Flight Training - May 2024 - 47

ADVANCED PILOT INSTRUCTOR REPORT
GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME
PREPARATION IS KEY TO LASTING LEARNING
BY JOHN W. OLCOTT
satisfactory completion of the maneuver
being taught, the next task is addressed.
The process is logical and effective.
Consider the analogy of constructing a
road on a pristine plot of land. The ground
is prepared, drainage is arranged, hot
asphalt is laid, and a permanent roadway is
established. If the roadway is not properly
located or is inadequate, it must be
removed and a new road established. The
new pathway may be OK, but the scars of
the removed road remain.
At the onset of flight instruction,
the student's landscape for learning is
unmarked by previous misconceptions
or convoluted paths. Well-planned and
properly taught, the path to becoming a
pilot clearly leads to a productive and safe
career. When the CFI teaches techniques
right the first time, there is no need to
remove incorrect concepts or ineffective
procedures.
When not properly taught, however,
deficient procedures must be corrected. At
the very least, more flight time is needed to
repair the CFI's failure to teach effectively.
More significantly, the scars of inadequate
instruction impede further learning.
ALTHOUGH BILLY JOEL, MUSICAL
performer and songwriter extraordinaire,
is not a pilot, his song " Get It Right the
First Time " is relevant to all who pursue
aviation. Referring to romance, Joel
cautions that it's essential to make the
right moves right from the start:
Get it right the first time
'Cause that's the main thing
I can't afford to let it pass
You get it right the next time
That's not the same thing
Gonna make the first time last.
-Billy Joel, 1977
His message also is particularly
meaningful to all people learning to fly.
Get it right the first time.
Piloting an aircraft is unique. It is
not analogous to driving a car. Because
learning to fly is new, it must be presented
to the student correctly when
introduced. The process starts with the
CFI discussing the elements to be covered,
then demonstrating the maneuver
and supervising the student's practice
of the task. A lesson concludes with
the student showing the CFI that the
maneuver has been understood and that
mastery has been achieved or is at least
underway. In essence, a lesson consists of
four steps: teach, demonstrate, drill, and
test. Teaching is done most effectively
in a classroom; an aircraft is needed for
demonstrating, drilling, and testing. Upon
FINDING THE RIGHT CFI
Finding a certificated flight instructor who
respects the need to get it right the first
time is challenging but doable provided a
student conducts basic research and asks
questions. Part 61 of the federal aviation
regulations specifies the requirements
for training at all levels from ab initio
student through airline transport pilot
as well as what is needed to be a flight or
ground instructor. What a student must be
taught-the curriculum-is clearly stated.
There are no exceptions.
The outline of how the curriculum will
be taught-the syllabus-depends upon the
flight school and its flight instructor. The
FAA issues certificated pilot school designation
only to entities that meet the FAA's
training course requirements per FAR
Part 141 and have their program submitted
to and approved by the FAA. Each flight
task must be articulated in a lesson plan
FLIGHT TRAINING MAY 2024
47
PATRICK GEORGE
Flight Training - May 2024

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