Briefings for Trial Lessons
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Because is a trial LESON, intention of kowledge transmision is implied on the concept of leson, and people are suposed to get a picture of what learning to fly means.
If you don't brief them at all, is not a leson anymore, it's a pleasure flight, and for that you need an AOC, that is why it would be ilegal.
If you don't brief them at all, is not a leson anymore, it's a pleasure flight, and for that you need an AOC, that is why it would be ilegal.
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The key thing is to retain the person's attention and interest during a trial lesson. Dragging them into the briefing room is one quick way of loosing their attention and interest. Keep it simple and straight forward!
I normally meet them and ask if they would like to go anywhere in particular and then head out to the aircraft. Usual safety/hosekeeping points are mentioned and then show them the control column and rudder pedals and which control surfaces they move, by showing them out the window.
Start up and get into the air. In the cruise show them the attitude outside for straight and level flight and advise them to look outside and not stare at the instruments. Show what happens to the horizon when you pitch up and down. Then get them to play with the controls and then show the rudder and lastly the trim wheel (if they have got the capacity!).
Might then show the ASI, Altimeter, DI and the RPM gauge and normally state what altitude we should be at or not above.
Then let them lfy it for the rest of the trip and I sit back and enjoy the view out of the window!
I normally meet them and ask if they would like to go anywhere in particular and then head out to the aircraft. Usual safety/hosekeeping points are mentioned and then show them the control column and rudder pedals and which control surfaces they move, by showing them out the window.
Start up and get into the air. In the cruise show them the attitude outside for straight and level flight and advise them to look outside and not stare at the instruments. Show what happens to the horizon when you pitch up and down. Then get them to play with the controls and then show the rudder and lastly the trim wheel (if they have got the capacity!).
Might then show the ASI, Altimeter, DI and the RPM gauge and normally state what altitude we should be at or not above.
Then let them lfy it for the rest of the trip and I sit back and enjoy the view out of the window!
Dancing with the devil, going with the flow... it's all a game to me.
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Surely trial lesson content depends on the HoT at the FTO you're working for?
For example: if I did what Mister Geezer does and was caught skipping the pre flight brief, or even skipping use of the white board to explain the effects of controls, I'd be in for a right ole rocket off our HoT but I totally understand where he's coming from.
However, the opposite may be true at other FTO's which of course is perfectly okay if they're teaching the 'student' something once airbourne and not just up for a jolly....
VFE.
For example: if I did what Mister Geezer does and was caught skipping the pre flight brief, or even skipping use of the white board to explain the effects of controls, I'd be in for a right ole rocket off our HoT but I totally understand where he's coming from.
However, the opposite may be true at other FTO's which of course is perfectly okay if they're teaching the 'student' something once airbourne and not just up for a jolly....
VFE.
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Surely a 'Trial Lesson' doesn't have to restrict itself to exercise 3.
Depending on the time the student's booked, I'll let them taxi, then in the air they can have a go at basic effects of controls, try a bit of S&L flight, climb a bit descend a bit, sort of turn, and even try to work out where we are. That's half the syllabus touched on. If they're up for it, I'll demonstrate a stall and maybe a steep turn. I'll nearly always demonstrate a PFL (at least establishing the glide, field selection and initial positioning). So that's a good chunk of the rest of the syllabus all in an hour.
Oh, and if they live reasonably close we'll have a look for their house. If not we'll have a look at a cloud or the top of the haze layer if its in reach, or I'll position to get the sun reflected off a lake or point out birds flying below us or fly along the motorway and let them watch our shadow overtaking the cars.
OK that'll only go in the book as 1-3, but Trial Lesson Student has experienced flying, not just being a passenger.
My return rate is a good bit higher than 5%.
Madam Breakneck
Depending on the time the student's booked, I'll let them taxi, then in the air they can have a go at basic effects of controls, try a bit of S&L flight, climb a bit descend a bit, sort of turn, and even try to work out where we are. That's half the syllabus touched on. If they're up for it, I'll demonstrate a stall and maybe a steep turn. I'll nearly always demonstrate a PFL (at least establishing the glide, field selection and initial positioning). So that's a good chunk of the rest of the syllabus all in an hour.
Oh, and if they live reasonably close we'll have a look for their house. If not we'll have a look at a cloud or the top of the haze layer if its in reach, or I'll position to get the sun reflected off a lake or point out birds flying below us or fly along the motorway and let them watch our shadow overtaking the cars.
