Judging competancy

[Dude~]

I'm fairly new to this instructing game and am seeking oppinions on how to judge competancy of a PPL holder who comes along for a checkout. Ie, someone who may have 150 or so hours, and just needs a club checkout.

Obviously one cannot expect perfection, so safety has to be the main objective, as long as the correct mthods are used.

Some people say ask yourself 'would you let your family fly with this person' but I still find it hard. Any thoughts please?

[FlyingForFun]

A very good question, and not one for which there is an easy answer.

A few thoughts, but by no means a complete answer.

First of all, would you let your family fly with the person. But as you say, it's not that easy.

Are their landings perfect? If not, can they spot the errors, and do they learn from their mistakes and improve?

Do they know what their limits are? Do they honestly believe they can fly to the south of France after a 6-month layoff? Or are they planning on sticking in the circuit or the local area until they're a little more current? If they are planning on a more difficult trip, are they aware of the issue, and asking you for a checkout which is tailored to that trip, or do they expect you to sign them off to go to the south of France after one circuit?

At the end of the day, it comes down to judgement, and it takes experience to build up judgement. But remember that this individual has, at some point, passed a test and proven that they are competent to fly. If they are clearly not competent then this must be pointed out to them, but in my experience so far it is only a very small minority who are not competent after a short checkout if the break has only been relatively brief.

FFF
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[John Farley]

As FFF said what a good and difficult question.

If the checker is very experienced then they will have seen it all before (as it were) and so will not find it too difficult to make the call.

BUT if the checker is pretty new to the game and I was briefing or tasking the checker I would say something on the lines of

“So and so needs a check ride. Find out what he intends to do with the aircraft after his checkout. Then ask him what he expects to show you for his checkout. If he has no clear plan and does not volunteer something on the lines of a couple of circuits, throttle chop somewhere, bit of stalling (as a minimum) then that is your first warning sign that this guy needs watching. If his proposed sortie plan does NOT satisfy you then say to him - OK well we normally do a bit more than that, so I would like to brief you on what we need to do. Then you brief the trip you want. In other words you have to really take charge. From the time you start the engine to the time you turn it off stay alert. Assume he is about to let you down and don’t be afraid to take control if he does things in a different way from the one you know. If you have to take over once you are flying the aircraft have a gentle conversation and try and find his reasons for not doing it your normal way. As well as staying alert never assume that the next thing he does will be OK just because the last bit was fine. Afterwards if you have any real doubts about him come and see me so that we can discuss things”

Remember if you do not have stacks of experience youself then the ONLY way you can tackle the decision is to ask yourself whether he is as safe and sensible as you. If you are not sure the answer is yes get help.

[mad_jock]

I found I was quite harsh to begin with almost expecting CPL standards because that was what I was used to producing myself. Also you won't have a clue what the average range of ppl standard of flying is susprisingly high in some cases and shockingly low in others.

Then you sort of develope over time a gut feel.

Its a bit like when you send a student first solo.

You never really think about it after a while. Some peoples checks are once round the circuit others get a bit more attention.

The worst ones in my experence are the people that just stay in currency and no more. So if the check is every 28 days they will turn up on the 27day and do 0.5 of circuits. Then they go on holiday and need a check ride. If you give them anything other than circuits the fun starts.

And there are some bizarra practises out there. You have to separate the way you do it and teach it and what seems strange but the end result works.

And the trick is as well is to get them to fail themselves if they are really bad.
Most people know in themselves quite quickly that they could do with a bit more. Which is why its important to really keep your hands to yourself unless you really really have to save the day. It has to be obvious to the pilot that you had to take control. And in the past with me its been "your fine" to a border line case and next time you look at the booking sheet they have a hour booked dual. And if you approach the whole check with the right attituded its rarely a problem. And if you get a good reputation for being helpfull and supportive you will get more bookings because of it.

If it does become a problem step back and pass them to the CFI or an unrestricted instructor to sort out.

I might that this subject was completely lacking in my FIC so I know exactly where you are coming from asking the quetion.

[FormationFlyer]

On a slight slant - I would suggest that unless you know the pilot you really do want to give them a more thorough work-out.

In particular, steep turns 60deg and fully developed stalling + SSR will certainly help show you how competent this person is - in fact I usually find these two are probably the best indicators - if the steep turns + stalling are rusty the PFL, EfATO and circuits usually follow the same plot.

Make use of the time for the benefit of the person coming though - find out if they are in their last 12months and need that 1hr flt with an instructor - because that way you know to make it 1hr minimum and possibly save them some money - theyll thank you for that and if they were entering the 'check out' arena resentfully, then this certainly goes some way to getting them on-side - especially for the debriefing.

The ultimate thing to remember in check-outs is this:

Its not a flight test - you are there to help the pilot, and ultimately make sure he is 'safe'. Being rough around the edges is not unsafe...and can be expected from the vast majority of pilots. The time alarms bells ring is - inability to execute SSR correctly - particularly regarding use of aileron/rudder during any wing drop (hence why I prefer a prolonged fully developed clean stall before recovery) - any alarming tendencies near the ground - NW first, overcontrol, bad x-wind technique which could endanger the a/c.

I often recommend that folks should do blah & blah when returning from the next XC rather than diving into the a/d immediately.

Hope this helps,
FF

[Big Pistons Forever]

I feel your pain. At the FTU where I started my instructing career all the checkouts went to the new instructors. In retrospect that was pretty dumb as having to give the thumbs up or down on PPL's who almost always will fall in the gray area of "how bad is still good enough" can be the hardest job in instructing. The test I used was "at any time in the flight did I instinctively reposition my hands and feet so that I could take over". If the answer was yes , he/she did not pass. In avaition, somehow your gut will often cut through all the mental anguish and second quessing and give you a unequivical opinion. :) :ok:

However at the end of the day you do your best and have to live with the results. Again early in my career I was supposed to do a PPL checkout but was running late so the CFI did it for me. The next day the guy destroyed the aircraft with 4 heavy injuries from a low level stall spin after a botched go arond:{

BTW I always Do a PFL on a checkout. In 17 years of full and part time instructing I have never had a PPL do a acceptable PFL on the first try. Many of them were so bad they would have resulted in a probable fatal accident had the engine failure been for real:(

[Rosanna]

Many of them were so bad they would have resulted in a probable fatal accident had the engine failure been for real:(

I think that this one is the real problem. PPL pilot normally have no problems with normal operations. But if you ask them something more they have big problems. Checking a pilot with a lot of experience (hundred of hour with glider towing) In short final I asked him to go around and the first thing he did was to retract flaps from landing to zero :eek:

Ciao!!!

Rosanna

[spittingimage]

Ah yes, Rosanna. You remind me. PPL checkout and I try matey with a spiral dive. 'You have control - recover !' What does he do ? Full throttle and damn near instant Vne ! :eek:

I have never taken control back so fast in my life !