Mental masturbation is the perfect word for it:
I enjoy tossing around ideas and thoughts purely for my own pleasure and interest. PPrune is a good place for this because you can either choose to discuss these things with me or skip to a different forum.
Of course, as an instructor, I would like to approach these things from a "how to" perspective. "lower the wing into the wind and hold the plane straight with rudder" is about all the private pilot needs to know about slipping into the crosswind. "dip the left wing and stop the turn with rudder" is great for losing altitude.
"create an angle between the relative wind and the longitudinal axis of the aircraft by using aileron into the wind and opposite rudder, so that the path along the ground maintains a straight track in line with the centreline of the runway, bearing in mind there may be an increased rate of descent" would be the wrong thing to say while drifting off course on short final and into the control tower.
I just want to make sure I have ALL of the detail straight in my head so I don't teach anything wrong. i've overheard too many instructors teaching theory wrong (sideslips being a prime example), and i hope I never become one of those.
Thanks for the chuckle, anyway chuck.
btw. I'm not a flight instructor, just doing the rating now, and trying to develop a system that is good. If I sound like I'm talking out of my as s sometimes, it's because I am. everything i know now is from books and conversations. This is why I'm here: to get feedback from experienced instructors. Many instructors where i work don't seem to be as interested in discussing instructional techniques... more interested in talking about the airbus they hope to fly next year. Feel free to tell me what's what if i sound full of s***.