Flight Training - January/February 2025 - 46

ADVANCED PILOT CFI TO CFI
CFI? WHY?
THERE ARE MANY BENEFITS
TO BEING A TEACHER
BY JOHN W. OLCOTT
WHY DID YOU BECOME A CERTIFICATED
flight instructor? Many seeking a career
in aviation reluctantly choose teaching
primarily to acquire the flight time
required for piloting jobs with airlines
or corporate flight departments. Such
motivation is understandable but shortsighted-and
potentially detrimental. Far
better reasons are found in the inherent
benefits of being a teacher. In pursuit
of their careers, CFIs are exposed to
profound payoffs far beyond having
students subsidize a competitive résumé.
There is no better way to become
proficient in a field than teaching others
the elements and interactions associated
with the subject being taught. Being a CFI
is a positive example of that assertion.
CFIs sharpen the knowledge, skill, and
decision making required for success as
an aviator. And they develop life skills
that apply far beyond the cockpit.
Explaining a maneuver to a student
requires the CFI to dissect the task fully
and organize his or her presentation
logically. What must the CFI do to
bridge the gap between the unfamiliar
and familiar? What should the student
observe? What is the purpose of the
maneuver; how is it achieved; what are
the measures of success; and how can
the student recognize and overcome
common errors? What are the steps that
move a student from rote memorization to
understanding, application, and eventually
correlation with other aspects of flight?
Because aircraft move in three
dimensions-vertically, laterally, and
longitudinally-they behave differently
from other vehicles such as cars or boats,
which operate along a two-dimensional
surface. In addition to moving longitudinally,
aircraft are free to pitch and
roll. Furthermore, the control input that
causes those motions triggers secondary
motions in another dimension. For
example, defecting ailerons to initiate a
turn to the left also initiates a yaw to the
right as well a pitch-down response. Such
interaction or coupling is easily missed by
46 FLIGHT TRAINING JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2025
the novice and must be emphasized by the
instructor. Additional control inputs are
required to compensate for that coupling,
hence the need for coordination among all
the aircraft's flight controls by the pilot.
Preparing students to master new
experiences such as coordination forces
CFIs to be acutely aware of what must be
taught and demonstrated. Furthermore,
teaching the need for coordination sharpens
CFIs' attention to coordination in their
own flying. Addressing a student's questions
from the perspective of an educator
sharpens the CFI's skills as an aviator. In
addition to explaining flight maneuvers, a
CFI has ample opportunity to demonstrate
how maneuvers are accomplished, thereby
benefiting from frequent practice and a
natural incentive to perform well when
conducting a demonstration.
FIRST, BE A TEACHER
Being teachers, CFIs look beyond the
superficial to find the strengths of each
student. Everyone has strengths and
weaknesses. The CFI helps the struggling
student accomplish a difficult task or
move beyond a learning plateau by
building upon what the student can do
well. Whether giving dual instruction
in training aircraft or contributing to
non-aviation programs, discovering the
best in others is a skill worth pursuing.
Teams, not individuals, win ball games.
Student and instructor are teammates with
a common objective-creating a competent
aviator who flies safely, finds fulfilment in
being aloft, and benefits from being a pilot.
Team building is a worthy talent in many
endeavors.
Each training flight is an educational
challenge and an opportunity to fulfill
the student's individual needs. No two
students are the same; each flight is
different. Teaching is dynamic. While the
maneuvers to be taught are repetitious
and impersonal, the artistry used by
the CFI to teach them requires insight,
personalization, and empathy. When
the focus is education, the potential for
burnout is diminished.
UNDERSTANDING PEOPLE
A teacher learns to approach each
student as an individual with his or her
own capabilities and limitations. That
uniqueness makes each instructional
flight new, challenging, and professionally
stimulating for the CFI. Flight instructors
become skilled at developing their
students' strengths to achieve success-a
valuable approach for addressing many
challenges in today's society.
CFIs need to know what motivates
their students. Why does the student
want to become a pilot-is it to be a
Flight Training - January/February 2025

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