people are willing to do anything. But by the end of the course, no matter their age, they all gain the same knowledge and develop similar skills."
A few of Phelps' students use flying-and particularly strenuous aerobatic flying or cerebral instrument flying-as physical or intellectual pursuits aimed at keeping their bodies and minds in good condition.
Wilma Melville, 75, of Ojai, California, is an instrument student who got her private pilot certificate in 1968. She flew about 700 hours before putting flying aside in the early 1980s. She started flying again in 2006 and found the aviation world had changed dramatically in the 22 years she was away.
"All the airspace and the rules surrounding it were drastically different than when I had started flying-and GPS navigation was totally new to me," Melville said. "I had a lot of studying to do to learn those things, and I still have to review the material periodically. Fortunately, flying the airplane itself is exactly the same. And my feel for controlling an airplane came back surprisingly fast."
After more than two decades on the ground, Melville passed a flight review in 2005, after about 10 hours of dual instruction in a Cessna 172. Since then, she has added high-performance and tailwheel endorsements, aerobatic training, and a floatplane rating-a souvenir from a summer trip to Alaska this year. She said maneuvering flight and VFR flying have always been relatively easy and enjoyable for her, but she struggles with her new pursuit-instrument flying.
Memorizing regulations and visualizing holds and approaches takes long hours of reading, study, and visualization. And she's got to review new concepts many times before they make sense to her. She's watched a boxful of DVDs and videos, and she takes online courses and attends a weekly ground school. She reads aviation magazines and takes AOPA online courses. But she finds old-fashioned "chair flying" is her most useful learning tool. Before each IFR lesson, Melville, a retired high school teacher, sits in a quiet room in a wicker chair and acts out an entire flight from engine start to shutdown.
"I sit in an upright chair, not a lounge chair," she said. "And I go through my checklists and review procedures and do everything I plan to do in the airplane. I dial in frequencies, enter the holds, turn to certain headings, and make radio calls. If anyone was watching me sit there talking to myself, they'd think I was crazy. But I know how I learn, and chair flying does more good for me than anything else I've found."
Melville planned to take an accelerated, 10-day instrument flying course but changed her mind and decided to go slowly. She's not in a hurry to get the instrument rating. In fact, she said has set no timetables at all for taking the knowledge or practical tests.
"It's going to take as long as it takes," she said. "I'm less interested in obtaining the rating itself than going through the learning process. For me, the rigorous learning process is the reward. Not the piece of paper."
Melville said that, for her, learning new skills takes longer and requires more repetition now than it would have 20 or 30 years ago. "Some things just don't stick," she said. "I may have programmed the GPS just fine last week, but I know I'm going to have to read the manual or get some coaching before I do it again this week, even though it's the exact same GPS."
Melville said she tries to fly at least three times a week now-much more than she did in her 30s or 40s.
"Flying skills are more perishable now than they used to be, and staying current is more important than ever, " she said. "For people my age, the saying 'Use it or lose it' is no joke. It's real."
Resources for older pilots
Are you a late-blooming aviator? We've compiled a number of articles just for you. Learn more about what it takes to learn to fly and stay proficient, find information about medical concerns, and read profiles of individuals just like you who are proving that age is just a number. Find these resources at AOPA Online.
Dave Hirschman is a senior editor for AOPA Flight Training and AOPA Pilot magazines. He is an airline transport pilot and flight instructor who has specialized in tailwheel and aerobatic instruction since 1999. His mother is Wilma Melville.
