On Feb 12, 1:57 pm, Mxsmanic wrote:
writes:
Been in the flight training industry for fourteen years now, and
the above statement is so familiar it's not funny. And after a few
hours they either realize they're wrong and start listening, or we
have to stop flying with them because they're such a threat, failing
to understand that they don't understand. They got their minds made up
and that's all there is to it. Some of them even come back from the
first flight either sick (had no idea what to expect in terms of
motion, especially in rough air), or had their tails between their
legs when they discovered they actually couldn't fly. Can't push the
PAUSE button and sort things out.

And then there are always exceptions to the rule.

Yup. Way too many.

So you've seen students who do very well from the start?

Yes, of course, but not one of them came in with the attitude
that it would be a piece of cake. They were teachable and willing to
set aside any preconceived notions. Many new students will say things
like "It's so much different than I'd imagined." The students who
think they know it all have a tough time adjusting, and often find
themselves far behind the students who didn't come in with a bunch of
sim time and the assumption that they were therefore ahead somehow.
The simmers have a pile of bad habits they have to unlearn, and a pile
of wrong ideas to discard. All that takes time and the digesting of
large amounts of humble pie.
Almost all students have no idea how much bookwork there is to
learning to fly. The handling of the airplane is only part of it:
there's air law, meteorology, aerodynamic theory, airmanship,
navigation, and so on. Lots of reading and studying. Some tough exams
and complex concepts. An example is the changing angle of attack of
the wing in various maneuvers, attitudes and airspeeds, and the
dangers inherent in some of those maneuvers as the boundary layer
begins to break up. I read of too many accidents that happened because
a pilot that should have known better got himself into a situation
beyond his understanding. Even some of those that study hard have
trouble visualizing AOA.
It's not all hands-and-feet stuff like a simulator implies.
Computers are great but they can fool a person into thinking that it's
easy. The sim is a good tool for teaching instrument scan and some IFR
stuff, but it's only of benefit to those who have had flight training
already.

Dan