Flight Training - November 2019 - 20

PREFLIGHT ASI NEWS

BY ALICIA HERRON

THE BEST CFIs CHOOSE
TO RENEW WITH THE BEST
AIR SAFETY INSTITUTE
RE-CERTIFIES MORE FLIGHT
INSTRUCTORS THAN ANY
OTHER COURSE PROVIDER

ONLINE
Receive engaging instruction
from nationally-recognized
experts in an easy-to-use,
tablet-friendly format. Choose
electives based on the type of
flying you do and receive credit
for some ASI courses you have
already completed. The course
is 100% paperless, and if you
run into trouble, the AOPA Pilot
Information Center is just a free
phone call away.

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Enjoy two days of training and
networking with some of the
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Choose from 75 convenient
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BEYOND THE CHECKRIDE
LEARN WITH PURPOSE

AS YOU PROGRESS THROUGH YOUR TRAINING, MANEUVERS AND LESSONS WILL BECOME

increasingly complex and challenging. You'll move from straight-and-level flight to simulated emergencies, and from your initial solo to your first solo cross-country. By the time
you take your checkride, you will have evolved from a person just trying to keep the wings
level into a pilot prepared for your first passengers.
Because we tend to focus on that final goal-the checkride-it is easy to forget the bigger "why" of the training we do. As checkride day approaches, it is important to remember
that passing is a goal of flight training, but it is not the only goal.
Every skill you learn in your initial flight training is critical to some phase of flight or in
understanding aircraft performance. Make sure you fully comprehend each new maneuver and ask your instructor for clarification over any aspects you may find unclear. After
the checkride, don't neglect airmanship skills or they might not be sharp when you need
them most. Take short-field landings-can you really forget about that technique once the
checkride is done? Maybe you have no intention of ever seeking out a real short field, but
that doesn't mean that the requirement to use that skill won't find you.
Consider a scenario where you approach an airport with crossing runways. Unforecast weather is closing in, but you're only a few miles out-you'll be on the ground before
there's a problem. You plan to land on the longer runway-or that was your plan, but you
just heard that a pilot had a gear collapse on touchdown. The crippled airplane won't be
moved before the weather arrives. There are no nearby alternate airports. You must land
on the crossing runway-but it's only 2,500 feet long and there are 80-foot-tall trees at
the approach end. If the last time you practiced your short-field technique was before the
checkride, you might be in for a landing more interesting than you would like.
Don't aim to fly within standards just to pass the checkride-aim to fly well so that you
can maintain proficiency and fly safely, even when encountering the unexpected.
To learn more about takeoff and landing techniques, watch this video series.
airsafetyinstitute.org/safetyvideos/TOL-series

20 FLIGHT TRAINING NOVEMBER 2019

http://www.aopaFIRC.org http://www.aopa.org/creditcard http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/safetyvideos/TOL-series

Flight Training - November 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - November 2019