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The Right Amount of Ground
Instruction
By Rod Machado
About the author: Rod is an aviation writer
popular in
AOPA publications, an excellent flight instructor, and author of the
very
popular Private Pilot Handbook, an excellent guide to begin your
training
with. Consider purchasing his products at his web
site. In this article, Rod explains the importance of ground
instruction. It is such an important topic, the article is
mirrored
here to ensure you can read it.
QUESTION: I know you're busy, and I don't expect
a response
to this, but want to run a thought by you. If you agree with this and
if
it's even appropriate for your column in AOPA, I would like to see your
thoughts on the following. I'll try to be very brief.
It is a growing concern of mine that
flight instructors I observe, do not spend proper ground time with
students
before jumping in the plane for a lesson (some spend no ground time at
all). I believe that flying is taught on the GROUND. It's not fair to
the
student to introduce a concept in the plane with so much going on. I
believe
a lesson should consist of:
1. Preflight briefing (as much time as is necessary for that individual
to grasp the concept of the maneuver or lesson).
2. The flight lesson.
3. Debrief.
ANSWER: Greetings Monte:
From the tone of your note it sounds
like I'm not the only one that gets a lot of e-mail. I sincerely
appreciate
the considerate nature of your message.
You make an important point. Yes, ground
time is absolutely essential to flight training. I can't imagine a
student
acquiring a pilot certificate without obtaining a reasonable amount of
ground instruction in the process. How much ground instruction? That's
a difficult question to answer precisely. It depends on many things.
Nevertheless,
ground training should accompany every flight lesson. If it didn't, I'd
be very concerned about the quality of flight training I was receiving.
Let's explore the issue a bit.
Knowing what I know now, if I were a
beginning flight student, I'd insist on at least a two-hour block of
instruction
for each lesson. Approximately one hour would be used for the flight
lesson
with an additional hour for the pre- and post flight briefing. The
flying
and ground times are, of course, reasonably flexible within the
two-hour
block.
The first 30 to 40 minutes of this
two-hour
block are typically used for the preflight briefing. It takes this much
time for the instructor to explain what he or she intends to accomplish
on this lesson. Sure, this can occur at a faster pace, but not
necessarily
without a loss of comprehension on part of the student.
I've known instructors who, upon
returning
from a flight lesson, drop off one student and, while the engine is
still
running, wave another student into the airplane. The student and
instructor
accomplish their preflight briefing during the taxi-out and runup. On
occasion
they may discuss additional details of the lesson during takeoff and
climbout
(I'm not making this up, either).
Of course, everyone knows that the
climbout
isn't a critical time and is actually quite relaxing. In fact, I do my
flight planning during the climbout. Why waste time planning my flight
beforehand? After all, I've got a lot of e-mail to answer. In my
roundabout,
elliptical, nonlinear sort of way, I think you see that this paragraph
is a joke. Even so, if this is how your instructor treats you, you need
to have a serious talk with him or her. This isn't normal behavior nor
should it be considered normal.
The idea that you, the student, can
comprehend the essentials of a lesson over the sound of an engine is
altogether
silly. Flying skills are built on understanding the basic fundamentals
of flight. The key word here is understanding. This takes a little
time,
a little concentration and a little effort on your part and on the part
of your instructor. Skip the ground instruction and I'll guarantee
you'll
pay for it in frustration and reduced learning efficiency.
Remember, as a flight student, you are
the consumer. You deserve an opportunity for quality training. But this
won't happen unless you take an active role in your education. Flight
training
becomes a consumer driven activity when you teach your instructor how
to
teach you. If you need more ground time to comprehend a subject, then
say
so. If you need less, say so. Working with the instructor to tailor
your
training is essential in creating a comfortable and enjoyable learning
environment.
On the other hand, deserving the
opportunity
for quality flight training implies a willingness to pay for it.
Scheduling
an instructor for a two-hour block of time is reasonable if the
instructor
is paid for this amount of time (assuming, of course, that the
instructor
spent the time teaching and not telling stories). The idea of paying an
instructor only for the time spent in the airplane is simply goofy. It
makes no sense at all. Although this may explain why some instructors
skimp
on their pre- and postflight briefings. "Free the chain and fly the
plane"
makes economic sense to instructors who don't charge or who aren't paid
for the time they spend on the ground with their students.
