About Acellerated Courses for Private

Dudley Henriques wrote:


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.

I misread this sentence at first, but in an interesting way. These
accelerated courses do not, I fear, actually "do the job" more quickly...
depending upon what the job is.

Sure, perhaps they get one past the checkride more quickly. But do they
actually build a safe pilot more quickly? Given the assumption being made
here by Dudley - and I share it - that there's less depth acquired over the
shorter period, then the missing depth is going to be acquired - if at all
- outside the training environment. That's inefficient, slower, and likely
less safe.

So if the job is to build safe pilots, I think that an accelerated course
might be precisely the wrong approach...again, given the assumption.

There's another aspect: why take an accelerated course? After I finished my
PPL, there was a collection of skills I knew I lacked. I went out and
worked on them (ie. spin/unusual attitude training). I'd have been just as
happy to see these part of a PPL program, but such is not the case around
here.

If someone is in a rush, will they be filling in these missing areas?
Perhaps...perhaps the rush is to get past the "basic" into more advanced
work. But perhaps not.

- Andrew

"Andrew Gideon" wrote in message
online.com...
Dudley Henriques wrote:


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.

I misread this sentence at first, but in an interesting way. These
accelerated courses do not, I fear, actually "do the job" more
quickly...
depending upon what the job is.

Exactly! The unwritten purpose, and indeed in many cases the written
purpose of the accelerated program, is to get you through the rating and
into the general community in a minimum time frame. Whether or not this
produces a safe pilot is a matter of individual standards.

My position on this issue is simply that the accelerated program at the
basic level through Private, graduates a rated pilot, and that this
pilot can be safe enough, but the comprehension issues lagging behind
the performance level at graduation by using a " minimum time spent in
the program" method produce a less than optimum condition at graduation,
which in my opinion again, has been proven to me at least, through my
personal experience checking out pilots coming through different
learning paths, to be not as effective a method of training as a method
that contains a time span between lessons that allows a more
comprehensive graduate, which under my personal definition, equates into
a better rounded and safer all around pilot entering the general
community.
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
Commercial Pilot/ CFI Retired
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