Optimal Frequency of Lessons

Dudley,

As has been the case many times before, your post has been valuable
and is certainly appreciated. I tend to take longer to pick up things
because I over-analyze them, but I also tend to hold on to it forever
once I do get it. So I will make sure I have enough time to chair fly
and to internalize what I experience in the air.

Regards,

Dave

"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message link.net...
"David B. Cole" wrote in message
m...
Just coming off my latest aero flight just over a week ago with Mr.
Stowell, I've decided that I want to take advantage of the momentum
and start a more formal course fairly soon. I think I have an
instructor nailed down. My plan is to start with a 5-10 hours course,
spread out over several months. But here are the issues.

The airport is about 70 miles away from where I live, but only about
19 miles from my girlfriend. This makes it convenient to some extent,
but her house is on the market and I want to take advantage of her
location before she sells.

I know there is a benefit to flying as much as possible to increase
tolerance, but I would like to spread it out over a few months as I
tend to retain things longer if I acquire them more slowly. But I
would also like to get as much time before the hard NJ winter arrives,
as the airport has a grass strip.

I'm thinking twice a month, with the possibility of both Saturday and
Sunday, weather and schedule permitting for the first few sessions.
Would like to hear some ideas. I would also continue to fly casually,
particularly with the goal of remaining IFR current.

Dave

It's just a suggestion but you might want to rethink that "fly as much
as possible" thing just a bit.
I've had just about every kind of acro student you can possibly imagine
in my airplanes and theirs (mostly theirs) through the years, and as an
acro instructor, I came to some basic conclusions about scheduling.
Aerobatics require you as the student to think about what you are going
to do with the airplane before you do it, then execute a maneuver as a
rote function, then remember what happened with the airplane when you
did it; then "adjust" what you did to correct for any mistake you made
for the next attempt at the maneuver. It's a continuing cycle of
thinking, doing, learning and adjusting, then doing it again...and so
on.
The sessions although enjoyable, can be stressful, and like all flight
instruction, you do your REAL learning and retention BETWEEN flights.
I can't tell you how much stress I place on this "period between
flights".
In aerobatics, even more so than regular flight instruction, this
"breathing" period is absolutely vital. It gives you a chance to relax
and rethink what you did in the air. It's here that the small pieces
come together for you that make the difference between a pilot who can
perform a maneuver by rote alone, and a pilot who actually understands
what is happening to the airplane and why.
So whatever you do with your schedule, and I understand that the
distance will be a factor, try and schedule your flights with a downtime
between them. Even if it's only a matter of hours between flights; take
that time as a programmed and anticipated downtime for yourself.
Best of luck to you with your aerobatic training.
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
Flight Instructor/Aerobatics/Retired