HINTS FOR SIMULATOR INSTRUCTORS
• Keep the pre-flight briefing concise and ideally under 45 minutes. Educational research reveals students lose concentration and interest after that time. If you are unable to complete the briefing before that time, you may need to review your briefing content and priorities. Avoid letting personal enthusiasm over-ride the principles of time management. Although students may listen politely to your war stories they generally prefer you place accent on the current session of the day.
• Ask short questions throughout the briefing. Questions break up the possible monotony of your voice. Time flies quickly for the instructor when expounding perceived good gen. Proof of that is when you glance at your watch and realize time is up and you have yet to cover the remainder of briefing. In contrast, time drags for the students forced to listen to a lengthy discourse on systems, stories and side issues. We have all stifled a yawn when an instructor becomes seemingly too fond of his own voice.
• Arrange the briefing so that the crew arrives at the simulator gate at least five minutes before the scheduled start of the session. This not only allows for a last minute toilet visit, chart photocopying, and study of the simulator technical log, but you may be lucky and find the preceding crew are out of the simulator early.
• Self-funded pilots are typically paying around $11 for each minute of simulator time. Starting five minutes late and finishing at the scheduled time means they are each $55 out of pocket. Complete your pre-flight briefing in time to give your students a fair go in the simulator.
• If the first session requires an engine quick start and the aircraft lined up for take off with engines running, the instructor should take the responsibility for setting up all checklist items before the pilots take their seats. This includes all appropriate before take off checks. For example, generators on, pressurization, lights, flaps and stab trim, V speeds set, anti-icing switches, hydraulics, MCP settings, cockpit lighting. This avoids the situation where pilots are unsure which checks have been completed by the instructor. Once the instructor has set the up the simulator with engines running, the crew are entitled to accept that there are no outstanding items left unchecked or actioned before the take off commences.
• To make efficient hands-on use of simulator time, it may be better to cover standard take off and approach briefings while in the class room. Keep the mid-session coffee break to ten minutes. Explain that because of the coffee break the pilot on the second session will receive less than his allotted two hours of flying.
• Avoid the temptation while in the simulator to relate long winded “hints” and lectures on systems operation more suited for the classroom. Every minute that you talk in the simulator while the students are required to listen carefully, cost them eleven dollars from their bank account if self-funded. While this may the cost of doing business, be aware the students have no choice in the matter. Keep advice short and to the point. Leave elaboration to the class room.
• Use commonsense when non-normals may require a lengthy reading from the QRH. Simulator time is both valuable and expensive and time is limited. Students need hands-on flying and while position freeze can be useful while checklist items are covered, it is possible the handling pilot cannot concentrate on flying while lengthy reading of the QRH takes place. Use flight freeze so that both pilots can concentrate on QRH text. This may be unrealistic but the instructor has limited time to get his points across so that both pilots get the message.
• Avoid excessive track miles where little activity takes place. Judicious re-positioning saves time. Allow time in each session for circuits and landings – particularly with strong crosswinds. Ensure a balanced spread between full use of automatics and manual raw data non-automatics. It is easy to be lazy and relax while the automatics do their marvelous job of flying the aircraft.
• Respect the pilots’ personal space. They will not tell you to back off nor will they tell you that your breath is on the nose in the confined space of the simulator. Stay well back where possible and make use of the pointer rather than dive in with finger pointing. There is nothing worse than an instructor leaning over the throttle quadrant and poking with his fingers at the FMC CDU and MCP.
• In your enthusiasm to help, do not place your hands over the student’s hands during instruction on throttle opening and power adjustment. Do not tap a student on his shoulder to get his attention. Slapping the students hand from a lever or switch is insulting and causes resentment. You risk a violent reaction from some personalities.
• While the student is flying, say nothing unless it is essential to make a point. If you must make a point, then consider freezing the simulator. Do not nag if the student is slightly off heading, height or airspeed. Over-instructing is considered to be poor instructional technique. Not only is this an annoying habit but good manners and respect for the instructor’s status will prevent the student from venting his feelings about the “help” he is being offered. It is all too easy for a keen and enthusiastic instructor to natter away while a student is flying. It may also prevent the student from giving proper attention to either the flying or the point being made.
• Allow the student to complete the landing run to a stop before taking over control of the simulator. This not only gives the student valuable low speed braking practice but can aid in preventing complacency from the student who knows the instructor has a habit of freezing or repositioning the simulator at 60 knots. It is annoying to have the instructor stop the simulator during reverse and braking just because he is impatient to get on to the next sequence.
• A well executed raw data ILS is always worth a word of praise to the student. On the other hand it is hard to honestly praise the monitoring of the automatics.
• If pilots have difficulty conducting engine failures after V1, the instructor should avoid the temptation of “talking them through” as they struggle to maintain a wings level climb on single engine. Students can get spooked by their failures to nail the heading and body angle. Rather than continually coach the student as they struggle with the controls, it may be better to take a control seat and personally demonstrate the manoeuvre so that the student has something to aim for. For obvious reasons do not demonstrate unless you are current on type.
• Some students are inwardly tense throughout their simulator training. It often helps their confidence if the instructor can find the time to give the student a solo take off and landing with no motion. Having set the student in the lined up position for take off, the instructor and the support pilot should exit the simulator and wait outside until the pilot has landed. Encouraging feed-back has been noticed from students who have carried out a circuit and landing on their own without anyone in the cockpit.
• Ensure the last landing of the simulator session is completed at least five minutes before the scheduled end of the session. This allows for taxiing and any applicable shut down checklists to be completed. It is good manners to vacate the simulator on time.
• If delays are experienced due to simulator defects and the following crews will be affected by the flow-on, the instructor should contact the technicians as soon as practicable and request the following crew be advised of the revised change-over time.
• Avoid lengthy post flight briefings. After a typical four hour session few students relish the thought of listening to yet another hour of non-stop constructive criticism or briefing for the next planned session. To this end, keep the post flight briefing concise and no more than thirty minutes.