10 little things

[aces low]

Ten little things I wish other instructors taught their students

I have taught many students and keep coming up against the same bad habits that are easily cured if taught properly, e.g.

1. When shouting ‘clear prop’, make sure they have turned the intercom off (ouch my ears!)
2. Rather than set the radio volume to full on, why not set a lower radio volume and use the headset volume switch to moderate the sound level.
3. Teach them to use the squelch control on the intercom. It saves everything being turned up to the max.
4. Rather than teach students to apply full left then right brake on downwind, get them to check that their feet and yours are off the brakes.
5. If you are teaching them to lift the wing on turns in the circuit, then make sure they use rudder and aileron to prevent adverse aileron yaw.
6. On some aircraft, carb heat has no effect unless left on for a good 20 seconds. Ask your students to select carb heat at the beginning of the FREDA and downwind checks and put it away at the end. It might have some chance of working then.
7. When taxiing, support the nosewheel with a little up elevator and when turning around pull the elevator all the way back…and add a little power. Nothing worse than coming to a stop with the nosewheel hard over.
8. Rather than stab the brakes and pitch the a/c forward. Teach them to caress the brakes to a stop whilst simultaneously easing back the column to prevent diving.
9. Read checklists out loud!
10. Don’t put students into the circuit if they cannot: climb staright at Vy, level out, do level turns, and slow an aeroplane down. It’s a waste of their money to put them in the circuit if they cannot do these things consistently.


There are many more I am sure, these are just my personal bugbears that I am always having to correct.

[Say again s l o w l y]

Amen to all that!

[jsf]

aces low

downwind checks

would that be pre-landing checks then matey!!!!!!!!!!!!

and slow an aeroplane down

How many times have I inherited students or taken PPL's on check rides who seem to have never been taught to do that!

When shouting ‘clear prop’, make sure they have turned the intercom off (ouch my ears!)

Opening a window or door and shouting it OUT of the Aircraft helps too, rather than mumbling it to the instructor.....

And a good lookout in the area of the prop. too..

When taxiing, support the nosewheel with a little up elevator

And on the ground roll......rather than thundering down the runway with all the weight on the nosewheel and then hoiking the control column back whilst shouting "ROTATE" Where do they learn that?

jsf

[FlyingForFun]

When shouting ‘clear prop’, make sure they have turned the intercom off (ouch my ears!)Personally, I'd rather see headsets remain off of both the pilot's and the instructor's head until the engine is started. That way, if someone shouts at me to stop because there's a small child running towards the prop below my line of sight, I might have a chance of hearing them.....

Apart from that, I agree with your list, but I'd like to add a number 11: flying the circuit with reference to the runway, rather than with reference to ground features. I found one student who was so used to following the coast on the crosswind leg of the circuit (even though the coast is not quite perpendicular to the runway) that when ATC instructed us to fly a circuit on the "wrong" side of the runway, the student continued to follow the coast, completely unaware that on this side of the runway the coast is 45 degrees from runway heading!

FFF
---------------

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

aces low,

I have a couple more for you.

I wish other instructors taught their students:


The Break Test and the beginning of Taxi is NOT a maximum performance maneuver

Not to stop next to a tiedown and then apply full break to one side and full power (While dragging the nosegear sideways. Leaving a black line on the tarmac from the Tire's sidewall.)


Happy flying,

Capt. Richard J. Gentil, Pres.
Naples Air Center, Inc.

[jaarrgh]

#13 Please brush teeth on morning of intended flight.

[P!ggsy]

It'd be nice if they went for a shower and / or splashed on some deodorant too. Oh, and not land with the brakes on.

[Penguina]

Apart from that, I agree with your list, but I'd like to add a number 11: flying the circuit with reference to the runway, rather than with reference to ground features.

Oh yes, I wish I'd been taught that first instead of realising several away landings later how hard I was making it for myself... :rolleyes:

Please take note, instructors out there, you don't make things easier by saying 'turn at the big tree'...

[2604]

Most of the time you become an instructor with no more than probably 250 hours and you have no idea about "flying" yourself let alone teaching it.

So how about asking the FI Instructors to remind all that to their student instructors?

This seems to be a chicken and egg story :confused:

[aces low]

Original posting was not intended to be a dig at students, rather their instructors who let the 'little habits go by'...for whatever reason.

Quality of instructor is a product of decent pilot and the quality of the FIC course and decent supervision during their first job. The latter (supervision) is rare. Good supervison, rarer still. Instructors pick up bad habits and then pass them onto their students. Hopfully these are picked up by somebody else, but I regularly check out PPLs and am more scared than when flying with a student!

[2close]

Apart from that, I agree with your list, but I'd like to add a number 11: flying the circuit with reference to the runway, rather than with reference to ground features.

