Accident Analysis: Don't Do This, Either

Alton K. Marsh’s compilation of the top 10 student mistakes focuses on errors that bust checkrides—certainly an important consideration (See “10 Things Student Pilots Do Wrong,” p. 44). But in the daily life of a working CFI, much aggravation arises from behavior that impedes the learning process, reduces his or her income, or simply makes teaching unpleasant (and, yes, you can achieve all three simultaneously—see number three below).

Want to make your CFI reconsider that career choice? Try any of these:

5. Show up late. You’ve booked a limited amount of time, and good instructors plan their lessons to use all of it—and most get paid by the Hobbs. Persistently arriving 20 minutes late for your two-hour block means your instructor will suffer from lost earnings as you fall further and further behind. This doesn’t breed rapport.

Yes, sometimes things happen. If you can’t avoid being late, call to let the school know—and don’t make it a habit.

Taking issue is a natural defensive mechanism when one feels threatened, say, by criticism. Redirect the impulse into asking questions.4. Don’t prepare. You should know what you worked on last time and what you expect to do today. Not being ready to build on the previous lesson or failing to do the assigned preparation (reading, flight planning) wastes the instructor’s time as well as yours. Getting paid for that duplication of effort doesn’t eliminate the frustration.

3. Arrive hung over, unwashed, and without brushing your teeth. You may laugh, but college students in particular can be prone to this. You won’t learn much, your CFI will hate being with you, and getting sick in the airplane makes it a bad day for everyone. Don’t party the night before a lesson.

2. Argue. The whole reason you’re paying for the instructor’s time is that he or she knows more than you do, remember? Taking issue is a natural defensive mechanism when one feels threatened, say, by criticism of efforts to master something difficult. Bear that in mind and redirect the impulse into asking questions whose answers could prove illuminating.

1. Try things without asking—especially close to the ground. Nothing sours a relationship faster than being put in fear of your life. Instructors learn to identify and manage risks, but certain corners of the flight envelope don’t provide much margin for error. Low altitudes generally fall into that category. If you’re not sure how the aircraft will react to a particular control input, don’t experiment—ask.