OK that'll only go in the book as 1-3, but Trial Lesson Student has experienced flying, not just being a passenger.
My return rate is a good bit higher than 5%.
Madam Breakneck
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This is why a trial flight or whatever you want to call it is so much fun.
You can make it as narrow or as broad as you like in its content.
A few instructors just get a bit hung up on how, if any, pre brief should be done...it depends on the person receiving the flight, the type of aircraft, etc.
Its the legal eagles worrying that they are breaking some law not giving a brief? Use a bit of common sense.
You can make it as narrow or as broad as you like in its content.
A few instructors just get a bit hung up on how, if any, pre brief should be done...it depends on the person receiving the flight, the type of aircraft, etc.
Its the legal eagles worrying that they are breaking some law not giving a brief? Use a bit of common sense.
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If you don't brief them at all, is not a leson anymore, it's a pleasure flight, and for that you need an AOC, that is why it would be ilegal.
LEVC Can you quote the proven test case for the above, if not what you meant to say was in your opinion it would be illegal.
how do you define briefing--can you quote the ANO section you would use in court-- a pre-flight briefing is an explanation of what is going to take place during flight-there is nothing to stop that briefing being given in the club, in the toilet, on the way to the aircraft at or in the aircraft. it could be argued that its not best practice but poor practice is not illegal(unfortunately) If i say here is the C152 we are going to start up, taxy to runway 27 take off fly to the west and return and land thats a pre-flight briefing maybe not the best but it tells the student what we are going to do.
In the same way if someone got on my aircraft at heathrow who was taking flying lessons(pre 9-11) and i gave them verbal instruction would it be illegal because my instructor rating is not valid. eg i am giving instruction on a public transport flight without a valid instructors rating
In my opinion intent has to be proved. If you intend to take someone on a pleasure flight and they intend to go on a pleasure flight and it can be prooved it could be construed as a public transport flight.
If someone comes along with the intention of having the experience of a flying lesson even knowing they are never going to have another one in my opinion the does not make it a public transport flight.Its when they come along and ask you for a pleasure flight that intention changes.
A sensible flying school will have several measures in place to help prevent any misunderstanding eg membeship with conditions, pilot order books which technically a student should look at before flight and a disclaimer form spelling out the conditions of the trial flight.
As instructors you need to be more concerned about what could happen if an accident occured in your genuine trial flight-- have you covered all the possibles--ever wondered why it says MOTOR RACING IS DANGEROUS at circuits? make sure your disclaimer form spells it all out for the criminal injury lawyers because you will find they are smarter then you are!
LEVC Can you quote the proven test case for the above, if not what you meant to say was in your opinion it would be illegal.
how do you define briefing--can you quote the ANO section you would use in court-- a pre-flight briefing is an explanation of what is going to take place during flight-there is nothing to stop that briefing being given in the club, in the toilet, on the way to the aircraft at or in the aircraft. it could be argued that its not best practice but poor practice is not illegal(unfortunately) If i say here is the C152 we are going to start up, taxy to runway 27 take off fly to the west and return and land thats a pre-flight briefing maybe not the best but it tells the student what we are going to do.
In the same way if someone got on my aircraft at heathrow who was taking flying lessons(pre 9-11) and i gave them verbal instruction would it be illegal because my instructor rating is not valid. eg i am giving instruction on a public transport flight without a valid instructors rating
In my opinion intent has to be proved. If you intend to take someone on a pleasure flight and they intend to go on a pleasure flight and it can be prooved it could be construed as a public transport flight.
If someone comes along with the intention of having the experience of a flying lesson even knowing they are never going to have another one in my opinion the does not make it a public transport flight.Its when they come along and ask you for a pleasure flight that intention changes.
A sensible flying school will have several measures in place to help prevent any misunderstanding eg membeship with conditions, pilot order books which technically a student should look at before flight and a disclaimer form spelling out the conditions of the trial flight.
As instructors you need to be more concerned about what could happen if an accident occured in your genuine trial flight-- have you covered all the possibles--ever wondered why it says MOTOR RACING IS DANGEROUS at circuits? make sure your disclaimer form spells it all out for the criminal injury lawyers because you will find they are smarter then you are!
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The idea of a trial leson is to give somebody the oportunity to discover what flying is about, not for pleasure but with the aim set in learning, that's why the CAA allows this kind of flights to take place without asking for an AOC to the PPL training registered facility.
