Recalling Air Exercises for the Trainee FI(R)

[BlueRobin]

Hi all

Here's a thing... I started my FI(R) a few weeks ago. For the gives I tend to be zoned into the mindset of a student and don't store the sequence of events. Highly experienced chap next to me and about half of my time is dual; it's bound to happen. Come the give backs I tend to "zone out" a bit and forget what to do despite having read the training manual and tried to glean key pieces of patter from patter manual.

Obviously practice practice practice will get it sorted, but how do you remember what to do in the initial stages?

Idiot cards have been suggested - I had a bash at one last night and to get all the little things included took a densely packed piece of word-processed A5. Are there any elegant ways to sort this?

Thanks



BR

[llanfairpg]

My first comment, with respect BR, is that you need to explain yourself a little more clearly with plain English (an essential qualityl for any instructor.) I found your first para needed reading a few times

'Idiot cards' as you call them and again if you were teaching FI at my school I would need to have a liitle talk with you, are the basis of professional flying and I certainly encourage their use especially when you start.

My AME (doctor) regularly forgets parts of the medical examination each time I go and he is an ex RAF medic and has been doing it for years!

Are you approaching each exercise with the aim clearly defeined and understood by yourself. And are you concluding each exercise with that aim being achieved. Once you have the beginning and the end sorted the middle bit should flow naturally!

[homeguard]

If you are trying to remember the words alone for each element you will find it difficult, particularly applying them when you are flying.

Observe Sky divers, Aerobatic pilots they all do the same thing. They rehearse the moves on the ground and by doing so they relate the moves to their thought processes. An actor does exactly the same thing.

Fly the lesson sequence while on the ground. If you are worried that some will think you look like an idiot - go somewhere private. Think carefully what should be learnt from each move then add the words which will now come more easily. Of course it is important that all this is sycronised and that will require extensive practice and is perhaps for any instructor the most difficult part.

What is of utmost importantance to the student and also very important to you, as a rooky, is that you brief the flight on the board from you short brief crib exactly as you intend to conduct the flight. By doing so you not only brief the student but yourself as well.

[TheOddOne]

I was initially surprised that I wasn't given a set of cards for use in the air alongside the ground briefing notes that I'd been given. Then I found out that the FIC instructor expected me to come to the conclusion myself that I needed these and produce my own, in my own style, which I have done, and fantastically useful they are too.

I, Too, had near-total brain fade during the early lessons on the course and put it down to general incompetence but it seems to be about par for the course. Hang in there, it does get better!

TheOddOne

[TheOddOne]

[QUOTE][I've found if you do a pre-flight briefing it not only briefs the student on what s/he is to be taught, but also briefs you on what you are about to teach.QUOTE]

Yes, I'm finding this very useful, especially for parts I've not taught yet!
Fortunately our school programmes in proper briefing time and also provide standardised laminated briefing charts that cover a whiteboard; saves a lot of time in writing them up and also means that students get the same briefing from different instructors.

We have some students at the moment operating in pairs; they both get the briefing at the beginning of the detail; then one sits in the back while the other flies. They then swap over at the hold for the repeat of the lesson.
This only works where
a) you have a bulk of students
b) you can stream them for similar abilites within the pairs or they soon get out of sync.
One downside is that not everyone can put up with flying an hour of turning, then sit in the back for another hour of it; sick bag at the ready! (only happened on one trip so far, but I'll be watching out for it in future)

TheOddOne

[chrisbl]

I would echo what has been said earlier about finding somehwere quiet and visualising the lesson on the ground. Practice does make perfect and I think one owes it to ones student to have rehearsed the lesson before giving it.

In another life, I refereed rugby. Before each game, I would take ten minutes to visualise the kick off and the first sequence of contacts. It worked to eliminate the brain fade and especially in a big game, by having rehearsed the first couple of minutes I was ahead of the game and ready for anything.

Flying is no different and I still do the visualisation exercises such as the EFATO routine before I even get in the plane.

[llanfairpg]

Even better is to talk a lesson into a tape recorder, that way you not only get to analayse content but delivery, timing and inntonation.