I could never get the rationale behind teaching this way.

As already stated it can make landing out interesting. "How can I land there? There's no barn or valley to turn at"

I was taught the clock / runway method (if that's what it's called but I think you learned bods will know what I mean) and it's always worked fine. As far as I can recall I've never had to worry about looking for ground features (apart from noise abatement and missing power lines, etc.).

[Charlie Zulu]

I'm not an instructor yet but hopefully my suggestions will be okay here...

#14: Always ensure that both sides of the cowling is clear before starting the engine. That means if you have someone in the right hand seat, ask them if they can check their area before you crank the starter...

#15: NEVER EVER EVER allow any of your students to advance or retard the throtlle quickly, ie a second gap from full power to idle doesn't help a normally aspirated engine, never mind a turbo charged engine. Ooooh always makes me cringe. A pet hate.

#16: Power checks with aircraft quite close behind isn't a good idea, especially if I'm trying to preflight the aircraft behind you!!!

#17: Checklists are good, but one can get over reliant on the printed checklists. One person that I fly with regularly, after taxiing doesn't put the parking brake on and reset the RPM to ground idle until he pulls out the checklist and reads that item...

#18: Correct Approach Speeds. Too many PPLs that I fly with fly their aircraft far too fast on approach (because that is the speed they were told to fly by the instructor) and then wonder why the aeroplane floats like a glider when they are trying to land... too much of that "add a knot or two for the kids in the back" seems to be prevailant.

#19: Circuits. Why oh why oh why oh why do we have to fly a circuit that is out of gliding distance to the airfield / airport? At my home base 2 mile final approaches are not uncommon with a mile or two out on downwind. Far too far out. Especially that most of our final on R30 is over water. Granted I know some fields you have to for noise abatement, but what is the excuse for the other airfields?

#20: Mixture. This seems to be quite a important item that is glossed over during PPL training here in the UK. In the USA it seems as though the instructors take a more active role into teaching what the mixture control actually does and how to use it correctly.

Apologies in advance to the instructors here, I thought I would just add some to the list above that you guys (and girls) have ommitted (but probably teach anyway).

I know I'm not perfect, far from it. However one day when I'm an instructor, I do hope that I remember to teach my future students what I preach here.

Best wishes,

Charlie Zulu.

[Send Clowns]

Why oh why oh why oh why do we have to fly a circuit that is out of gliding distance to the airfield / airport?Because you use power on the approach. Unless the airfield has a massive undershoot it is impossible, therefore, to be within gliding distance of the airfield at all points of the circuit. The furthest point is the turn onto base leg. Agree that circuits should be tight, though. We're not in bomber command!

Agree with the rest too.

[SKYYACHT]

A proper walkround and inspection, and to actually LOOK at the fuel sample, and sometimes even smell it if it looks iffy!

NOT to tighten the engine dipstick with several metric tonnes of force......I hate having to use Stilsons to undo the cap.

NOT to say "Speed Checks Flaps One" when the airspeed is clearly above VFE


NOT to have curry and copius amounts of Old and Grungy the night before flying in a confined space with me.

But all pretty minor stuff anyway.....


Cheers

[Whirlybird]

Conversation during circuit when I was doing my PPL(A)...

Instructor (angrily): Why did you turn base there?
Me (nervously): Well, X (former instructor) said I should turn when I'm at 45 degrees to the runway.
Instructor (even more angrily): You don't do that here; you turn at the road!
Me: Er...OK..but why?
Instructor: Because the other way doesn't work with 1500 ft circuits. And because that's what we do, and you should know that by now.

I prudently didn't reply, and did it his way (and then changed instructor), but it does work, and works for every airfield I've ever been to. Do some of these guys actually attend an FI course? :(

[Tinstaafl]

Have never taught otherwise than to base circuit position w.r.t. the runway. Even when I taught at a very large airline & military cadet school (who shall be nameless but were Bloody Awesomely Expensive) who insisted on circuits w.r.t. geographical points it's possible to rephrase things sensibly eg "...turn base at 45 deg from the threshold at the correct spacing and you will find yourself over xxx object. Note that the object only gives an indication of your position error. It's not a target to fly towards..." etc

[StudentInDebt]

Here are my taxi bugbears -

Fully close the throttle before applying the brakes. If you are rolling downhill and getting faster and faster then its probably because you still have the throttle open, close it!

Don't open the throttle to Max RPM to get moving, 1200 is sufficient on most light singles on tarmac. If it isn't then add the power slowly until you start moving then return it to 1000 RPM.

Don't taxi along riding the brakes on and the engine screaming away. Don't release the park brake without closing the throttle first.

Don't sit there watching the control column bash against its stops, hold the bloody thing still in the correct position for the wind. Don't "steer" with the control column and for god sake don't lean into turns like you are Nigel Mansell!

