Improving skills

[umop apisdn]

I like to snowboard. I can do pretty much all the runs and confidently spray my fallen friends with snow without running into them. There exists advanced classes for snow sports, and people can take them if they want to be even better, maybe go backwards, hit a few jumps, etc etc. Advanced classes exist for driving a car as well.

I understand endorsements can teach a pilot new skills that they might have once not had, and that it is very hard to control for a situation where "advanced skills" might be needed without actually killing oneself in the process, but the question remains, is there such thing as "advanced lessons"?

I have picked up more than a few things along the way, and of course, we never stop learning and growing. Is there anyone in the country that could safely take people out and teach them things they might have never thought of or had to do, in a relatively safe setting? Things that could be for the benefit of anyone with any experience level?

If there was an instructor, a relatively open to new ideas instructor, that could take an advanced lesson but also learn from their student's experiences, it would be awesome. Each student would have a different way of looking at something, novel way of achieving some outcome, would have almost killed themselves in their own special way, and the "advanced lessons" instructor could slowly grow their knowledge bank to pass on to the next student.

Does this exist?
Would you go for a lesson irrespective of your experience?

I'm not asking because i want to start a business or anything. I'm asking because I wouldn't mind me some advanced lessons.

[magicalflights]

Aerobatics.

[gerry111]

Where's Jabba and the APS guys? :E

[Styx75]

Ag spraying

[drpixie]

I'm with aeros or tailwheel.

[fujii]

As you haven't told us what licence/experience you have now, how can someone suggest what is advanced? E.g. If you fly a C172 only, a retractable is advanced.

[MikeJulietHotel]

Tailwheel, low level.

[Sunfish]

definitely aerobatics...... Confidence and skill building + fun!

[framer]

Get someone to talk you through TALPA ARC (then give me a simple over view.)

[Aussie Bob]

Go get a job in GA. You can do all the courses under the sun but there is no substitute for hours on the job. This is where you will learn.

[OK4Wire]

Aeros, tailwheel, formation (proper, not "same way, same day"), low flying.

All taught by the best in each field.

[Ixixly]

In terms of formal "Lessons" or "Courses", I agree with most people with that Aerobatics is definitely a great way to go, teaches you a lot not only about Aircraft Management but a lot about yourself as well and how to deal under pressure. I'm really keen to go do the Emergency Manoeuvre Training with RNAC at Maitland, it comes highly recommended to me from a couple of people and Phil Unicomb is recognised as one of the best in the business and I can see why after being lucky enough to meet him a few times.

In terms of informal lessons, "You'll never live long enough to make every mistake yourself, so make sure you learn from other peoples", best advice I've ever been given as a Pilot.

IMHO some of the best ways Pilots can learn is by admitting their mistakes to each other and talking them through, learning the lessons, this comes from simply chatting, having a few beers. Companies should be encouraging Friday Drinks with the Crew so they have a chance to do these sorts of things in an open and comfortable environment.

Another issue is that generally your Instructors (especially at bigger schools IMHO) don't have much experience themselves outside of instructing, they rarely have any lessons to pass onto students except the basics. Flying Schools should be going out of their way to find people with experience and signing them up, getting them to fly with their students at different times later on in their training, organising informal lectures or casual meetings where students can ask them about their career and the things they've done, hear all their stories of stupid things they've done and the things other people they know have done.

A few schools have a lot of students who live at the Airport or Campus, ones such as BasAir at Archerfield, perfect opportunity to invite in Pilots from various backgrounds once a fortnight after classes for a couple of hours, have them sit upfront with a couple of beers with their students and just talk about things, share some laughs and some lessons, organise for APS and groups like that to come along or even ask CASA to have someone come along once a month and talk about the latest issues that are coming up. But they don't, why?

Some of these schools are lucky enough to have instructors that have vast amounts of experience, lots of great stories and lessons to be passed on, I was lucky enough to have a ground instructor who was one of the most experienced Pilots I've ever met and the stories he told us kept us not only interested in the classes but taught us some interesting lessons that were a little outside the scope of just the classes being taught to pass our exams or combined them in ways we hadn't considered. They should be utilised better.

[Centaurus]

Buy yourself two hours in a Level Five Full Flight Boeing 737 simulator - not one of those Microsoft flight training devices for tourists in various cities - but the real thing.:ok:
Learn the basics of how to take off and land a jet transport and recover from unusual attitudes on instruments. Now that is "advanced" flying and you don't get airsick which can spoil your whole day

[Ultralights]

Advanced aircraft control course, theres a school at YSBk that specialises in it, red colour, also, the APS course on managing your engines.