How commonly do you guys encounter this? Students that have soloed but seem to have days where things just aren't coming together, for what ever reason, and a little pattern work becomes necessary before they are allowed to go out and solo again? What's the best way to handle this without being too discouraging, either for them or yourself and your own teaching abilities? Obviously more practice is needed, but why would someone suddenly seem to "forget" something they had been doing so well?
Students having "off" days
- Thread starter JordanD
- Start date
Roger Roger
Bottom of the list
Shoot sometimes I still have off days.
Cloud Surfer
All Roads lead to Trantor
How long is the timespan for these students between lessons? Could it be an issue of not enough chair flowing and mental prep at home?
Cloud Surfer
All Roads lead to Trantor
For what it's worth I flew in the right seat with two former airline captains who both forgot trivial things that they always nailed in sim! Brain farts can happen to anyone.
Probably about once a week. It seems like a pattern that's emerged over the past 3 weeks or so.
rframe
pǝʇɹǝʌuı
Off days happen. Frequency really makes a big difference. A lot of guys I fly with are average or lower middle class working on limited budgets so it takes some planning. When someone is getting close to solo or another big transition phase I try to get them to fly several times in a week, shorter sessions if needed, it makes a big difference. Smaller bites, more often. Same with post-solo practice for them.
flyingbum
Needz Re-Edjamacayshun
I had a student that performed like a stock chart on crack. Seriously, the kid was so wishy washy it was crazy. Most of it was he was always unprepared. It was strange to see him do great one day and two days later it was like he forgot everything. I started giving him written notes after each lesson with his homework and it still didn't work. The kid was always unprepared and would show up without his homework, POH, flight plan, flashlight, pens, pencils, and always had an excuse. If your student is dedicated I think they will get past it, we all have bad days. But if it's everyday, have the come to Jesus talk with them.
JustinS
Well-Known Member
I have had one student like that so far. It is very difficult when they lack consistency or dedication. All my students have had off days. The best thing you can do is be encouraging, "I've seen you nail this stuff before several times in the past, you just had an off day. Take the rest of the day to relax, and get some good rest and food before our next flight." Sometimes students just have off days. It is all part of the learning process. Even with the worst experiences, the student still learns. I know in my training days I had them every once in a while.
Timmy Tucker
Well-Known Member
I had real issues with off days when working on my MEL. Frequency of lessons was the prime factor for me. I mostly flew 2-3 times a week when I did my PPL and didn't have any issues.
I flew maybe once every couple of weeks when I did my MEL and was even gone for over a month one time during the process. Had to review a lot of things over and over again, ended up taking me just under 20 hours of dual before I got signed off for my multi ride. Looking back, I'm pretty sure my instructor hated working with me, and I don't blame her. Also, I was 21 and had just found out that I knocked up my girlfriend. So my head wasn't in it at all.
Maybe have a heart to heart with your student and see if there are some deeper issues at play here. Or, just show 'em the pimp hand. Whatever works for you.
I flew maybe once every couple of weeks when I did my MEL and was even gone for over a month one time during the process. Had to review a lot of things over and over again, ended up taking me just under 20 hours of dual before I got signed off for my multi ride. Looking back, I'm pretty sure my instructor hated working with me, and I don't blame her. Also, I was 21 and had just found out that I knocked up my girlfriend. So my head wasn't in it at all.
Maybe have a heart to heart with your student and see if there are some deeper issues at play here. Or, just show 'em the pimp hand. Whatever works for you.
Cloud Surfer
All Roads lead to Trantor
This thread does a great job of highlighting how much the pilot's daily aptitude can affect aircraft performance just as much as temperature, altitude, humidity and so forth.
