New instructor question: circuits

[Genghis the Engineer]

So, I now am just about experienced enough to not be a brand new instructor, but am long way off being experienced yet. However, I have one of my first students (an upgrade from NPPL(M)-->NPPL(SSEA) ) about ready, in my opinion, to come into the circuit.

Which got me thinking. At different times and places, I've kept myself current or been brought up to speed on various aeroplanes and licences by flying circuits. However, sometimes we've flown a circuit, land, taxied back and done another one - and sometimes we've done good old touch and goes.

Both clearly have benefits - and I can see a few obvious considerations. On a very short runway the taxi-back option is usually going to be safer, and if I'm particularly interested in a student improving their pre-take-off checks and captain's brief, then this also is a good option. On the other hand, if it's the airborne checks and speed control I want to work on, perhaps touch and goes, or even go-arounds are the better option.

However - I'm a beginner at this and suspect I've got only part of the picture as yet. Could I ask how you chaps with a lot more instructing hours see this? - when, and why, would you choose between the two main options of a touch and go, and a taxi-back? And when would you do something different (and if-so, what) ? Would you have a different approach, say, between nosegear and tailwheel aeroplanes?

G

[Whopity]

In the main there are very few airfields suitable for training where the runway is not long enough to facilitate a touch and go. Initially, the objective is to give the student a reasonable number of circuits to allow them to consolidate their training. If you can do 6 minute circuits you get ten in an hour though 8 are probably as many as the student can cope with. If you have to taxi back, then you will grossly reduce the number of circuits whilst the student pays flying rates for the privilege of taxing. If the runway is so short that you have to taxi back, I think I'd look for another airfield. After thousands of circuits I can barely recall the number where a back track has been necessary, apart from the lady Tornado pilot who couldn't fit a touch and go in a Seneca into 3000ft.

[foxmoth]

I agree with Whopity,
Take off is pretty easy in a modern aircraft so it is normally the approach and landing itself you want to practice, and if you are stopping and taxiing back then you really do cut down on how many you can fit in. For a tailwheel I like to do "stop/goes", where you land, bring the aircraft to a halt then go from where you are, but this does of course mean a longish runway and you may then need to do some taxi back sessions, but even here I would rather do touch and goes initially and see how the student is getting on.
Someone weak on pre t/o checks and the to itself will generally have sufficient practice in these areas anyway long before ready for solo. Another way of cheaply covering this is to sit them in the aircraft when the weather is duff and get them to go through this a few times.

['India-Mike]

With respect to tailwheel we do stop-goes (ie bring the aeroplane to a halt) until the student is competent in coordinating hands and feet while retrimming and resetting flap. Otherwise, students tend to begin to lose directional control and combined with opening the throttle and lifting the tail....well.

I added up recently that of my 500 hours in the 3 years I've had my FI, about 100 is tailwheel, mainly diffs training....and I still don't consider myself experienced since every student has produced something I hadn't seen before. I don't know if the old hands would consider t/wheel requiring a dissimilar approach to circuits from tricycle gear aeroplanes in general. As I say we use stop-goes.

Enjoy. It's a blast

[Cows getting bigger]

Depends on the student, amongst other things.

I have flown with students who are almost paranoid about getting airborne on the 'go' bit before they have even 'touched'. For these types, it is important to clarify that a T&G is a landing followed by a take-off. If they tend to rush the landing (for example, reaching to retract flaps/add power before the landing is under control) then I may well introduce a stop/go or a landing with backtrack. To me, the important bit is for the student pilot to concentrate on they task in hand. In other words: Can I make a safe landing? I have landed, am I in enough control to reconfigure? I am ready to take-of, do I have enough runway to do this safely?

Failure to follow a simple routine like this may result in a rushed landing, a poorly executed reconfiguration or a take-off that is executed without due regard to the necessary vital actions.

All that said, most runways allow plenty of time to follow this process in a simple single engined piston aircraft, providing the student pilot has mastered the art of landing in the right place to start with. :)

[foxmoth]

I have flown with students who are almost paranoid about getting airborne on the 'go' bit before they have even 'touched'. For these types, it is important to clarify that a T&G is a landing followed by a take-off.

A procedure I use to stop this is to brief that they land and slow after landing, power application for the T&G is when I say "go", this particularly applies on tailwheel where I want to see even more that they have full directional control at low speed both after landing and on the take off.

[Heston]

Another vote for using "stop/goes" with the "go" only when instructor says so.
Also taxi back has its place depending on learning needs of student (as others have said) and on what other traffic is doing.
Needs to be clearly briefed before hand of course.

H

[funfly]

I seem to remember that when I was a student I always waited for the instructor to say "OK GO" after the first part, it seemed standard practice.

[BEagle]

.....apart from the lady Tornado pilot who couldn't fit a touch and go in a Seneca into 3000ft.

How was she on parking the aircraft after landing??

:\

[foxmoth]

I seem to remember that when I was a student I always waited for the instructor to say "OK GO" after the first part, it seemed standard practice.

So what happened when it got to solo practice?

[Pull what]

captain's brief,
Commanders brief-just in case I get that job with EASA!