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Postflight Debriefing 2010-03-18
The postflight debriefing begins as a self-evaluation by both student and instructor as to why certain. operations were less than successful or why some others went well. This final process should emphasize the prevention of similar mistakes in the future and the continuation of those elements that went well. The entire preflight instructional meeting above has an advanced parallel in the crew briefings associated with the airlines. Self analysis I tend to be, too, intense in my instruction. I want my students to succeed, save money, and learn quickly. I love flying and teaching it. I have difficulty accepting that others may have other conflicting interests like jobs, vacations, and family. I am constantly narrowing the student's perceptual field to flying or a single aspect of it. Students, on the other hand, fail to see that flying is not just the 'fun' of being in the air. Flying is the homework, preparation, and required knowledge to make the 'fun' safe. The best flight instruction takes place on the ground, it is on the ground that you are exposed to the habit of preparation that makes flying safe. Learn the habit of "What if..." before you ever get into the plane. Murphy's Law exists in flying as in everything else. The teaching process requires that the performance objective proposed to the student be explained, diagramed, and demonstrated. I demonstrate those objectives that are difficult to explain. I will create situations that are likely to be a part of the students later experience such as all the things that can go wrong during landings. In all maneuvers I will try to give the student the cues to use. Not all are visual. Sound is a very important first cue to changes in airspeed. The element of success in any flight lesson is the best motivation. I try to find some success to tie up the flight package. I avoid relating problems of the lesson as a 'blame'. We learn as much from our mistakes as from our successes. Before a lesson I have established what to teach and how to teach it. First I decide what ground preparation is required. I will walk and talk the student through the big picture and then go through details of anticipation and those parameters of expected performance. Since we are building, usually, on prior knowledge we must review those aspects preceding every lesson. Without the prerequisites the lesson will be less than satisfactory. Every student's flying career is like a new painting. The lesson plan for a previous student must be adjusted to fit the next. The instructor must find what works and mix and match the learning process to achieve the final result. There are many routes to the same destination; some are more difficult, bumpy, frustrating and expensive but all will get us there if we persevere. An intensive flight instructional period should not exceed 45 minutes of new material. Any instruction of new material beyond this time will result in deteriorating performance and frustration. However, it is important that a student's endurance be extended. It is little clues that warn the instructor of student fatigue. Failure to clear, pull carburetor heat, or trim correctly are common signs. As an instructor, I point out to the student my detection of fatigue and continue the lesson only to review material while returning to base. Physical fatigue is not as significant as is fatigue brought on by emotional pressures inside the student. The poorest judge of fatigue and the performance impairment occurring is the individual involved. If the student has not prepared for the lesson, then the lesson should be canceled, changed to a review, or otherwise adapted for best utilization of resources. The student should be told the sequence of maneuvers the instructor plans to follow. New skill elements will be introduced early in the lesson. Review and skill maintenance will be covered as time allows. Any discussion, along with diagrams and walk through, should cover the procedure, control movements, power settings, common errors, and performance standards. While there may be more than one way to teach a flight skill, some ways may be quicker, more efficient, better, cheaper, or safer. Behind the way I do or teach a given skill is what I have learned from mistakes with numerous students, pilots and instructors. Since the ultimate goal extends beyond a trainer, the student should be taught from the beginning, as though he was in a higher performance aircraft. The instructor who initially takes the easy way to teach is performing a disservice to the student and thus to aviation. I have detected in checkrides such instructional faults as allowing a tight grip on the yoke, not using trim, always making partial flap landings, not verbalizing clearing, and not permitting the student to do the radio communications. I try to concentrate on procedures that are safe to use in the worst of circumstances. If a particular maneuver is not performed by a student to acceptable levels the instructor should choose the most economic method of correction. Instructional skill is demonstrated where the instructor is able to detect, analyze cause, and provide corrective feedback to the student immediately. Some correction of errors should wait until landing. Perhaps a demonstration by the instructor is required. (My past students have indicated that I may not demonstrate often enough.) Have the student repeat the exercise while the instructor talks through the procedure. Have the student talk through a dry run before doing it again. Every student and maneuver will require a slightly different instructional touch. Rules and requirements will not make you a knowledgeable, safe pilot--instruction will. If the flying process is tending to overload the student it is best to remove the pressure. The instructor may assume radio and traffic watch or even talk the student through a procedure. Make sure that the student is reducing the work load by correct use of trim for airspeed. Have him talk through each maneuver as an aid to the anticipation required for smoothness. Be aware than much of 'getting behind' in flying has to do with airspeed control. Trim!! The truism that the way you