Dear Rod:
What do you think about letting a student use trim while doing a steep turn? I’m not so sure it’s a good idea. There seems to be a lot of disagreement.
Bill (a CFI)
Greetings Bill:
Here’s one way to think about this issue. Consider the real purpose behind steep-turn practice. It’s a maneuver that demonstrates the relationship between four things: bank, airspeed, load factor, and stall. The maneuver ultimately shows students how a quick change in direction occurs at a price—a closer proximity to stall. The increase in apparent weight (load factor) and the heavy elevator force is symptomatic of movement toward the critical angle of attack. You want the student to associate heavy stick forces with a decrease in the margin between flying and stalling. Eliminating the heavy stick force with trim deprives a pilot of this important cue.
Besides, a steep turn is a transient condition that doesn’t require a long period of muscle exertion. You don’t spend hours in a steep turn (if you do, make sure to wear a neck brace). Trimming during steep turns is important if the student lacks the muscle to keep the airplane at a constant altitude (I’ve had it happen with a petite student in a Cessna 182). Even petite students must hold altitude in a steep turn to pass a checkride. So, trim if necessary; if not, a little bicep action isn’t likely to hurt anyone.
Dear Rod:
My instructor is a good man, very conscientious, thorough, and dedicated. No complaints in this department. But there’s one thing that concerns me. The FBO schedules a two-hour block of time for each lesson and the instructor charges for the entire two-hour block. Is this reasonable?
Wayne
Greetings Wayne:
If an instructor spends two hours giving you instruction, then he or she should charge for the entire block of time, regardless of the proportion of time spent in the air or on the ground. Time is time and the instructor has every right to be compensated when he’s directly or indirectly involved in teaching you. If, however, he’s only spending 1.5 hours with you and 30 minutes chewing the fat (or the Slim Jim) with the boys, that’s a different story. You shouldn’t be expected to pay for time that doesn’t in some way involve teaching. In your case, if we’re talking 10 minutes or so of lax time, I would advise caution in thinking you’re getting a bad deal. If this instructor is as good as you say he is, then he’s probably not being paid enough. Good instructors are worth their weight in slow-running Hobbs meters. Buy him lunch now and then. You might even think about tipping him on occasion.
Dear Rod:
Some of my students like to grip the control yoke tightly, which causes them to overcontrol. I’ve begun making them hold the yoke with only their pointer finger and their thumb. What’s your opinion?
Chas
Greetings Chas:
I only recommend the finger-thumb technique if you’re plucking pickles. I don’t recommend it for flying an airplane. Why? It doesn’t allow a student to properly sense the pressure he’s applying to the controls, nor does he properly receive and perceive the pressure coming from the controls.
So, use the tried and tested method of placing a pencil under your student’s middle finger as he applies a full-finger grip on the yoke. A tense grip means pain. This works well, especially if you use smaller pencils. I knew one CFI who used a carbon-nickel steel Harley spoke. Imagine how that must have hurt. He claimed that all he had to do was show the spoke to his students and their hands melted on the controls.
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