Think about the problem this way. Would
you expect to pay a dentist only for the time spent drilling into your
teeth? Would you expect to pay a tennis instructor only for the time
spent
swinging the racket, but not for the time he or she spent talking? Of
course
not. Why, then, should a student expect to pay an instructor only for
the
time spent in the airplane when the engine's running? One answer to
this
question is something known as tradition.
Although this is slowly changing,
instructors
have been reluctant to charge for their ground time. It's often not
traditional
for them to do so. Who knows? Maybe they have so much fun flying that
they
feel GUILTY charging for pre- and post flight briefings. Consequently,
these instructors are less likely to spend extra time on the ground
with
you.
Remember, flight instructors have to
eat too. Contrary to popular opinion, they don't live off the plant
life
in the air. And those that do, are probably too weak to physically
crawl
into the airplane unassisted.
In the movies, when James Cagney walks
into a busy restaurant without a reservation, he gets a table by
tipping
the maitre d'. Of course, the maitre d' finds Cagney a table - or risks
dying of lead poisoning. TIP means: To Insure Performance (the proper
word
here is ensure, not insure, but why ruin a perfectly good acronym?). In
other words, once upon a time, a TIP was the bonus we paid before a
service
was rendered. This helped ensure the desired behavior (good service)
before
the meal took place.
Now, I'm not suggesting that you TIP
your instructor. I'm suggesting that you ensure the reception of
adequate
ground instruction by paying for lesson blocks that are of sufficient
duration.
A two-hour lesson block is reasonable for most flight training
situations.
Higher ratings or complex lessons may require longer lesson
blocks.
My friend and well known Southern
California
flight instructor, Gene Hudson, schedules three-hour lesson blocks
between
students. He spends approximately 2.5 hours with his student and
charges
for all that time if he actually uses that time. Here are Gene's
thoughts
in his own words:
"A typical lesson runs about 1.7 hours
on the hobbs meter and anywhere from 0.5 to 1.0 on the ground. I charge
for ground time. I set expectations up front, with a conversation that
goes something like this: "My rate is $50 per hour - clock time, not
flight
time. It starts when you were supposed to have been there and ends when
we shake hands good-bye in the lobby." However, if I allow myself to
get
distracted into telling a 'war story,' I deduct for that. I don't
charge
for 'war stories.'"
Wait! Before you run off thinking I'm
crazy, hear me out. It's to your benefit that instructors are paid for
all the time they spend with you. I'm not saying that money should be
the
only motivator governing a flight instructor's behavior. I am saying
that
the lack of fair and sufficient compensation doesn't increase the
likelihood
that your instructor will spend the ground time necessary to meet your
needs.
Paying for ground instruction and
scheduling
lessons in two-hour blocks makes sense in the long run. It's likely
that,
overall, you'll pay less for your flight training as well as reduce the
length of time it takes to obtain a pilot certificate. I don't make
this
statement casually. I know it to be an accurate, honest assessment of
the
flight training process.
So here's the plan. If flight training
isn't working out for you or if you want to try improving your
"learning"
performance, have a talk with your instructor. Schedule a two-hour
lesson
block and offer to pay for both the flight and ground training (not
jokes
and stories). Insist on receiving ground training before and after each
lesson. If possible, schedule the airplane 15 to 30 minutes before your
instructor is scheduled to arrive. Show up early and preflight the
airplane
(of course, this assumes that your FBO has enough airplanes and that
the
one you want isn't being used prior to your lesson. You're smart enough
to figure out the pros and cons of doing this). Why waste your
instructor's
time having him or her watch you do a preflight when you know how to do
this? Now, you and the instructor can jump directly into the lesson
with
less distraction.
Your Thoughts...

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All content is Copyright 2002-2010 by Darren Smith. All rights reserved. Subject to change without notice. This website is not a substitute for competent flight instruction.
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