Obtaining a FI, is it hard?

[Krallu]

Hi there.

I am thinking about taking an FI rating. Can anyone give some light about what the training is all about. Is it hard? Do you need to be a professional public speaker? How does a FI lesson look like in the air?

Thanks

[martinidoc]

No it isn't hard. No you do not need to be a great after dinner speaker, or Churchillian orator. You will be taught appropriate techniques to deliver ground based and flying based teaching. The course will also get you thinking about your flying in greater depth, and as a side product your will find your own flying is likely to improve.
The only caution I would offer is that you should have a desire to teach. In theory you will be assessed prior to undertaking your FI course, by the instructor who you choose. In practice I doubt whether many candidates are rejected at that stage.
Good luck.

[Krallu]

Ok, thanks for your information.
Sounds pretty good. I think I am more a practical way instructor than a theory instructor. But I guess you have to be able to function as both. :)

The hardest thing only is to have a theory lesson while you have an instructor or well trained person listening on you. (Butterflies in stomach)

[cavortingcheetah]

:hmm:

Without wishing to enter into any discussion as to the effects of the pestilential game of golf upon the countryside, the following may be of help.
If you can really understand and explain why a golf ball spins when it is sliced and relate its subsequent flight path to the spin delivery itself; you should have no problems explaning aerodynamics to your students, expert or otherwise.:)

[the dean]

you see...just as i was about to say...:*

KEEP IT SIMPLE....:}

some like to delve into theory. of course a certain amount is necessary ( and from what you say you are more practical )...but not as much as some would have you believe...and most students do'nt like a great deal of it either..they can learn all that from the books for their exams..

you are teaching a very practical subject..learning how to fly...keep it practical.theory never knew how to fly..:eek:..you do...so teach that and only what you need to explain of theory in order to help people to learn how to fly.

the dean.

[VFE]

My FIC instructor asked me a good question:

What is more important to understand?

a) The principles of lift and drag

b) When your medical licence expires

Answer being 'b' because 'a' is irrelevant unless you're legal! Simple, see?

You will be teaching someone for a PPL, which is a recreational licence, so you need to become adept at simplifying information.

The course itself was the most enjoyable I've undertaken and I learned loads more about real flying than any of the other courses. It is tough in the sense that you might know how something works but as you shall discover, it's a different thing entirely knowing how to explain it in simple terms to a novice.

The good news is that you get better at doing it as time progresses! After about 100 hours as an instructor you'll start to relax more and enjoy observing how different people react to your teaching methods which must be adaptable to suit the many different people you shall be teaching.

It is a great job if you are a people watcher and good communicator. The fear of meeting, greeting and briefing students passes with time and it doesn't really matter if you're the shy type because this actually makes people less self-conscious, therefore more comfortable, which is what you should aim to do as an instructor from the off.

But know when to speak up and be firm!

VFE.

[cavortingcheetah]

:hmm:

Well that's dispensed with the aerodynamics then. Shall we now move on to dismiss principles of flight, legislation and airmanship with such gay abandon? It's rather a pity that flight instruction has become nothing more than a stepping stone to a prospective airline career. One can remember when instructors strove to be as excellent in their profession as possible, rather aspiring to a doctorate in the subject. Then the delivery of whatever matter was under discussion, either on the ground or in the air was tailored to the student's ability to receive and ingest information.:ooh:

[VFE]

I think you may have misunderstood the point I was trying to make with my posting, cavortingcheetah. It is the order of priorities as an airman to which I was attempting to allude to, in that your aircraft will still fly regardless of your theoretical knowledge of principles of flight however, you will not be sat inside the aircraft should your medical licence have expired!

An instructors ability to impart knowledge of relevance to a PPL holder whilst keeping his ego in check by refraining from trotting out streams of irrelevant technical information to confuse the student being another point which I aimed to make, therefore I apologise if you caught the wrong end of the stick.

VFE.

