Originally Posted by
Hot 'n' High
Back to the slightly less worrying topic of landing ...... I generally avoid using things like "pull... pause... pull, pull, pause, pull....". I feel that could lead to "notchy" pilot inputs when you really just want slowly and smoothly increasing back-pressure to hold off - but without climbing either. You spend ages drumming in the smooth application of controls so "pull... pause... pull..." sort of goes against that. The "hold off" skill is best taught with a ground briefing first, then flying level in upper air exercises as speed bleeds off and then down the runway as speed bleeds off to fine-tune the skill if more practice is needed.
The "I must not land" chant is slightly different. It more breaks the psychological desire to get the aircraft on the deck ASAP which I find is often a problem - you are getting them to remind themselves to use the "hold off" skill longer than they really want to - but they need to have been taught the mechanics of how to "hold off" already. Often, such things are closely related but are subtly different and others may have different approaches!
All very good points, Hot n High. It's often the little things that have greater effect than the big things we say and do. Circuits and Landings are best taught at height away from aerodromes, runways, and traffic, so the concept can be learned in a less stressful environment, including flying along the imagined runway at minimum speed. This exposes students to the most critical phase of flight while having to develop all the senses to fly straight and level close to stall without relying on instruments. And I do mean close to stall, because that exposes them to behind the drag curve flight where the judicial use of power allows flight below stall. It also teaches proper control use, especially the rudder at slow speeds. I also agree about the psychological aspects of flight instruction, which aren't generally considered in sufficient depth.
Pilot DAR also raises a great point about teaching students to prevent the aircraft from landing, obviously while as low and slow as possible. That would avoid the anxiety associated with a protracted hold off, which usually happens when approach speed is too high, and that raises another critical aspect of flight training - why are approach speeds often higher than necessary?
In reply to your query about what we'd like to see, how about a forum where controversial topics related to flight training can be discussed objectively? Having said that, it'd be important that any discussion was disciplined and rational, with the clear objective of arriving at a logical conclusion, rather than allowing it to become heated.