first learn something stays with you for life applies doubly to flying. The student who is taught procedures in flying that were acceptable or even standard forty years ago may be dangerously unsafe today. The radio techniques of forty years ago are the equivalent of Elizabethan English in today's airspace. The God-like ability of the instructor to perform flying miracles of precision and performance gives a halo to even antiquated instruction. The student, with his flying career ahead, can only proceed oblivious to deficiency of procedure and the hazards created thereby. A student may begin to feel various pressures to solo. I do not solo a student until he has good command of the basics of flight control, FARs, airspace and communications. I do not teach landings until the basics are near mastery. Only them do we learn about the emergency and special situations that can occur in the landing and takeoff process. Area Familiarization I have instructed at a largely general aviation airport (CCR) with two sets of dual runways. This has been fortunate because the potential complexity of arrivals and departures makes it doubly important that the instructional process prepare the student for this complexity. Any pilot capable of planning arrivals and departures to this airport need not fear any other. My first airport meeting includes a visit (with a tape recorder) to the tower and other facilities. The visit includes introduction to the tower chief and controllers. From the tower I point out the runway directions and numbering system. I make a point of discussing the flight of aircraft in the pattern as to position relative to runway and direction. I show how the differing locations of aircraft as they call up on the radio can show you where to look in reference to your movement and location. Next I point out the two- mile reporting points for each runway as they are used for straight-in or base arrivals. The Concord Airport Class D footprint is a communications required area extending a nonstandard 3.1 nautical miles from the center of the airport up to 2500' AGL. I point out the wind sock and how it can be interpreted as to wind direction and velocity. I make a tour of the ramp to show student how to look at airplanes according to manufacturer and types. When ATC (Air Traffic Control) advises you to look for a certain type aircraft, it is important that you know what it looks like. It is even more important to know where you are. Knowing where you are is the best stress reducer known to flying. Stress focuses the attention and vision. It is the partial reason finding an airport or an airplane is difficult. In addition to the tower and home facilities I will take my students to a Flight Service Station and a radar facility. I prefer to self conduct these trips since FAA personnel often see the facility from a different view. From the visits the student can appreciate and see the logic behind some of the recommended ATC procedures. I see that the student gets a practical tour suited to the flying being done. The visit to facilities removes the mystique of ATC and gives the radio voices reality. If these visits occur early on, it is worthwhile to repeat again when correlating knowledge makes the visit more meaningful. Regardless of the student's experience I like to begin with a directional orientation exercise. I first ask the student to point to magnetic North. In Northern California a surprising number of flyers still believe the highway sign system which more often than not has signs saying North that is actually West, etc. The fact that Northern California is really West of "Southern" California only adds to the confusion. Any pilot departing South from any major airport in California can expect to be over The Pacific Ocean within 200 miles. After getting the four cardinal headings sorted out, I like to position all the cities around the airport for a distance of fifty miles. Lastly, I point out the directions to nearby airports. Prior to entering the plane, after the preflight is completed, a complete discussion and analysis of both planned departure and arrival are made. On the first lesson this may consist of only mentioning toward a particular city. As lessons proceed, the coverage becomes more specific and intense as required knowledge for solo flight. I will generally warn the student during our phone conversations as to what to expect and how to prepare. According to the runway, a specific departure request is required to get us where we are going. Choose a specific checkpoint toward which to depart. Have the student locate the checkpoint and figure out the request to be made to the tower. An additional benefit of this instructional process is that the student can use his knowledge of airport checkpoints for traffic awareness. An airplane reporting at the other side of the airport from your departure can virtually be eliminated as a hazard. However your downwind departure may be in conflict with an aircraft reporting two mile base. During each departure, flight checkpoints along the flight line should be pointed out as to identification, distance, and runway orientation. These points will be incorporated into the radio work for subsequent arrivals. This radio planning for arrivals is best done on the ground prior to departure to be followed by a known arrival. The area orientation process proceeds gradually with discussion and explanations over many lessons. A complete diagram of the airport is provided the student with most reporting points identified at two, five and ten miles around the airport. A visit to the tower gives the student a better idea of the airport layout. By understanding the ground controller's viewpoint of the airport and the tower's view of the various checkpoints the student will be a safer pilot. The student is expected to visit the tower once for each three-hours of flight time. Taking coffee to the controllers is a plus. The planned return to the airport requires that the beginning student at least have an idea of which way to go. Later flights require discussion and analysis that covers at least three or four runways with a variety of entries and two-mile reporting points. 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