killbilly
Vocals, Lyrics, Triangle, Washboard, Kittens
It's about that time of year where I sum things up that I've learned - here's the major tidbits - lots of things open for discussion....
I probably have a few more, but these are the big takeaways for 2021.
- There is a cadence....or rhythm....to the learning a student does during a lesson, and if you pay attention, you'll see where they stop. Sometimes it manifests as a new mistake, sometimes it's a change in tone, or expression, or demeanor....every student has a signal that says they're done, even when if asked they'd deny it. Your job is to detect and re-direct that. "Okay, that's enough for the day, you're doing well, let's debrief" is as valuable as the encouragement you give them to go up in the first place. (learned this with my late-afternoon-fatigued students, and my earlymorning newbies.)
- 15 minutes spent on a debrief is worth an hour in the air. 15-20 minutes in pre-flight brief is worth another hour. I've said it before, but the airplane is terrible classroom. It's a great lab, though. (learned this from Hook_Dupin. Miss you, brother.)
- You may inherit a student from another CFI, or be subbing in for another CFI. Before you verbally un-do or chastise anything the previous CFI did, take a lesson from Ted Lasso: Be curious, not judgmental. There's a dozen ways to cook an egg, all of them delicious. Even in a standardized program, when you see deviation that looks more taught than a mistake, be curious. Ask the student why. If it turns out the other CFI is a moron, confirm that fact with the CFI directly, away from the student. Not to protect that CFI, but to protect the students faith in the role of the CFI. CFIs can and should correct their own mistakes, and being honest with a student about it, if you get some feedback from another instructor is a good thing: "Y'know, I taught you this, and I think maybe I should have done it differently" is much better for the student. It's about the student. Not you, not your ego, and not the perceived deficiency of the other CFI. Do what's right for the student. (learned this from a chief, and some of my own mistakes.)
- You can learn something from any CFI. Even the ones younger than you. In my case, especially from the ones younger than you.
- Be prepared to have another CFI fly with one of your students and ask why something is. Be prepared to answer.
- Don't let your students be robots. Teach profiles to give them a baseline. Once they've got rote-level, immediately go to work on application and synthesis. Everything they do in the airplane should be with purpose. If they cannot describe the purpose of a control movement or action, there is a hole in the understanding that needs to be filled. Never miss an opportunity to ask your students why they do certain things. (this is a fantastic check on student understanding - they might be able to spit out profiles, but being able to explain WHY is the difference between rote and real understanding.)
- No matter how much you want them to, no matter how behind in the curriculum they are or how badly you need the hours, if they don't want to fly one day - for any reason - then don't fly.
- If "not wanting to fly" becomes a pattern, it's time to investigate why.
- If you don't want to fly one day, don't fly.
- If you not wanting to fly gets to be a pattern, investigate why. You might be burned out. If you are, hand your students off. It's about the student, always.
- Professionalism: Instructors, among instructors, like to rant about this and that - especially ATC, other pilots, other flight schools. Don't do it in front of students. Don't let your fellow instructors do it in front of students, either. You never know who is listening and noting this for a social media feed.
- "It depends" should be the initial answer to most aviation-scenario-questions. Beware of dogmatic pilots and instructors.
- After your 400th time getting cut off in the pattern by the other flight school, nearly getting run over by that other high-performance single, or the incessant chatter on the freq that prevents you from making a position report, maintain your calm. Use it as a teachable moment. Don't use the radio to chastise others, because your student will do that later, not understanding why it's wrong, and they will embarrass themselves and you. (have seen this happen to other instructors. very cringe-worthy.)
- You're a CFI but you're not a human database. Look up regs regularly. I'm still learning nuances of regs, and I've gotten a few things wrong in the last couple of years. It's okay to look things up. I promise. (learned this as recently as 3 months ago. imperfect knowledge is okay. this is why we correct.)
- DPEs are not the enemy. In fact, they may be your best ally. DPEs want you and your students to succeed. If a DPE comes to you with feedback, take it as constructive advice to make you better. It's not an adversarial relationship and if it feels that way, either determine why and resolve it, or create a different DPE relationship. It should be collaborative. Get to know them. Listen and learn. When they trust you, they're more apt to trust your students. Attitude goes a long way.
- With each year and added page in the logbook, it gets harder to have a Beginner's mindset; to know that there is still a ton to learn. Keep yourself on a check-loop, trying to detect slippage from that mindset, and return yourself to it whenever possible. (weakness for me - I have to guard against this constantly.)
- Fact: you will get a new instrument student right at the same time you lose proficiency as an IFR pilot. Don't let this happen.
- Same goes for multi-engine. Don't let this happen.
- Don't be afraid to charge for ground. You earned your tickets. You're a professional and you should be paid as such. CFIs who do a lot of free ground are doing a disservice to their fellow CFIs. This is more a guideline than a rule, and applies more to busy flight schools than clubs. Act accordingly.
- You're going to suck some days. So will your students. Admit it, suck less next time (thank you @JEP ). Tell your students about it, too. They'll appreciate the honesty.
I probably have a few more, but these are the big takeaways for 2021.