On a narrow taxiway don't try to turn the aeroplane around on itself using full power, full rudder and jerky max differential braking when there clearly isn't the space and even less point. Accept the fact that you won't be facing into the wind for your power checks and you will be depriving the engine of 5 knots worth of cooling airflow when you've just have buggered the engine anyway getting round into the position.

When doing the prop check on a VP, don't slam the prop lever back and forward against its stops in half a second.

[foxmoth]

44. Rather than teach students to apply full left then right brake on downwind, get them to check that their feet and yours are off the brakes.
??? never heard of this one before in 30 years instructing!!

5. If you are teaching them to lift the wing on turns in the circuit, then make sure they use rudder and aileron to prevent adverse aileron yaw.
??? So WHO teaches NOT to lift the wing when turning? I thought this was a VERY basic item, or am I missing something?:confused:

[2close]

I don't know if this counts:

"Just because you're in a 45 degree banked turned to the left doesn't mean you have to encourage dislocation of cervical vertebrae by tipping your head 45 degrees to the right."

Guilty!

[Big Pistons Forever]

My pet peeve is the seemingly widespread belief that small aircraft are built of armour plate:* Too often I see pilots smashing the controls back and forth on the walk around, slamming the door with a 100 lbs of force and mashing all the engine controls like they were operating a steam locomotive. The idea of being gentle and smooth to the device that can kill you seems to have been deleted from the QFI curiculum.:hmm:

One of the earlier posters mentioned the mixture control. This is a personal sore point. Unfortunately an all too common scenario is repeated with many PPL's I fly with.
On the runup the engine mixture is abruptly pulled full out, the engine emits a strangled cough like the last weeze of a murder victim, where upon the pilot rams the mixture full in and the poor engine roars to life after clearing its throat with a nice back fire
:uhoh: . For the rest of the flight the mixture stays fully in because there instructor told them "bad" things could happen to the engine if it is leaned below 5000 feet:rolleyes:

How come the correct way to do a runup mixture check and sensible leaning practices are so uncommon:confused:

[18greens]

Big Pistons,

Whats a runup mixture check? Is that one of them high altitude things?

I am pretty sure we don't do them in the UK and other than to stop the engine at the end of the flight thats it for the mixture
(except of course when it is mistaken for carb heat on base).(insert appropriate smiley).

[Big Pistons Forever]

This is what I teach my students to check with respect to the mixture control during the runup. ( for this example I am refering to your typical C150/152/172 1700 RPM runup,not at high altitude airport )

1) Push the mixture knob in. This ensures you are starting from full rich. The knob should stay fully in. If it pops out a little bit it means the mixture cable is too long and is kinking in the sleeve which will result in premature failure. This fault should be snagged.

2) Slowly pull mixture knob out while watching tach. The RPM should initially increase 25 to 50 RPM then slowly decrease. Stop leaning when the RPM has decreased by about 50 to 100 hundred RPM and the engine just starts to stumble. Observe for a rise in EGT indication (if fitted). If the engine does not have an initial rise in EGT then the carb is set too lean or if there is a large RPM rise then the carb is set too rich, and again the fault should be snagged. Obviuosly if the EGT does not rise it should not be used for any inflight leaning. Finally if there is no smooth reduction in RPM and the engine just quits as it is leaned ( As happened to me once ) then the airplane has some serious carb and or mixture control problems and should not be flown.

3) Push mixture control back in and ensure the mixture control moves freely and does not hang up. The mixture knob should return to the full in position and the RPM return to the pre check value.

In practice this procedure takes about 10 seconds and will give you a good indication that the carb is properly set up, The mixture control assembly is in good working order and is in fact selecting full rich and the EGT instrumentation is working. :ok:

[jaarrgh]

Instructed on the west coast and in the uk. Just remembered about the mixture check on the run up eh. It's a Canadian thing but probably a good idea! Lots of little differences on both sides but better scenery over there, no doubt eh!!
But back to the important issues.... what about the heavy breathers? Please remember its a mouthpiece not a nosepeice.

[Chuck Ellsworth]

jaarrgh :

With all due respect I must disagree with your comment about the signifigance of the mixture check proceedure that Big Pistons has described.

There is zero difference between any location on the planet when it comes to understanding the mechanical workings of an engine.

I would suggest that knowing how the mixture control works and how the engine should respond to the mixture control is very important.

If it is a Canadian thing then maybe landing on the nose wheel and collapsing same is a British thing?

I ask this based on the AIIB accident / incident reports, and feel that it is fair comment. :D

Chuck E.

[pilotbear]

No, the British thing is using the rudder pedals as footrests and nothing else, and landing at anything other than the correct speeds, which could actually lead to your observation.

