As many of you know, I have been working on my CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) Certificate. I have been taking ground school for it at Westminster. My professor has giving me an assignment to answer some critical thinking questions in a blog. Instead of creating a separate blog to complete this assignment, I figured I might as well use the on that I already have.
Question 1:
You have a private pilot student on lesson #8(the lesson just before the first stage check). They are really struggling with landings. What are some different techniques you can try to help them get over their landing plateau? At what point do you tell your supervisor they are struggling? After how many reviews or how many hours do you have "maybe aviation isn't for you talk?"
Answer:
The first thing I am thinking is that a learning plateau is normal. This will happen to most students at some point in their training. I remember it happening to me at a very similar point in my training. Landings were espeically diffucult and I was thinking at one point that I would never solo.
I would begin by talking to another CFI or even my supervisor. It is possibly that just by talking to another CFI, they might be able to identify what is holding the student back and aliveate the problem. If the student has been really struggling for a while, I may even ask that the student go up for a lesson with another CFI. Sometimes another CFI can give the student a different perspective that can help get them over the platuea, or often another CFI can find out an area in which I, as the instructor, had been diffeciant.
I would also look back on the training and look for any building blocks of learning that I might have skipped over, or that the student didn't entirly grasp. For example, if the student is really struggly managing airspeed, landing will be very difficult. I could take him up to altitude and do some practice constant airspeed desecents in a landing configuration at final approach speed, or simulate a landing patteren focusing on how to manage airspeed.
I would also need to take a good look at the student. Are there any defence mechanisims in place and what can I do to counter act them? Are there outside factors affecting his ability to fly? If the student is not coming prepared for lessons because he has too much on his plate, I could talk to him about devoting time to aviation, or possibly posponing his training to a time when he will be more able to focus and devote time for flying.
Flying is an expensive thing, and as an instructor, I need to be sensitive to that. I need to inform the student that if he is not prepared, or dosn't have enough time to devote to flying, that the costs of his training could really go up. Also I want to be prepared for a students learning plateau. It won't be very cost effective for the student if I have him repeat lesson 8 over and oever again untill he gets it, when it very well could be my deficiancy that is holding him back.
I would save the "maybe aviation isn't for you talk" for very last. In my opion, most people, given the opportunity, have the physical and mental abilities to become a pilot. As an instructor, it is my job to look for the things that take away that "opportunity". I would be a really bad instructor if I told a student that they were not cut out for flying, and have them leave aviation for life because I was a bad instructor and didn't identify what was standing in thier way.
Lots to be done at the Olsen home! Nicole is nesting, and it is tons o fun! Some how, she convinced Scott to start dry walling the living room. It is looking very nice. Even the plain sheet rock looks better than that hideous panelling! After the sheet rocking, we will try to put the new wood floor down. It is going to look so much better! 
