Instructing

[Alex 009]

I started my instructor rating today. Any tips or words of advice for later on?

[the dean]

yes..learn from your students...do'nt allow them too much control ( say ..low and slow ...keep a hand discreetly close to the controls )..but do'nt take too much control from the student either. they wo'nt learn anything that way. remember its a learning curve for both of you.. for you from the point of view of experience and to know how far to trust the student.

you will find that by and large people make the same mistakes...but unfortunately for you, it is not always the same words that we use that will cure the problem for different people.

i have always taken the view that whereas people vary enormously in their abilities, it sould be possible to teach most people to fly and if you can't then it may ( though not always ) be your fault that you have not recognized and identified correctly the misunderstanding on the students part, or not found the correct words.

an old instructor many years ago said to me when i was doing my course...''if you remember that the guy in the left seat is trying to kill you ..:eek: ..you'll live a little longer..'':}

it is a most rewarding task that will lie ahead when you finish your course. enjoy it and the pleasure it will bring you.

good luck.gear up.:ok:

the dean.

[VFE]

Instructing is 4 parts personality and 1 part skill.

By that, I mean your ability to get along with people from all walks of life and your ability to empathise will count more than being able to land a C152 on 12 feet of runway. Thankfully hair raising moments are few and far between (and usually nothing to do with the student but other aircraft around you!) and you should hope to be able to relax enough to inspire confidence in your student whilst being aware of the pointers which could lead to a problem up ahead, ie; student being high and fast on approach - you know it's going to end in a go-around but they'll move heaven and earth to try and smack the thing on halfway down the short field strip before you apply full power for them! ;)

Like the previous poster said: the errors are common so you can usually anticipate them thus avoiding the need to sweat too much but the same explanation does not always work.

VFE.

[will5023]

Remember to tell them that when you calmly say "I have control" you mean it :\ !! And speak clearly it helps prolong life and that of the plane, it bust you no work ! Good luck and enjoy !

Regards Will.

[212man]

It's the competent, experienced students who will catch you out: you will be more relaxed and less expectant of errors :\

[squeakyunclean]

The pre-flight brief is as much benefit to you as it is the student so be both thorough and concise.

[timzsta]

It may sound the most blindingly obvious thing but one of the best pieces of advice I got when I started a year ago was "always make sure you have enough fuel".

There have been three or four occasions where I might have gone with what I had but remembered those words and topped it up only to be very glad that I did.

Had to orbit away from the airfield recently for 20 mins due IFR traffic and a jet doing circuits at the end of a trial lesson. Had I not topped her up I might have been seriously embarrased.

I tell my students they should enjoy flying and I should enjoy flying with them. If one of us is not enjoying it there is a problem.

[Ex Oggie]

Be very, very careful with the terminology you use. If you say "pull the power off" or "close the throttle" when you meant "gradually reduce the power to idle" you may be unpleasantly suprised when the throttle is closed so quickly, it might as well be an on/off switch. There are literally hundreds of little traps like this, when you are not accurate & specific in your patter.


Best of luck
XO

[Hansard]

timzsta has good advice about fuel. Never go without checking it and "If in doubt, there's no doubt", as they say. It's easy to get it wrong on a busy day when lessons are wall-to-wall.

And Ex-Oggie's comments are so true, if you tell a student to "pull the control column back" to enter the stall, you just might find yourself recovering from an unintentional spin.