Why is Soaring declining

Eric Greenwell wrote:

There is a skill set that a pilot must learn if he is to be able to
check himself out in a new aircraft.

What is this skill set? I'm not aware of anything specific along these
lines from the instructor/instruction manuals I've read. Generally, once
I'd trained a pilot to fly in a Blanik, he had most of the skills needed
to fly one of the usual single seaters.

Calculating W&B, determining tow rope weak link
required strengths, recovery from a spin entry,
calculating stall speed from loaded weight,
how to develop a personalized checklist,
procedures for retractable gear gliders,
hazards and emergency procedures with water ballast,
etc.

None of these skills are required for the most basic solo
in a 2-33. All of this can be briefed or calculated
or (water ballast, etc.)is unneeded ahead of time.
All of these are things that can be taught post-solo,
or in some details after licensing.

You are right that the instructor manuals do not
go extensively into how a student can be taught to
teach himself. The closest I've seen is "personal
minimums" and maybe some EAA test pilot literature.

But I think this is really one of the best
areas where an instructor can add value, mostly after
solo. Teach the student how to approach a new aircraft
and learn it's potential hazards and quirks before ever flying it.

I flew a Lancair IVP last week, and even though I flew
it with another pilot who had many hours in it, he and
I together approached it like test pilots. He wanted me to teach
him not how to fly it, but how to approach a new aircraft
that he'd never flown before. We learned a LOT together
and I helped him change his takeoff and approach procedures
to reduce risk. Learning how to fly a new aircraft is
very different from flying that aircraft to it's
full capabilities (which comes later).


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Mark Boyd
Avenal, California, USA

None of these skills are required for the most basic solo
in a 2-33.

If you're going to serve as the grammar police . . .

"None" is a contraction of "not one." It is singular, therefore, your sentence
should be, "None of these IS required . . ." etc.

Dave

Mark James Boyd wrote:
Eric Greenwell wrote:

There is a skill set that a pilot must learn if he is to be able to
check himself out in a new aircraft.

What is this skill set? I'm not aware of anything specific along these
lines from the instructor/instruction manuals I've read. Generally, once
I'd trained a pilot to fly in a Blanik, he had most of the skills needed
to fly one of the usual single seaters.


Calculating W&B, determining tow rope weak link
required strengths, recovery from a spin entry,
calculating stall speed from loaded weight,
how to develop a personalized checklist,
procedures for retractable gear gliders,
hazards and emergency procedures with water ballast,
etc.

None of these skills are required for the most basic solo
in a 2-33. All of this can be briefed or calculated
or (water ballast, etc.)is unneeded ahead of time.
All of these are things that can be taught post-solo,
or in some details after licensing.

I'm still puzzled. Are you saying these skills (calculating W&B, ....)
are _additional_ skills a pilot needs before "checking himself out in a
new aircraft"? They seem to be requirements learning to fly, or things
you need to be learn before flying advanced gliders. All of them can
apply to a high performance two-seaters or can be taught with ground
training. I don't see any thing specific to "checking himself out in a
new aircraft", but perhaps I don't understand what you and Michael mean
by "checking himself out in a new aircraft".

Or are you simply saying learning the minimun necessary to solo a 2-33
isn't enough to get you ready for a high performance racing glider? I"d
agree with that!


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Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

Eric Greenwell wrote:

I'm still puzzled. Are you saying these skills (calculating W&B, ....)
are _additional_ skills a pilot needs before "checking himself out in a
new aircraft"?

I'm saying some of these skills are only post-solo, and some of these
skills (how to operate a retract) are not required for the PPL at
all. These skills are only learned by the pilot because he himself
accepts or maybe the insurance company requires some post-license training...

They seem to be requirements learning to fly, or things
you need to be learn before flying advanced gliders. All of them can
apply to a high performance two-seaters or can be taught with ground
training. I don't see any thing specific to "checking himself out in a
new aircraft", but perhaps I don't understand what you and Michael mean
by "checking himself out in a new aircraft".
Deciding how to load CG for the first flight, selecting
a long runway into the wind, choosing the launch method, researching
prior accidents, etc. are all things one can do to help
check oneself out in a new aircraft. None of this is required
by license, none of this requires dual training, but these things
and awareness of how to minimize risk flying something
completely new are developed pilot skills.

Or are you simply saying learning the minimun necessary to solo a 2-33
isn't enough to get you ready for a high performance racing glider? I"d
agree with that!

I'm saying that, and more. I'm saying that a license isn't
enough either. But it SHOULD give you the skills to form your
own training plan and an idea about how to smoothly progress to
flying higher performance aircraft with no increase in risk. As
experience grows, risk is reduced. To maintain the same level of risk,
we throw something new in. Maybe ballast, maybe retract, maybe
more sensitive pitch controls (spins easier). Pilots who understand
personal minimums and have a comprehension of how different
flight characteristics and experience relate to risk can
add one component at a time and through reading and careful
observation add components slowly so the risk doesn't "spike"
up.

When soloing, we have accepted a certain level of risk. Over
time, we maintain the same level of risk while increasing capability,
or we can just remain with our same glider, pilot, and conditions and
have the risk go down. Most pilots, at least to some level, choose to
increase capability. Instructors are an aid to some extent,
as are manuals and AD's and accident reports, etc. But the
pilot himself is the only one who can consistently enforce
a post-license training plan...

Whether this involves dual instruction, or a college aerodynamics course,
or talking to others who've flown the same glider, etc. is up to
the pilot at that point. A good advanced instructor teaches a
pilot how to use resources and generalize, not how tofly
one particular glider...teach a man to fish, right?
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Mark Boyd
Avenal, California, USA