Your favorite maneuvers to teach

Timbuff10

Timbuff10

Well-Known Member
Just wondering what everyone's favorite maneuver is to teach private pilots?

For me it's a toss up between steep turns and emergency descents. Was teaching emergency descents this morning and looked over at my student and he seemed to be having a blast. I love the feeling of dropping down at 1500fpm with the windscreen filled with the ground below and then returning to cruise. They always seem to think it is pretty fun, sorta like a roller coaster if you make enough turns.

Any one else?
 
I'm not a CFI, but I had a blast with power off 180's. I remember the first one, tower told us to turn base NOW as a KC135 was going to make us a hood ornament if we didn't, the instructer says "oops, your engine just quit...now make the runway." I though it was the coolest thing, a mixture of concentration and pucker factor (pretending the engine really was lost).
 
It wasn't a 'manuever' of sorts, but I really enjoyed teaching instrument students. Probably the single most important skill (sit. awareness and communication) applicable to what I do today.
 
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It wasn't a 'manuever' of sorts, but I really enjoyed teaching instrument students. Probably the single most important skill (sit. awareness and communication) applicable to what I do today.

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I have more fun with instrument training than anything else. My peers seem to think I'm crazy, but then again, what's new?
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Anything that the students is able to catch on to quickly. It makes me feel like I'm a good teacher, no matter how bad I might have botched the demo.

Conversely, anything that the student has a hard time with is my least favorite. Nothing is more frustrating than explaining something ten different ways, giving a couple of decent demos, and the student still not even coming close.

Oh yeah, and simulated engine failures. I teach them to glide into a field without flaps or forward slips. I think it's fun because taking away slips and flaps forces them to get very accurate at judging wind, groundspeed, and descent rates.
 
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Anything that the students is able to catch on to quickly.

[/ QUOTE ]What a terrific answer.

My favorites are favorites because of what you said. Also because they tend to give the student a little different perspective and the student seems to have so much fun with them.

Soft-field landings. I teach them as "finesse landings." The demo includes a touch and go during which the nosewheel never touches the runway, just to show how much finesse you can do, not for the student to recreate. But every student insists on doing it.

Landing with the ASI covered. Pitch and Power really works!

Falling leaf stalls. Teaches coordination and is just fun to do.
 
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Soft-field landings. I teach them as "finesse landings." The demo includes a touch and go during which the nosewheel never touches the runway, just to show how much finesse you can do



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This is my test of when a student has become "Master of their Domain".

Keeping the nosewheel off the ground through the changing configuration during a touch and go is proof positive they have mastered control of the plane.
 
Like to get a guy through his Private to where he has a good baseline knowlege to build on what flying is all about. From there, if they desire, like to get about 2-3 hours of upset training for them. Have a friend of dad's that owns a T-28. Always interesting to take a new PPL I worked with out for a flight following some ground school on the aircraft, and pre-briefing maneuvers; put him in the front seat and teach some aerobatic work, not so much for the fun of it, but moreso as confidence maneuvers for learning a feel for the aircraft in non-standard flight regimes,;something they can't, and obviously shouldn't, perform in their standard aircraft. Start with the basic chandelle/lazy 8, which will help for Commercial maneuvers, and on to the loop, cuban-8, and cloverleaf, and introduce spin recover if they haven't had it already (I find some studs receive it, some don't).

It's one of those things that's, of course, not required to be a good pilot; but surely doesn't hurt in order to become a better and more confident pilot , in a different way, if so desired.
 
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I'm not a CFI, but I had a blast with power off 180's.

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Man, I thought I was the only masochist that actually liked doing those.
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I loved to teach instrument flying.

As far as VFR maneuvers, I always enjoyed teaching lazy eights and soft field landings (I always made sure my students had a couple of takeoffs and landings on grass before they took their checkride).

Chris
 
I know everytime I teach turns around a point or any ground reference maneuver I want to jump out of the airplane.
 
Single engine maneuvering is enjoyable because when I talk with a student about it on the ground they are usually apprehensive about it. Then we shut one down in the air and they think its the coolest thing.
 
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