"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:IyC7c.58287$_w.912977@attbi_s53...
My son, age 13, is planning to take flight lessons this summer. My wife
and
I are both pilots, so he has been flying since birth.

Any parents out there gone through the same experience? My concerns a

1. Training Program. His training need to be thorough, but not dull and
too
"book oriented." I don't want him to burn out.

2. Structure. He's a typical 13 year old -- one minute mature, the next
minute a scatter-brain. He learns best in a structured environment, which
is something I've noticed is lacking in most FBO-based training programs.
The problem, of course, is if it's too structured it may become dull, and
then we're back to #1.

3. Frequency. Given his inability to solo for a few years, I was thinking
that weekly lessons would be plenty. I know this slows the learning
process, but that's okay for now. Or do you think he'll lose interest at
that slow of a pace?

4. Instructor. Whoever teaches him is going to have to relate to a young
teenager. Considering the young age of most of our CFIs, this may not be
a
problem. Or, they may not take him seriously. Or, worse, he might not
take
*them* seriously.

It's really hard for me to tell if his interest is genuinely internal, or
if
it's just coming from the fact that his mother and I are pilots. We've
assumed from birth that he and his sister would one day fly, just like we
assume that they will one day drive a car and go to college, so it's not
like he's got this unusually strong, burning desire to fly. Heck, he's
been
flying right seat since he was 8 years old, so it's kind of "old hat" to
him, and he, too, has always just "assumed" he would learn to fly.

But flying is serious business, and I want to make sure he becomes safe
and
proficient.

Despite our aviation background, my wife and I are both on pins and
needles
about this -- we want to make sure he gets off on the right foot. Any
advice from others who have gone down this road is appreciated!

Thanks,

I've been through this both as a youngster myself, (see Reader's Digest
April 1985 "A Little Help From A Friend" ) and with parents who have
consulted with me through the years on this issue as it relates to teaching
their youngsters to fly.
It's not really a complex question, but it deserves a great deal of thought.
The first thing I've always addressed with the parents is the issue of
motivation. This can be a problem, especially if the parents are active in
the aviation community as both of you are. The issue needs to be viewed from
outside the box. You have to take yourselves and your influence out of the
equation and view the youngster's motivation completely as a separate
entity. This is extremely important, as it's completely normal for a young
person to want to please their parents by emulating and indeed expanding on
the parents interests. This can lead to trouble down the line if the
youngster goes into the program with this incentive, as it's a negative
incentive as far as flying is concerned. It's not a guaranteed major hit on
the negative side, but it could be a serious problem if the youngster is
intelligent; learns the rote functions; but is harboring some deep seated
negative issues or fears about flying. I only mention this to point you in a
direction that ended up with you being absolutely certain that all the
incentives and motivation involved are positive. Once this is done, and
you're sure he's positive instead of "wanting to please" the rest is easy.
For a 13 year old with the obvious experience your youngster would have
already gained through exposure to both of you, I would suggest an easing
into a structured program gradually rather than a sudden rush into
programmed training. Once you are satisfied that the motivation is positive
on it's own merits, I'd simply upgrade the way you approach the subject with
the "prospective student" while talking about flying, and when you are in
the air together. Start dealing with the issue more seriously and expect a
certain level of performance in return. Don't go overboard, but start
dealing with the subject more seriously with the youngster. While you're
doing this, I'd suggest looking around, if you haven't already done so, for
the best CFI you can find. Then bring this equation together and turn it
loose. Let the CFI deal with when to get into the structured end of things.
I'd suggest laying off the formal ground school for awhile. The ideal time
to get into that would be AFTER the youngster has experienced first hand
his/her OWN ABILITY to handle an airplane in various situations not
experienced before. It will be here that the interest level will accommodate
the comparatively boring but necessary ground school training. Also, the
ground school training should be timed so that it's completed just about
where it would be in a normal training cycle leading to the PPL check ride,
and that in this case will mean a short waiting period :-) I totally agree
with your reasoning on burn out. Also, the ground school training has to be
fresh, so it's best not to enter into it early just to get it out of the
way.
So there are two reasons to hold off on it right there.
Basically Jay, I'd just continue with what you're no doubt already doing.
Just up the expectation level like I said. The important thing is to nail
that motivation issue NOW!! You want to make absolutely sure that this kid
WANTS to learn to fly and isn't doing it for any other reason!!! I can't
stress enough the importance of this single issue.
Best of luck. I have a feeling you and your wife are on top of this already
and don't really need much help :-))
Dudley