green dinosaur,
I would hope that your 10 hour student would have an instructor sitting beside them who would calmly ask them if they think the engine noise has reduced slightly. If the student states that they have noticed the change in engine note then the instructor can calmly point to the fact that the attitude, and speed relationship are not what is normally expected and then perhaps the student might think that if the attitude is OK then the speed is low because the power is too low and pushing the throttle forward might help.
Which is more dangerous in your book?;
1. A pilot who makes a guess at where the trim should be set and places it somewhere other than the position recomended in the POH and then struggles with an out of trim aircraft until well above the surface ( but at a lower than normal speed due to an incorrect trim setting)? or;
2. A pilot who sets the trim as per the POH and then struggles with an out of trim aircraft until well above the surface ( but at a lower than normal speed due to an incorrect trim setting)? or;
3. A pilot who sets the trim as per the POH and then once airborne, uses the correct technique to keep the aircraft in trim at all times during flight?
To adjust the trim takes seconds.
The problem I have with all these AGL heights given to some students these days is that when departing from an unfamiliar field using QNH, they never work out what the appropriate altitude is for these restrictions.
How many students and PPLs are told - no flap retraction below 300ft and no turn until 500ft and depart from a 200ft elevation field and retract the flap at 100ft agl and turn at 300ft agl? Answer......lots
The great gotch ya for PPL checks is to ask them to climb at the best angle speed all the way to 500ft in an aircraft that uses flap for that. Almost 100% of them will automatically retract the flap at 300ft regardless of what the speed is!!
How many light aircraft descend while the flap is being retracted?
Would it not be better to say no turns at a speed below XX and don't retract the flap until clear of obstacles and the speed is above XX
Regards,
DFC