Since You Asked

Dear Rod:

I’m working on my private pilot certificate. Our school’s chief pilot insists that I switch to a different instructor after every three lessons. He says that this will give me a broader perspective on flying and make me a better pilot. I’d prefer to remain with one instructor. Your thoughts?
Diana K.

Greetings Diana:
Here’s what you should say to the chief pilot: “Since you hired this FAA-certified flight instructor based on his competence, he should be able to teach me to fly and think as safely as he does in the cockpit (given enough time, of course). Therefore, why is it necessary to have a perspective ‘broader’ than the one he has while I’m working on an entry-level pilot certificate?”

During the formative hours of flight training, you’re learning to trust your instructor. Having trust in the person teaching you is essential to developing confidence in your ability to fly. How could you possibly feel comfortable doing stalls when you know very little about the new instructor sitting next to you? Furthermore, each flight instructor has his or her own teaching style, opinions, biases, likes, and dislikes.

Changing instructors can be terribly distracting, and distractions interfere with learning. These are just a few of the many reasons why changing instructors every few lessons isn’t a wise idea.

No doubt the chief pilot would argue that his or her instructors are standardized and teach the same way. Believing this statement would be like believing that putting hand lotion in the airplane’s fuel tanks will make your landing smoother, softer, and much younger looking. It’s simply not true.

My advice to you as a consumer is to consume in the way that pleases you. Insist on training with one instructor of your choice who best serves you.

Dear Mr. Machado:
Should student pilots be allowed to use a GPS’s moving map display during their dual cross-country flight training?
Wayne

Greetings Wayne:
I have absolutely no problem with student pilots using a GPS moving map display at any time during their training, as long as they meet the following requirement: Technology should never be used as a substitute for the acquisition of the basic skills replaced by that technology. As long as a student learns the basic navigation skills required by the regulations first, then the use of a GPS moving map seems reasonable. The challenge here is with the word “learns.”

It’s unreasonable to expect a student to thoroughly learn dead reckoning and pilotage skills while simultaneously monitoring a GPS moving map. Yes, some instructors argue that using a moving map makes it easier for them to teach pilotage and dead reckoning navigation skills. While that might be true, it doesn’t necessarily allow students to develop confidence in using these skills. After all, the moving map display replaces a student’s need to imagine or estimate his or her position along a chosen route. In other words, the moving map display takes the student’s head out of the navigation game.

Think back to the last time you used GPS for driving directions. If your map was slightly inaccurate or the GPS hiccupped, you instantly discovered what it’s like not to have your head in the navigation game. Most likely, you had little or no idea where to turn next. You also probably wished that you had studied your chosen route more carefully before beginning your trip.

Concern about an in-flight GPS failure is not the most important reason why students shouldn’t rely on this device during cross-country flights. Unless they purchased their GPS from some guy in the back of a van, these devices are fairly reliable. Instead, we want primary students to develop their ability to constantly—and reflexively—maintain an awareness of their position. We want them to keep their head in the navigation game. That’s not likely to happen when students use a moving map display early (or even later) during dual cross-country training.

Dear Rod:
Is it reasonable for a private pilot (that’s me) to learn about hand-propping an airplane?
Ken

Greetings Ken:
Absolutely, provided the person doing the teaching is qualified to do so. Generally speaking, if number pads “9” and “1” show excessive wear on an instructor’s cellphone, this wouldn’t inspire confidence in his or her ability to teach the subject. If someone claims to be qualified to teach hand-propping, make sure that his or her advice at least comports with that offered by the FAA on page 2-8 of its Airplane Flying Handbook.