Earning the parents' trust
Rod:
I need your advice on how to deal with overbearing parents, specifically Daddy. He wants his daughter to learn to fly (he rides along in the rear seat), but he frequently distracts her during training. He suggests that the only way Mom will allow her daughter to fly is if he goes with her. Holy cow! Where’s the trust in the flight instructor? How can I teach the youngster with Daddy in the rear seat inserting his two cents every few minutes? I feel really uncomfortable being in this position. Help!
No name, please
Greetings No Name:
Ah, yes. You are absolutely correct in this being an issue about trust: trust in you. If their daughter were about to have surgery, it’s unlikely that one or more parents would insist on accompanying the surgeon into the operating room. Trust is implicit here. Unfortunately, it’s not always implicit in the world of flight training.
Here’s one way to handle this problem. You want to sell the mom on your ability to ensure her daughter’s safety during training. So offer to give the mom—the decision maker, here—a short flight lesson (perhaps a half hour in length) so she can experience firsthand your deep commitment to aviation safety. Put Mom in the front seat and keep Daddy on the ground. Before entering the airplane, find out what concerns the mother most about her daughter’s safety. Then put on your best “look how safe I am when I teach” show. Make it an Academy Award performance. Who knows, maybe the ATIS will advertise information “Oscar” as a recognition of your performance.
What this flight will do is help Mom trust you. If Mom doesn’t want to fly, then schedule her for a half hour of ground training. Go over your teaching and safety strategies. Remember, this is a sales job and you’re selling mom on the idea that her daughter will be safe in your hands. I’ve used this strategy several times and it works well.
Rod:
I’m on my fifteenth flight lesson and have had about three lessons in the traffic pattern. I’ve read many of your suggestions regarding learning to land and I’d like to add another. On my last lesson I began applying nose-up trim to help me flare the airplane for landing. I find that I get much better control over the landing flare when I do this. My instructor seems to be OK with the idea. What do you think?
Paul
Greetings Paul:
Actually, I’m not a big fan of that technique. Keep in mind that the airplane’s trim wheel is not a flight control. It’s a device that reduces the physical pressure you apply to a flight control (among other things). If you feel it’s necessary to use trim during the landing flare, it’s likely that the airplane wasn’t trimmed properly for an approach speed of 1.3 VS—or whatever your POH recommends—before you began the landing flare. More than likely, you’ve trimmed for a higher approach speed, which makes for a longer, and often “harder,” rearward draw on the elevator control. Furthermore, I hope you’ve signed up for the space program beforehand if you attempt to go around during the landing flare with the nose-up trim you’ve applied. Why? Once you add power in this condition, you’re likely to see space as the nose rapidly pitches up. This is a great way to induce a departure stall during a go-around if you’re caught unaware. Properly loaded training airplanes were designed to be easily flared by the average person without the use of trim during the flare. Say “no” to the trim-flare and say “yes” to properly trimming before you flare.
Rod:
My son (age 22) has a college degree and wants to fly commercially, so we (his family) are considering placing nearly $50,000 on account at a major airline prep school for flight training. I’ve read stories about people losing money when flight schools go bankrupt. Can you offer any insight on this investment?
Wanda
Greetings Wanda:
It’s a good time to be in aviation and with training, experience, and good health, your son will most likely find an airline job. What about the deposit of such a large sum with a school? Unless you can ascertain that this business is reputable, solvent, and run by capable people (and some certainly are) don’t put more money down at one time than you care to lose at one time. Period! Instead, put it in some type of escrow account from which the flight school can draw, under your supervision. If the school wants your business bad enough, they’ll find a way to work with you.
Rod Machado is a flight instructor, author, educator, and speaker. Check out his CFI affiliate program online(www.rodmachado.com).
