abelenky

RickAir7777: I agree with you, and am suggesting Flight Sim in a very narrow, specific application.

Specifically, the original problem was described as "inconsistencies"; not knowing what to set the VOR to, not knowing the difference between COM and NAV, Active and Standby.

These are things that are difficult to discuss in detail while in the pattern.
And trying to discuss them on the ground is hard because none of the needles actually move or respond.

This is the only reason I'm suggesting Flight Sim in this case, and it is NOT for stick-n-rudder skills.

In the computer, you can pause a particular display and ask, "Why is the needle pointing this direction? What does it mean? Which way do you expect it to move in the next minute? Let's un-freeze the game, and see if you're right..."

Flight sim is bad for many things, I understand, but for looking at a cockpit that actually responds, and playing with knobs to see what happens, I think it is actually a pretty helpful tool, but only in the right specific conditions.

Cubdriver

I had 60 year old student who basically untrainable. He was incompetent, and flying with him was nervewracking because he had no clue what he was doing or why. Ask for a 30 degree bank and you would get 60, wild stuff. It was a shame because he really wanted to fly but his eye-hand skills did not develop after 70 hours of trying to develop them. After about 10 hours with me (60 with others) I let him go and recommended that he quit. It was agonizing for both of us. We discussed some possible alternatives for him, such as model airplane flying and simulator flying. But for someone who is still being trained, I would not recommend using a sim unless they use it for instrument work or perhaps procedures that do not require fine aircraft control. And at some point if someone can't do basics like land an airplane without having a tail strike or leaving the runway inadvertently, they simply can't be a pilot. At that point they need to come to grips with it and find another hobby. It is your duty to discourage them at that point.

MD11

A myriad of inconsistent behavior after 17 hours include, dumping the yoke forward during the roundout to flare. When I ask why he did that, the response is pretty much "I don't know".

Somebody mentioned flying exactly by the numbers and that is how I have taught for years. for example in the 172S at our home airport... after climbing from xwind to downwind and attaining pattern alt,,, the procedure goes something like this: 1500' - pitch 5 - 1700rpm - flaps 10 - trim for 80kts - Gumps check. Abeam threshold - reduce to 1400 rpm... etc.

It's the same procedure each lap.... He has detailed notes from multiple hours of ground covering pattern ops and profiles. These notes are reviewed ptior to flight.

Another inconsistency- sometimes, he'll try to roll the aircraft into a 50 deg bank in the pattern. He doesn't do this all the time, which is strange to me. In analyzing his behavior during maneuvering, it seems as though he'll input aileron and somewhat zone out, like he was thinking about something else or his attention is captured by some other detail.

Anyway, he will be flying this week with a new fellow and I'll get a report back on his progress after a few flights.

the King

Sounds like your student may not be studying on his own other than a cram session right before lessons. That or he is overthinking every procedure to the point where he cannot process the simple cues needed to land. Those last 50 feet to the ground are more like art, than procedure. We all know you have to feel your way down. Perhaps the student is trying to find some method to use that is one-size-fits-all, instead of guiding the aircraft to the ground.

In terms of solutions, I think the go-around practice could be extremely valuable, especially if the student knows ahead of time that a go-around is coming. There's no worry of having to control the plane to the ground. I used to do several laps down to about 100-200 feet with students so they could get their procedure down. The goal is to obtain an appropriate and stabilized final approach, every time. A good approach gives you the best chance of a great landing.

Once the student masters arriving on final, he can concentrate on the art of landing. Set your student up on glidepath, fully configured, and let him fly the last 500 feet. (Obviously, you should remain close on the controls given the low altitude). Alternately, you can have the student talk you through a landing, performing his instructions to get you on the ground (within reason of course). This may give you a hint as to whether he knows the drill and is having problems with the flying part, or if he does not understand what he must accomplish.