What is happening is that most of the trial flights are indeed pleasure flights, if there is somebody from the CAA checking one of them and he sees you are not brieffing the STUDENT, he'll for sure consider it is ilegal, on the other hand , brieffing the STUDENT does not mean it is legal in front of a court as you point out, but for sure you stand much better chances of not getting shafted in court if you have brieffed the STUDENT.
As is often said , better safe than sorry, cover your back, brieff them even if you positively know they wont ever ever come back for flight training
What do you think of the trial flights where the STUDENT comes along with his friends or relatives?, i mean when they get along in the aircraft for the flight, does anybody know what is the CAA view on this matter?
What is happening is that most of the trial flights are indeed pleasure flights, if there is somebody from the CAA checking one of them and he sees you are not brieffing the STUDENT, he'll for sure consider it is ilegal, on the other hand , brieffing the STUDENT does not mean it is legal in front of a court as you point out, but for sure you stand much better chances of not getting shafted in court if you have brieffed the STUDENT.
As is often said , better safe than sorry, cover your back, brieff them even if you positively know they wont ever ever come back for flight training
What do you think of the trial flights where the STUDENT comes along with his friends or relatives?, i mean when they get along in the aircraft for the flight, does anybody know what is the CAA view on this matter?
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"The idea of a trial leson is to give somebody the oportunity to discover what flying is about, not for pleasure but with the aim set in learning"
Why on earth should learning and pleasure be mutually exclusive ?
Personally I hated some of my PPL training but derived a huge amount of pleasure from most of it and learnt to fly at the same time - what I learnt primarily from my trial lesson was that I enjoyed the experience enough to take the full course and that was exactly what I wanted to get out of it.
Regards all, enq
Why on earth should learning and pleasure be mutually exclusive ?
Personally I hated some of my PPL training but derived a huge amount of pleasure from most of it and learnt to fly at the same time - what I learnt primarily from my trial lesson was that I enjoyed the experience enough to take the full course and that was exactly what I wanted to get out of it.
Regards all, enq
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The CAA is a regulatory body, and as such it stablishes what we can o cannot do, and how it is to be done , wether you like it or hate it is not what we are talking about, nobody has said so far that being safe (brieffing) and cover your back has to exclude the student wont get pleasure out of the flight, but the rules say if it is a pure pleasure flight it is TRANSPORT, and for that you need an AOC.
As pointed out by others it is in my opinion ok to brief them during the preflight, no need for whiteboard on the first few lesons, and keep the info going in during the flight, but if you don't explain anything untill airborne, chances are the student wont take in any info, because there will be too many things going on when airborne, now, you are suposed to be an FI to do trial lesons, and you should know better than that. After making sure the flight is safe, your first obligation as an instructor is to make sure the student learns.
A good brieffing is of paramount importance no matter what level the student is in.
If you do not think he is going to continue flying, then don't push it to much in the brieffing, keep it simple, but do brieff him/her.
As pointed out by others it is in my opinion ok to brief them during the preflight, no need for whiteboard on the first few lesons, and keep the info going in during the flight, but if you don't explain anything untill airborne, chances are the student wont take in any info, because there will be too many things going on when airborne, now, you are suposed to be an FI to do trial lesons, and you should know better than that. After making sure the flight is safe, your first obligation as an instructor is to make sure the student learns.
A good brieffing is of paramount importance no matter what level the student is in.
If you do not think he is going to continue flying, then don't push it to much in the brieffing, keep it simple, but do brieff him/her.
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SELL A TRIAL LESSON
Agree wiith LEVC
Just a couple of thoughts though
A trial lesson is also a sales exercise so you need to be able to SELL a PPL course--using MADAMBREAKNECKS trial lesson as an example any student i feel would be in danger of being overwhelmed.
Steep turns on a first air experience flight and PFLs you must be joking!!!
You shouldnt turn a trial lesson into a trial!!!
I used to divide the lesson into two parts my two aims were 1. let the student look out of the window and see how fantastic being in the air is and lets face it its the last real opportunity to be a relaxed passenger before the hard work begins. 2. let the student see how easy flying is(not how complicated it is with a variety of exercises) You can get a student to feel that flying is easy by getting them to do some gentle turns and flying straight and level.
What you want to achieve is get them walking away from the school saying flying is easy and simple and I cannot wait for my next lesson!
By the way i knew of an instructor who while working his last months notice used to show every new customer a spin on a trial lesson, guess how many of his returned to learn to fly?
