CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 13 Issue 4 - 30

YOU CAN FLY
FLIGHT TRAINING'S HIDDEN GOLD
FINd IT IN AOPA'S FLIGHT TRAINING AdVANTAGE (AFTA)
BY CHRIS MOSER
ONE THING FRUSTRATED ME MORE THAN
ANYTHING ELSE DURING MY PRIVATE PILOT
TRAINING. And no, it wasn't crosswind landings or
power-on stalls (although those were a challenge).
What drove me crazy was trying to get my
instructor to help me learn maneuvers someplace
other than in the cockpit! I vividly remember being
told to perform a power-off stall and struggling
because I had to repeatedly ask what the next step
was. I spent more flight time memorizing steps
than paying attention to what I was supposed to be
doing-learning to fly!
When the opportunity to help create
AFTA presented itself, I knew
immediately what should be included:
clear directions and tips to help
students and instructors during flight
training. Using the FAA's Airplane
Flying Handbook as the initial source,
AFTA features a step-by-step checklist
for each maneuver a student will need
to perform for their checkride-plus a
few extras that we thought might be
helpful during training. The checklists
are non-model specific, but there is no
doubt that you can easily help your student learn
the specific power setting and configuration
for each maneuver. To go one step further, I am
incredibly proud of the " Notes to Pilot " section for
each maneuver. It is an expanded checklist to help
students understand and remember what they
are doing throughout the maneuver. Hopefully,
this will help future student pilots avoid the same
frustration I experienced during my training.
As a new CFI, I was lucky to work in a larger
school filled with skilled CFIs from whose
experience I could draw as I gradually learned
how to teach people to fly. In developing the
resources inside AFTA, I wanted to create a living
library of teaching tips and tricks for CFIs of all
experience levels to gather the wisdom each CFI
gains throughout their teaching. We put together a
team of experienced CFIs to take each maneuver's
checklist item and provide helpful tips and tricks
for teaching it to your students.
And we all know that there are things we see again
and again from our students as they work through
the learning process (right rudder, anyone?). As a
complementary section to the teaching tips, AFTA
features a " Common Errors " section within each
maneuver that includes suggested solutions to
help your student avoid them. If you look through
these and have a great suggestion to add, please let
us know! We want to gather all the helpful tips we
can find within AFTA's teaching section. Just send
them to afta@aopa.org.
If you're interested in checking out these tips or
want to give AFTA a " trip around the pattern, "
take a minute and request an account today.
Whether you are an independent CFI or a flight
school with a full cadre of CFIs, we're glad to get
you set up right away!
Visit aopa.org/afta to review additional
highlights and register for the program. It's free
for CFIs, flight schools, and students who are
AOPA members.
Chris Moser is YCF Senior Director of Flight
Training Education.
You Can Fly and the Air Safety Institute are
supported by donations to the AOPA Foundation
(aopafoundation.org/donate).
https://aopa.org/training-and-safety/flight-schools/aopa-flight-training-advantage http://aopafoundation.org/donate
CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 13 Issue 4

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 13 Issue 4
