Over time, most things change. This has included the way we teach math (set theory, “The New Math” versus arithmetic), the way we teach reading (whole language versus phonics), and how we teach flying (stick-and-rudder training versus FAA/industry training standards or FITS). Sometimes this education drift is for the better. Often, it’s not.
Many of today’s flight instructors don’t know how easy it once was (and could be again) to teach basic flying skills. The idea that it is possible to solo someone in the 10- to 12-hour range and adequately prepare them for a checkride in 40 to 45 hours now seems to exist as folklore rather than historical fact. Many flight training syllabi have evolved to accommodate an airplane’s advanced avionics package rather than simply convey good stick-and-rudder skills. The result is that at several major flight schools, students typically solo in the 25-hour range and obtain their private pilot certificate in the 60-hour range.
There is great value in understanding how instructors taught flying 40 years ago. The best way to do this is to examine the private pilot syllabus found in the back of the original FAA Flight Instructor’s Handbook (EA-AC 61-16A). This book is no longer available, but I’ve excerpted this syllabus for your perusal.
What’s important about this syllabus is that it shows you the building-block sequence used to teach basic flight maneuvers and provides an expected level of performance by the average student training two to three times a week. I consider this to be one of the best “minimalist” flight training syllabi I’ve ever used. Examine it, read the notes, and see what the FAA once knew is possible when the emphasis is on teaching stick-and-rudder flying. Then consider whether we shouldn’t still be doing that first.
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Over time, most things change. This has included the way we teach math (set theory, “The New Math” versus arithmetic), the way we teach reading (whole language versus phonics), and how we teach flying (stick-and-rudder training versus FAA/industry training standards or FITS). Sometimes this education drift is for the better. Often, it’s not.
Many of today’s flight instructors don’t know how easy it once was (and could be again) to teach basic flying skills. The idea that it is possible to solo someone in the 10- to 12-hour range and adequately prepare them for a checkride in 40 to 45 hours now seems to exist as folklore rather than historical fact. Many flight training syllabi have evolved to accommodate an airplane’s advanced avionics package rather than simply convey good stick-and-rudder skills. The result is that at several major flight schools, students typically solo in the 25-hour range and obtain their private pilot certificate in the 60-hour range.
There is great value in understanding how instructors taught flying 40 years ago. The best way to do this is to examine the private pilot syllabus found in the back of the original FAA Flight Instructor’s Handbook (EA-AC 61-16A). This book is no longer available, but I’ve excerpted this syllabus for your perusal.
What’s important about this syllabus is that it shows you the building-block sequence used to teach basic flight maneuvers and provides an expected level of performance by the average student training two to three times a week. I consider this to be one of the best “minimalist” flight training syllabi I’ve ever used. Examine it, read the notes, and see what the FAA once knew is possible when the emphasis is on teaching stick-and-rudder flying. Then consider whether we shouldn’t still be doing that first.
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