"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
nk.net...

"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
As I've said, the pilots I've checked coming out of these "crash
courses
for the Private" were safe enough, but lacked the overall
abilities of
pilots who had gone through a normal process

I'm not a CFI so I don't really know what I am talking about but this
is
usenet so here goes anyway(!!!)...It is my impression that, right or
wrong,
most students are trained to proficiency in each task and then they
are
moved on to the next task. When they have adequate proficiency to
pass the
checkride they are signed off to take it. Most students (guessing
here
again) are mature enough to recognize their limitations and use their
PP
certificate to expand their capabilities and continue to expand their
knowledge as well so the fact that they are not meteorologists or FAR
lawyers doesn't put them at undue risk.

If this is the case, there shouldn't be a major difference between the
"traditional" method and the "accelerated".

Mike
MU-2

Both will do the job; there's no question about that. You can rote a
pilot right through a program and 9 times out of 10, the comprehension
will catch up through a natural evolutional process as comprehension is
gained through experience .
The only issue I see with the accelerated program (only at the basic
level) is that I believe it's not the optimum method to use to learn to
fly. There are better ways available.....not faster....but better!!
There is a danger area there for a pilot who knows the answers to the
questions without fully understanding the questions themselves. This
danger area will naturally decrease as experience is gained, but it's
still there and could be a safety factor. What happens in the ideal
situation is that the pilot self motivates toward the comprehension
needed. But sometimes this doesn't happen, and the pilot enters into a
flying situation without that motivation toward self learning the much
needed comprehension.
Bottom line for me at least is this;
The accelerated program at the basic level can do the job, but doing the
job more slowly, allowing the comprehension to advance parallel with the
performance, is a better method for turning out a more finished and more
safe pilot exiting the flight test and entering the self educating phase
of a pilot's career.
Keep in mind, that these comments are only my opinion based on personal
experience. Whether or not they can be proven right or wrong is
statistical analysis, and that's another matter entirely.

Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
Commercial Pilot/ CFI Retired
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