When Air Stink was getting started back in the early 80s at what was the old Morstar hangar, they had some of the best instructors available. Unfortunately, that's also about the time PAL went on a hiring binge. So it wasn't long before they were all gone.
About 10 years later, I had the opportunity to conduct an evaluation flight for the recently resigned chief instructor of AS. He had quit in disgust when Capt. A tried to make him certify a stack of padded logbooks.
His technical knowledge was 100%. His preflight procedures were 100%. On initial climb out from Runway 13 in a C150, his heading was pegged on 135 degrees and his airspeed was pegged on 80 mph. It was like the instruments had frozen. Unfortunately, there was a really strong breeze blowing straight down 06. Before we crossed the big runway, we were almost over the control tower! Crosswind correction was 0%.
On the way to the practice area, he could maintain heading and altitude within a couple of degrees and 20 feet consistently. But he couldn't recover from a stall or perform any of the advanced maneuvers required during a commercial pilot practical test.
I cut the ride short and told him quite bluntly that he didn't know how to fly. We were friends, after all, and I could afford to be blunt. We flew back to MNL where he made a perfect landing. But he was distraught.
He said, "I spent PHP350,000 for my training at AS. They told me I was good and now you tell me I don't know how to fly! What am I supposed to do now?"
I offered my time in exchange for coffee and donuts if he would rent a trainer and take a few lessons. We flew together for several days. We stalled, spiraled, chandelled, lazy 8ed, etc. He could perform every maneuver quite decently after just one demonstration. At the end of the last lesson, I told him to practice solo and come back to me when he thought he was ready for another evaluation.
He passed his second check flight with ease. There was nothing really wrong with him. He just hadn't been taught by his instructors. He eventually bought the trainer we had used and went on to start his own school. He has been flying jetliners as captain for quite a few years now.
There's a nasty little law of learning called "The Law of Primacy."
It says that what we learn first, we remember best. This can be good or bad. If we are taught the wrong things or not enough things then told we are doing well by our instructors, we tend to take their word for it. Over time, we become resistant to anything new that contradicts what we already know. We tend to put our instructors on pedestals and anyone who says they were wrong is full of doo-doo.
It's a deadly trap. But it's not impossible to escape. You just need to open your mind and get some proper instruction.
Last edited by M 0.78; 17th Oct 2009 at 06:18.
Reason: typo