Just a couple of thoughts though
A trial lesson is also a sales exercise so you need to be able to SELL a PPL course--using MADAMBREAKNECKS trial lesson as an example any student i feel would be in danger of being overwhelmed.
Steep turns on a first air experience flight and PFLs you must be joking!!!
You shouldnt turn a trial lesson into a trial!!!
I used to divide the lesson into two parts my two aims were 1. let the student look out of the window and see how fantastic being in the air is and lets face it its the last real opportunity to be a relaxed passenger before the hard work begins. 2. let the student see how easy flying is(not how complicated it is with a variety of exercises) You can get a student to feel that flying is easy by getting them to do some gentle turns and flying straight and level.
What you want to achieve is get them walking away from the school saying flying is easy and simple and I cannot wait for my next lesson!
By the way i knew of an instructor who while working his last months notice used to show every new customer a spin on a trial lesson, guess how many of his returned to learn to fly?
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One thing I found useful on a trial lesson (Baptism of the air in French) was to say just before take off that we would fly 5mins west and stay fairly close to a big factory there, and at the end of the lesson ask him to fly back to base, and after the initial shock and a bit of prompting, he would twig, "We'll fly for 5mins east!" It would give them a bit of satisfaction and be of benefit if they did take up flying.
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Originally Posted by Croqueteer
One thing I found useful on a trial lesson (Baptism of the air in French) was to say just before take off that we would fly 5mins west and stay fairly close to a big factory there, and at the end of the lesson ask him to fly back to base, and after the initial shock and a bit of prompting, he would twig, "We'll fly for 5mins east!" It would give them a bit of satisfaction and be of benefit if they did take up flying.
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Originally Posted by theresalwaysone
Agree wiith LEVC
Just a couple of thoughts though
A trial lesson is also a sales exercise so you need to be able to SELL a PPL course--using MADAMBREAKNECKS trial lesson as an example any student i feel would be in danger of being overwhelmed.
Steep turns on a first air experience flight and PFLs you must be joking!!!
Just a couple of thoughts though
A trial lesson is also a sales exercise so you need to be able to SELL a PPL course--using MADAMBREAKNECKS trial lesson as an example any student i feel would be in danger of being overwhelmed.
Steep turns on a first air experience flight and PFLs you must be joking!!!
and only if they fancy it (many don't). I find after some of them treating the aeroplane during the first half of teh lesson as if it will fall out of the sky if the lose concentration, the second half of the lesson (them flying back to the home airfield) goes much better and they enjoy themselves even more.Others, however, are content to waggle the stick a bit then hand back control and watch the scenery - they don't get the full treatment. I have one such on my current student list and he's getting a decent handle on exercises up to 9. He's still a bit nervous about the prospect of doing 10, so we'll approach it gently.
It all depends, dunnit?
Madam Breakneck
'Know thy customer'
No-one ever tells you how to brief for trial lessons, do they? Or they didn't on my FI course. Maybe helicopters are different.
With any flight exercise, you brief whatever you are going to teach; so that the student knows what they are going to do/see. For a 30 minute flight that won't be much!
Do you really want to be told how to do everything? If so, you probably shouldn't be an instructor in the first place!
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The "teaching skills" bit of my FI course was fairly basic and old fashionned. Teaching techniques have moved on, and indeed variation in techniques using different environments for specific objectives increases effectiveness. For Ex 3 I nearly always brief at the aircraft, whilst doing my external checks. This seems to me to be the correct environment for this brief for most people. The content and is taylored to the individual. It might be interesting for the HoT who insists on the use of white board to justify his/her stance on educational grounds. A short audit of information recall using comparing white board and A/C briefings might be valuable.
What has not been mentionned much is the position of "accompnying persons" in the back on Ex 3. Our CFI has tried to get a sensible answer about this from the CAA, but they will not commit themselves. Arguably the person in the back is also getting "Air Experience". In reality, I frequently shared an A/C with another student when doing the CPL and found sitting in the back observing another student immensly beneficial. Doubt whether it was strictly legal though!
What has not been mentionned much is the position of "accompnying persons" in the back on Ex 3. Our CFI has tried to get a sensible answer about this from the CAA, but they will not commit themselves. Arguably the person in the back is also getting "Air Experience". In reality, I frequently shared an A/C with another student when doing the CPL and found sitting in the back observing another student immensly beneficial. Doubt whether it was strictly legal though!
Why should it not be legal? The seat is fitted to the aircraft, so long as no money changes hands for the purpose of the flight it is perfectly legal. And as you say beneficial to other students who sit in the back.