First Dual Given

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Yeah - I'm a cheesehead - but it was fun to sign the PT's logbook. 1.5 for my first dual given, CSEL in an almost new Piper Arrow III. Taking off I realized that the PT had no clue of how to fly the complex without me there. It was thrilling and scary at the same time.

I did exactly what I wished had been done for me. A zero stress "get to know the airplane" flight. No stalls, no emergency procedures, no maneuvers. Flew to another strip and we did 3 landings with taxi back with time to evaluate each landing. At the end of the flight the PT was all grins and excitement....my objective was met.

The last thing I wanted was the PT to be stressed out at the end of their first flight. All the other stuff comes next, but I always want my PT's first flight to be fun flights. My CFI's were always stress cases on that first flight. Maybe I'm taking the behaviorism bit too seriously?!:)

I've got 5 students lined up (4PPL - 1CSEL) and now I REALLY feel like I need to get prepared. And I thought the checkride was challenging:D.

Lovin' it.
 
Sounds like you're going to be a pretty good teacher. Your attitude toward teaching will go a long way towards your student's success. Keep up the good work.
 
Awesome. That's the way it should be done. A lot of CFIs have the technical skills to teach, but it's harder to find ones like yourself with people skills. Keep up the good work.
 
Congrats man. Just wait till you're up with one of the Pvts. the first time. "Oh man, I am the only one in this airplane who has any clue what's going on..."

It's pretty exciting and a HUUUGE responsibility.
 
Congrats man. Just wait till you're up with one of the Pvts. the first time. "Oh man, I am the only one in this airplane who has any clue what's going on..."

It's pretty exciting and a HUUUGE responsibility.


I had this moment a couple weeks ago, gear failure and it clicks into my head that its up to me to figure out the problem after the students says without hesitation "YouR AiRPlanE!?". Luckily just a breaker, but what a way to wake up after a couple hundered hours dual given with no break from the stalls/slow flight/endless pattern work.

Glad to hear you had a good experience first time out, you'll do great and it was said to me so I'll pass it on, you'll look back after 200 dual given and say to yourself "What in the %&*$ was I doing?"... and I'm sure I'll say that again in another 200 given. Good luck, and have fun!:)
 
This has been fun. I'm doing all scenario based training, so "practice areas" do not exist. We do maneuvers on the way to another airport. I highly recommend it.

Went up tonight with a first timer's night flight. Definitely my most exciting moment to date. The PT over-rotated way too early (slow) on takeoff and started drifting to the left at a steep pitch up attitude, and of course the stall horn was going off, too. I was just about to move my hands from their "ready position" when he corrected. It made me glad after the flight when he mentioned looking over out of the corner of his eye at that moment to see me sitting motionless. He said, "I was surprised you looked completely unmoved...but it made me realize that it was up to me to fly the plane."

He had no clue that it took everything in my soul to not grab the controls :D. But I'm glad I gave him the chance to correct before taking over, otherwise he never would have had the chance to do what he did.
 
This has been fun. I'm doing all scenario based training, so "practice areas" do not exist. We do maneuvers on the way to another airport. I highly recommend it.

Went up tonight with a first timer's night flight. Definitely my most exciting moment to date. The PT over-rotated way too early (slow) on takeoff and started drifting to the left at a steep pitch up attitude, and of course the stall horn was going off, too. I was just about to move my hands from their "ready position" when he corrected. It made me glad after the flight when he mentioned looking over out of the corner of his eye at that moment to see me sitting motionless. He said, "I was surprised you looked completely unmoved...but it made me realize that it was up to me to fly the plane."

He had no clue that it took everything in my soul to not grab the controls :D. But I'm glad I gave him the chance to correct before taking over, otherwise he never would have had the chance to do what he did.
Why do you keep saying "PT"? What does that mean?
 
"Pilot in Training". It's a fancy new FITS term, I don't know why with FITS we couldn't just use the good ol' word "student". Perhaps because the type of people that developed FITS just like acronyms. I mean we already have SRM, SA, AM, RM, and a whole crapload of others in FITS.
 
It is good that you are happy with your new job! I think you have more paitence than I do. I can only say the same thing during the same flight a max of 5 times before i get crab-o-matic.

I personally think the PT thing needs to stop.

it is good that you can allow your students to make a mistake. It is the only way they will learn.
 
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