Hints for parents of 13 year old student pilot?

When did you say the election for the Board of Trustees in your HS District was
going to be? And have you taken out papers to run?

Don't gimmee this "alas" stuff unless you are willing to hang your dobber out
there on the line.

Jim




Eric Rood
shared these priceless pearls of wisdom:

-You have to send your kids to a "vocational" school to learn those things in
my
-school district.


Alas, that
-is not possible.


-
-Jim Weir wrote:
-
- Oh, and the one thing I forgot was to have him sign up for both auto shop
and
- electronics shop so he can show his old man how to work on the damn thing.

Jim Weir (A&P/IA, CFI, & other good alphabet soup)
VP Eng RST Pres. Cyberchapter EAA Tech. Counselor
http://www.rst-engr.com

School schedules run concurrent. Busing schedules drive the class start/stop
times. Three high schools, 4 middle schools, 14 elementary schools and 13,000
students to juggle.

Jim Weir wrote:

When did you say the election for the Board of Trustees in your HS District was
going to be? And have you taken out papers to run?
Don't gimmee this "alas" stuff unless you are willing to hang your dobber out
there on the line.

School schedules run concurrent. Busing schedules drive the class start/stop
times. Three high schools, 4 middle schools, 14 elementary schools and 13,000
students to juggle.

Jim Weir wrote:

When did you say the election for the Board of Trustees in your HS District was
going to be? And have you taken out papers to run?
Don't gimmee this "alas" stuff unless you are willing to hang your dobber out
there on the line.

My son is only 10 and I'm really looking forward to teaching him to fly but
for now I find that I have to "pick my moments" when teaching him small bits
and pieces. At times he's simply not interested, other times he's
fanatical. When he comes to me with an aviation question, idea, or
statement, I make sure that I take the time to thoroughly answer him and
return his questions with questions of my own to make him think. When he's
not in the mood, sometimes all he wants is a quick answer from me. For now,
I'm letting him choose when and how much he wants to learn and know about
flying. There are plenty of areas within aviation that I can keep
introducing to him to keep his interest up, but I won't push it. He loves
the different museums and to be able to take a friend along to show off what
he knows, we try to hit a different museum each summer. Next year I'll
probably let him tag along to ground schools with me when he wants and he's
already attended some of the special Sunday morning sessions and has fun
explaining some of the things he knows to the students.

Even though I'm a part time CFI, my son and I don't get many opportunities
to fly together, so each time is still special to him, and I let him choose
when we go. (he's still too short to reach the rudder pedals when sitting
on enough cushions to see out the window) My approach is going to be to
take it slow, let him lead the way by showing me how and when he is
interested. Down the road, we'll do an occasional lesson, introduce him to
other aviation adventures like sailplanes, aerial applicators, and the EAA
Summer Camp at OSH.

My worst fear is giving him a complex thinking that just because "Dad" does
it that he has to do it. I don't want that. I want him to fly because HE
wants to fly and I'll give him every opportunity as well as my total support
and encouragement.

Let me know what you and Mary work out with your son and how it transpires.

--
Jim Burns III

Remove "nospam" to reply

"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?

Not a parent, but I have known a several kids that started training
early. Unless you can start him on sailplanes, I think 13 is a bit
early. The problem is that there are no immediate goals. Solo in a
power plane is at least 3 years away (seems like a lifetime to a 13
yr. old), and a PPL is 4 yrs. away. Even at 1 lesson per week, it
will be hard to maintain progress (and interest) for that long.

I'm not saying it's sure not to work, but you have to take into
account the time lag between starting training and achieving the goal
(or even a major milestone like solo). It's not a big factor for kids
that are highly motivated to fly (by that I mean the ones who are
totally nuts about aviation), but it's not for everyone.

John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)

In rec.aviation.piloting John Galban wrote:
Not a parent, but I have known a several kids that started training
early. Unless you can start him on sailplanes, I think 13 is a bit
early. The problem is that there are no immediate goals. Solo in a
power plane is at least 3 years away (seems like a lifetime to a 13
yr. old), and a PPL is 4 yrs. away. Even at 1 lesson per week, it
will be hard to maintain progress (and interest) for that long.

This is exactly what I thought as soon as I read Jay's post. Jay should
continue flying with his son, and fostering his interest, and put off
having him take formal lessons until he's atleast 15.

--- Jay



--

__!__
Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
http://www2.ari.net/jmasino ! ! !
http://www.oceancityairport.com
http://www.oc-adolfos.com

This is exactly what I thought as soon as I read Jay's post. Jay should
continue flying with his son, and fostering his interest, and put off
having him take formal lessons until he's atleast 15.

Yeah, I've thought the same thing, off and on. But...

Then I read Trace Lewis' posts, with him asking insightful questions about
flying, and creating little musical videos of him flying a sail plane, and I
realize that SOME 13-year old boys *are* ready for this kind of thing. I
just don't know if *my* 13 year old boy is ready for such things.

Here's the deal: We want our son to feel the joy of flight. We want him to
be able to feel pride in achieving something other than the high score on
"Grand Theft Auto" (a popular video game, for you old fossils out there) --
while at the same time we don't want to push him into something he doesn't
appreciate.

On the OTHER other hand, a 13-year old is not unlike a pack-mule -- he'll
pretty much go whichever way you face him. If you don't steer them, they'll
just sit around all day eating potato chips and watching TV.

We are able to give him a unique opportunity -- an opportunity 99.999% of
the world will never have -- but this can be a double-edged sword if we
don't do it right.

*sigh* They say raising kids is the hardest thing you'll ever do. I'm
starting to believe that.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:vZI7c.59157$1p.964116@attbi_s54...

*sigh* They say raising kids is the hardest thing you'll ever do. I'm
starting to believe that.

Not quite. I put "stopping raising them and putting duct tape over your
mouth as they get on with their own lives" on a par.

A colleague (who also lurks here occasionally) offers the following. I met
his son and he seems highly motivated, but I'm not clear whether that is a
cause or effect...

We started [son's name] with gliders (14 is solo age), although he decided
that dad's taildragger was more interesting.

Before age 15 (assuming power-only training), let him fly your plane from
the right seat. Also make certain he participates in x-country planning,
etc. Buy the KING CD course, which will be met by protests of "boring". So
is school, so get over it.

At age 15, start weekly lessons. At age 15-2/3, step it up so that on the
16th birthday he is so over-trained that the only possible blocker to a
birthday solo is weather. Assuming you don't forget to get him a medical by
the birthday. (Don't ask...)

[dbrooks: another popular last-minute forgotten detail is the CFI signature
on the 8710, I'm told]

As to maturity, let the CFI decide. You are too close to the situation.
Speaking of CFIs, relationships are important to teens. Make certain it
works.

-- David Brooks

Excellent description!!! (add... play video games)

Jay Honeck wrote:


On the OTHER other hand, a 13-year old is not unlike a pack-mule -- he'll
pretty much go whichever way you face him. If you don't steer them, they'll
just sit around all day eating potato chips and watching TV.

Jay, don't over-analyze. Go ahead, but let the kid know he can bail
(and come back) without a big scene. Some days it will seem like a
good idea; some days it won't.

Don