Instructor Report: Proactive flight instruction

Professional development is not a new concept. Continuing professional education refines judgment and decision making. Airline or military pilots attend recurrent training, covering such topics as contemporary operating environments, instrument procedures, local operating area concerns, and accident case studies. Military aviators strive to attain aircraft commander status before advancing into the instructor cadre. CFIs achieve the same outcome when they earn instrument instructor and other advanced ratings.

Of course, certificates and ratings alone won’t earn students’ trust. Experience, not qualifications or titles, establishes credibility. Just like earning the private pilot certificate, completing advanced instructor ratings is a broad license to learn. Deeper learning truly occurs when instructors teach and mentor.

We all remember a favorite teacher who really taught a subject well. How did that teacher master the subject? Subject mastery is gained through regular review of publications, government reports, and courseware such as AOPA’s webinars and online courses. Teachers improve their skills by developing and sharing ideas that might help students. The more you learn, the more you can pass on to your students.

During the early stages of both my civilian and military flight training, my instructors were sequestered to their respective regimes; few civilian instructors have flown in the military and few military instructors instruct in general aviation, which limits the cross-pollination of experience to pass on to students.

Instructors and their students benefit from the exchange of ideas. Facilitating discussion germinates critical thought that encourages deeper learning. Through deeper learning, better decisions and judgment are created. This is the crux of why people understand theories more deeply when they teach and explain. An instructor might come up with a creative technique that is only partially effective, but dissemination allows for peer refinement. The result is higher quality instruction benefiting the aviation community.

A mentor relationship is another essential element of successful instruction. When students begin flying, they are impressionable. Instructors are the face of aviation to them, and mentorship can foster an attitude of safety. Sharing personal stories with students demonstrates that mistakes occur, and sharing them could prevent someone from a future repeat performance. Prussian statesman Otto von Bismarck summed up this idea with his philosophy: Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others.” Through the study and guided discussion of accident reports and hangar stories, instructors and students can focus on important takeaways to increase awareness and resident knowledge.

Understanding student motivation elevates a good instructor to the next level. Are your students motivated by training incentives, such as milestone awards or discounts on fees or gear; positive reinforcement through recognition at group gatherings; or goal achievement? One potential method for motivation is the application of different pricing for ground instruction. Depending on the student’s outside commitments (family, career, school), he or she might not be prepared. If instructors are amenable, they could base pricing for ground training on the level of student preparation. If students arrive prepared, the basic topics could be quickly covered and in-depth analysis achieved for a greater understanding.

A student would normally pay a standard ground instruction rate regardless of preparedness. If a student had the incentive to earn a discount off the ground instruction fees, the result would be a more motivated student and higher level of completion. The cornerstone of this technique is an instructor’s willingness to participate.

Different pricing structures also can benefit instructors based on experience and marketability. Perhaps private pilot instruction would be discounted in comparison to advanced ratings, providing two possible benefits. First, lowering training costs reduces the initial hurdle to completion. Second, a higher completion rate potentially inspires both student and teacher to seek more experience. Shared vision by instructor and student benefits all and helps build the instructor’s reputation and marketability, which are keys to expanding his or her audience.

Another motivation for students is finding a common cause, such as supporting a nonprofit like Pilots N Paws that uses general aviation to transport animals at risk of euthanasia from shelters to foster and permanent homes. Building time together while supporting a cause adds additional enjoyment to the training regime.

The recurring flight profiles of flight training lead to the potential for boredom. Repetition of the same student mistakes incubates complacency, which leads to dropping your guard. Periodic review and increased focus and consistency are essential to successful instruction.

Author Matthew Bauman is a fixed-wing and rotorcraft pilot who flies for an airline.

'Just Culture' concept

Honest reporting leads to lessons for all

By sharing their own mistakes, instructors can help students learn from them and avoid similar pitfalls. However, sharing is sometimes inhibited by ego, fear of retribution, or fear of a damaged reputation. Pilots often fear administrative and legal retribution if disclosure of a mistake is made. The United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force has addressed this by adopting a “Just Culture” concept. Just Culture allows pilots to disclose honest mistakes for the betterment of community knowledge without fear of embarrassment or other recourse. The same way of thinking underpins a new philosophy announced by the FAA in 2015 and described in “Career Pilot: The Friendlier FAA—For Real,” January 2016 Flight Training. —MB