I still can't believe I was that stupid...

[Whirlybird]

Hmmmmm....the title of this thread leads me to think it's rather unlikely that Confabulous' instructor decided this was an appropriate method of instructing for this particular person. Or if he did, he got it wrong. We have a low hours, out of practice student, who feels he's been incredibly stupid. And he wasn't. He simply made a mistake. A mistake, I might add, that many low hours students would be likely to make. At that stage, you do what your instructor tells you. You probably, especially after a break from flying, haven't got the spare capacity to think: "Did he say he had control? Should I check?" No, you'd just do as you're told. So it's a confusing and inappropriate way to teach a very simple fact.

Yes, some students are arrogant and cocky and need to be yelled at. But for every one of those, there are half a dozen who take things too much to heart, for whom yelling is counter-productive and positvely harmful. And even some of the arrogant, cocky ones respond quite well to being cut down to size if you prove you can fly lots better than them. You can do that without appearing a show-off...well, you can in an R22 anyway. IMHO, yelling is a last resort, and so are devious methods of instruction.

[rustle]

Originally Posted by Whirlybird

He simply made a mistake. A mistake, I might add, that many low hours students would be likely to make. At that stage, you do what your instructor tells you...

Okay, last try.

You're learning to drive and you're on an A road at 50 MPH.

Will the thought of letting go of the steering wheel and rummaging around in the back seat ever cross your mind?

Of course it won't, even if someone asks or tells you to.

Neither should it have airborne.

The original diagnosis was the most accurate.

Learn from it.

Get over it.

Move onto next lesson.

[Final 3 Greens]

You're learning to drive and you're on an A road at 50 MPH.

Will the thought of letting go of the steering wheel and rummaging around in the back seat ever cross your mind?

With the very greatest of respect, that is one of the worst analogies I have seen recently, since the two situations are quite dissimilar, full dual controls and the normal handing over of control from one side to the other being one major difference.

Whirly is right, instructors possess legitimate and referent power and most low experience trainees will do pretty much as they are told.

What we have here is post hoc rationalisation of a poor piece of instruction.

Learn from it.

Get over it.

Move onto next lesson.

Agreed - find a new instructor.

[Whirlybird]

instructors possess legitimate and referent power and most low experience trainees will do pretty much as they are told.

In fact, we could usefully have a discussion on the problems involved in getting some students to stop relying on their instructors and become real pilots. But this is not the way to teach that, and it's really a subject for a separate thread.

[Final 3 Greens]

Whirly

Agreed on both points.