[cavortingcheetah]

:hmm:

It is possibly true to say that, without a decent grounding in principles of flight, one might under certain circumstances find oneself in an aeroplane in a situation where it will not fly in a very friendly fashion. This could perhaps lead one quivering toward a messy demise. Unless one happens to be suffering from something such as an undetected aneurism, flying without a valid medical is not likely to have quite as drastic an effect. The parallel of trying to drive a car without any knowledge of the highway code whilst being quite content that the tax disc is up to date intrudes somewhat into the mind.
Admittedly, few either know or care as to the aerodynamics of that most useless creation, the golf ball, but for all that, one must be careful not to confuse the importance of theories in educational techniques with that of extraneous facts. Principles of lift and drag are theories which are both constructively informative and useful. A valid medical is a fact of life without which those principles cannot legally be demonstrated; although they can certainly be taught.
Speaking of sticks, one wonders vacuously as to the aerodynamics of a boomerang and its spiral dive tendencies which of course bear some relation to the further effects of aeroplane controls. Still, one has to agree and admit that matters which would boggle the poor student's eyeballs are best left to the ego exercises of the club room bar at the end of the day.;)

[vic1]

Well put cavortingcheetah!!! You need to know your books. But you leave the original question unanswered. What all do u have to do to get an FI rating in UK. I have a background as an Instructor (military, but not british)...and also hold a recently acquired ICAO ATPL. Planning to aviate in UK after retirement.
Thanks for any responses.

[cavortingcheetah]

:D
Give a straight answer to an honest question? :E
CAA professional flight crew licensing might help.
AOPA might be of use.
Both organizations have quite good websites.
You could contact one of the flying schools (must be nameless of course) at, say, Andrewsfield or Old Buckenham.
Someone may come up with something unusually sensible on these pages.
One finds oneself utterly useless when faced with such a straightforward enquiry.:{
Good luck.:)

[VFE]

Without a valid medical you can talk all you like about aerodynamics because you sure as s--t ain't gonna be putting it into practice because your licence will be invalid therefore you will be flying illegally and your student, if they're unfortunate enough to have paid for instruction off you, has wasted their hard earned. Your sign off's will not be worth the paper they're written on, the insurance is invalid and well.... one could go on....

Your point is also valid cavortingcheetah but one wonders why Aviation Law is the first exam a student must pass. Any ideas? ;)

Ah! Maybe now he/she understands my point... If not, just get back to reading AC Kermode whilst on your kermode and awaiting your case to come up.

VFE.

[vic1]

Thanks all the same cavorting cheetah!!!
You go back to your slice and fade of the golf ball!!!
Vic

[Troy McClure]

Thoughts re VFE's post -

Air law for the ppl:

1. Commander has ultimate responsibility for the flight.

2. Make sure you have a valid medical or you're not insured.

3. You must fly at least 12 hours in the second of the two years of your SEP rating, of which at least 6 must be P1 and one must be a revalidation flight of at least one hour with an instructor (or a successful flight test of any kind). And don't get angry with the flying school if you've failed to notice it's expired...

4. Don't go below 1500' over a built up area, don't go lower than 500' unless there's no building etc there, or making an approach with intent to land (or go-around/t+g if licenced field).

5. Don't bust controlled airspace without a clearance.

Most (and yes, I'm sure there are other bits and pieces that I've not mentioned) of the rest is a case of learning it in the morning, passing the exam in the afternoon. Has anyone ever seen a ball hanging from a lamp post on an airfield? Worried so much about the difference between sovereignty and suzerainty that you forgot to flare? Been so concerned about what class of airspace that VFR route across the Irish Sea is, that you hit the water?

Only points 1 and 2 have any relevance to your first solo. If it were up to me, Met would be the first exam so your students understand why you're not letting them fly on their own today....

[Troy McClure]

Knew they'd changed something recently. Been a while since I did my air law....:)

[VFE]

Had better grab a refresher course then! ;)

Fill a form out too - that's important n all.

VFE.

[timzsta]

I think it's a bit of a horses for courses. There is a baseline theoretical knowledge any pilot should be taught. If I had a student who say in his/her late 40's early 50's - the "I have always wanted to fly - know I have the time and money I have decided I want to learn" I would perhaps not go into quite so much depth on the theoretical side of things as I would with the 18 year old who is doing his/her PPL as the first step towards a career as a commercial pilot.
The long brief on principles of flight should cover basically how lift is produced and to give the student a good understanding of the lift equation. The student certainly should understand the theory behind why slight back pressure is required on the controls during a turn and why stall speed increases in a turn. Trim drag however is not of great relevance to your average PPL. Speed control and stability is of great relevance.
Good Air Law is a must - the low hours PPL will not get prosecuted by the CAA for flying 100ft to high or low in the circuit pattern. He may well get in trouble if he or she takes a mate with them having not flown between October and March.
Some fellow Instructors and I had a discussion the other day about student solo in circuit - how far downwind can he be extended by ATC for spacing before it becomes a cross country flight for which said student has not been authorised.
It is both the aircraft and the law that bite ones a**e. Understand both!