[ACW 335]

Bomber Circuits at GA airfields...for the tenth time...why do instructors teach their studes to fly 747/hercules sized circuits?

Please someone tell me!!

[Charlie Zulu]

ACW,

I beg to differ...

...but some of the circuits flown by Tomahawks at my home base are certainly bigger than the Hercules circuits I've witnessed whilst flying overhead Lynham (under a zone transit of course).

They go bombing (not literally) downwind at 800' QFE, overflying a medium sized town that is positioned just after I would turn base. Then they proceed to the centre of the town before turning onto a right base. Definately not able to glide clear and that is if they are at circuit height. Then they start descending on base down to 500' to final where they have to drag it in with lots of power. If they have any engine failure at all past the point where I and indeed most sensible pilots would, well they are either going into the town OR into the Bristol Channel's lovely muddy water.

The Tornado's at local St Athan are making MUCH MUCH tighter circuits than the Tomhawks / Warriors / etc at Cardiff. In fact you could probably fit two of their circuits in ours.

Grrr... always makes me cringe.

:D :D ;)

Best wishes,

Charlie Zulu.

[Kolibear]

A couple of points.....

Using a feature as a turning point rather than reference to a runway - it cuts the workload for both the instructor and the low-hours student. Saying 'turn base over the lakes' is lot easier than saying 'look over your shoulder and when the runway is at 45 degrees etc etc' when the student is struggling to fly S&L. That sort of finesse can wait until the student is more aware of whats happening.

Obviously, the turning points have to be chosen to give the correct runway reference, there is no point in saying 'turn over the blindingly obvious lake' which is 5 miles from the runway when there might be a smaller, but less obvious feature in exactly the right place.

Bomber circuits; I try now to keep my circuits as tight as possible, but thats also helped by the STOL characteristics of the aircraft I fly. Thinking back to the time when I first started circuit training, personally, I sometimes wished that the downwind leg was twice as long as it was. :)

By the time I'd lifted off, climbed to 600', turned x-wind, climbed to 1000', turned downwind (over the gasometers!), levelled off, let the speed build, throttled back, let the aircraft settle down and trimmed it, it was time to call 'downwind' .

Then it was time to do the downwind checks, (if I could remember them), correct the height, watch the heading, corect the height and speed and hell we are over the lakes turn right, head for the inlet on the river, carb heat reduce the power keep the nose up looking for 65 lower the flaps and lower the nose trim for 65 is there any other traffic watch the speed do I call the tower? turn base ignore the PAPIs watch your attitude getting low getting slow etc etc etc.

So yes, I certainly needed all the airspace I could get and It didn't get any easier for another good few hours. Add in another 3-4 aircraft all flying circuits and the necessity for a large well-defined circuit becomes apparent.

If I visit the airfield where I trained, then I will use those same landmarks, not because I want to, but because that is local practice and procedure and I don't want to turn inside someone in the circuit, just because I can.

So the circuit size has to accomodate the least experienced pilot, who will need the most airspace and that circuit gets fixed by convention. And we haven't factored in noise abatement.

And yes, I do get a bit miffed, following a Cessna/PA28etc downwind at homebase,getting to my turning point, only to see him sailing off on a long downwind leg when I know that I'm going to have to follow him.

I also think that its human nature for us less experienced pilots, when visiting an unfamiliar airfield, to fly a slightly larger circuit than normal, just to get the feel of the place.

[ACW 335]

CZ, i can see your point and fully understand! (At some GA airfields though, these rather large and cumbersome circuits just aren't necessary!)

[jaarrgh]

Chuck, relax,

Dear me. Perhaps if you were to read my post properly you will find that I suggest a mixture control check on the run up does indeed seem to be a good idea. I go on to say that it is a Canadian thing in that we don't really do that here.
Really, Chuck, your post doesn't seem to reflect the easy going and generous spirit found on the Island.
As an aside what is the 'ALTP' you mention under licence on your profile? If it says that on yours then you should have checked it before you down loaded it!




:)

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Jaarrgh..

Thank you for pointing out the error in mt pilot license description, I was not paying attention and described it based on what it was called over forty years ago when I received it. We referred to it as an airline Transport Pilot License and used that acronym.

So I will correct it and list the licenses that I hold.

ATPL Canadian........fixed wing all aircraft single and multi engine land and Sea.

Commercial Pilot Helicopter...........Canadian.

Commercial Pilot.................Airplane single and Multi Engine land and sea........ U.S.A.

Commercial Pilot Helicopter............. U.S.A.

Commercial Pilot Gyroplanes........... USA

Temporary Air Display Authorisation The Netherlands...( expired on Sept. 05/04 )

Trust that clarifies my mistake? :ok:

Chuck E.