Hey Charlie can I talk to you about a student of mine

How to Teach Visual Reference Flying<= o:p>

Another conversation with Alex and A.= J

Alex: Hey A.J, when are you going to sh= ow me that stuff about teaching the student to fly with more outside visual references?

A.J.: Well, how about right now?

Alex: O.K. Let’s hear it.

A.J.: Alright Alex first let’s review a little of what we tal= ked about last time we flew. Basi= cally we determined that unfortunately some student pilots become what we might c= all “closet instrument reference flyers”. Even though they seem to = be flying normally and looking outside the airplane, they are not. In fact, si= nce the very beginning of their flight training they have gravitated towards the flight instruments and eventually become dependent on them for every control input. Ultimately this makes it really difficult to learn how to land the airplane, which eventually is a completely visual maneuver. Does this sum up our last conversation?

Alex: Pretty much, but you left out the= part about the “bad” instructor who told the poor innocent student to look at all those nasty instruments, thus starting the whole problem.<= /o:p>

A.J.: Wo…… a little attitude there Alex? Remember, just because I might have a slightly different perspective on how to teach flyin= g, it doesn’t mean that you are a bad instructor or that you have done a poor job for your student. It also doesn’t mean that I am a “good” instructor just because I have a different approach to things. It’s just a dif= ferent approach. Why don’t we talk about it and see what you think?

Alex: Alright, I’m ready now.

A.J.: Right. Let’s talk about how we might want to teach a student from his first flight. We can figure out some remedial measures for= a student who is having trouble at a later stage, but now we will start with a clean slate.

Alex: You mentioned last time that it w= as important to teach every maneuver visually. I have been thinking about this= a lot but I still don’t see how to do it, or why it is such a big deal.=

A.J.: Right you are. The key to not ending up with a high time stud= ent who can’t solo due to landing problems is to teach every single thing= we do by pointing to and talking about an outside visual reference. Instrument indications are important of course, but we have to be careful how we tell = the student to look at them. It i= s vital that we instruct the student to look at the outside picture, make appropria= te control inputs, and then if necessary check the results briefly on the appropriate instruments before returning to looking outside the airplane. T= o do this it is important that we always have a technique to direct the attention outside the airplane when a control input needs to be made. This will quick= ly train the student pilot to process this outside picture and control the airplane accordingly, which is ultimately the skill we all employ during landings.

Alex: So what you are saying is that everything we teach the student from day one, or even minute one, is either helping or hurting this outside processing ability that we will later need = when we land the airplane.

A.J.: Exactly

Alex: But how do you teach everything visually? For instance I really don’t see how to teach coordination during climb out without saying “step on the ball”, or something else to get the student= to look at the turn coordinator.

A.J.: Fair enough. I’ll tell you what. Let’s you and I = go out to the mighty Cessna 150 and I will be the instructor, and you will be = the student. I want you to pretend that you have been thoroughly briefed on a f= irst flight profile, just the way you would brief a student. I will teach you everything, with very few exceptions, by directing your attention outside t= he airplane. Every time I tell you to look inside at something in order to con= trol the airplane, I tell me and I will make a note and we can add up the score after the flight.

IN THE AIRPLANE

Alex: Alright A.J, the before takeoff checklist is complete and I am ready for takeoff.

A.J.: O.K. Alex, we are cleared for takeoff. Taxi onto the runway 1= 2 and align the airplane with the runway centerline. Now, advance the throttle all the way and confirm full power on the tachometer. As the airplane starts to move, look briefly inside and make sure that the airspeed indicator startin= g to move, and that oil pressure and temperature are OK.

1.&n= bsp; Good now I want you to look out at the end of the runway and p= ull back on the yoke until the nose of the airplane raises up a little. Steer t= he airplane with the rudders, keeping the nose pointing at the end of the runw= ay. Feel the elevator authority? You can move the nose up and down by pulling b= ack a little more or less.

2.&n= bsp; Now look at the end of the runway and bring the top of the cow= ling up so that it just touches the end of the runway. That’s it. Now the = nose wheel is off the runway. Just hold that pressure until the airplane flies o= ff the runway.

3.&n= bsp; OK, there we go, we are flying. Briefly check your airspeed indicator and you can see that it is just about 50 to 55 knots, which is wh= at we expected. Now look outside the airplane and gently raise the nose just a little more so that the cowling is barely above the horizon. The curve of t= he cowling should be above the horizon but the sides of the cowling should be = on the horizon. Check your airspeed once more and notice that it is showing ab= out 65 knots which is what we expect. As long as you hold that pitch attitude on this day, with full power, the airspeed will stay around 65.

4.&n= bsp; Now Alex, you must be getting tired of pulling on that yoke, so let’s rotate the trim wheel down a bit to relieve that pressure.

5.&n= bsp; Remember we talked about the need for right rudder during the climb? Well here is what I want you to do. See that small cloud that is rig= ht above the cowling? I want you to use your rudders to keep that cloud stationary. Don’t let it move right or left, and remember to hold eno= ugh elevator pressure to keep the nose just above the horizon. Now, use your peripheral vision to keep the wings level. They should be even with respect= to the horizon, one not higher than the other.

Alex: Hey, this works pretty well. I on= ly had to look inside a few times to confirm my airspeed. But I still want to see = how we are going to do turns.

TOWER: Cessna 12345, turn right to a heading of 150, climb and maintain 3500 and contact departure 12= 5.7.

A.J.: OK, let’s see if we can get turned to a heading. <= /o:p>

6.&n= bsp; Right now we are flying runway heading, which is about 120. We have been told to fly heading 150 which is 30 degrees to the right from our present heading. So let’s look over the nose and imagine 10 degrees to the right. Now let’s do it again 10, 20, 30. 30 degrees should be pointing right at that tall tower off to our right.

7.&n= bsp; So, lift the right wing a little to check for traffic, and then bank the airplane with the ailerons to the right just enough so that the no= se starts to move towards the tall tower. Don’t let go of all that rudder pressure, just a little, remember we are still climbing and we need that ri= ght rudder to compensate for the P factor. Just estimate a 20 degree bank. If t= he right wing strut starts looking level with the ground, you are probably ban= ked too steeply, so roll out a little.

8.&n= bsp; Here comes our tower, so roll the wings level again and fly towards the tower. Check quickly the heading indicator and see if it says 150. No? 160? Well look outsi= de and turn back an estimated 10 degrees to the left, re-check, there you go, 150 heading.

9.&n= bsp; Now find a new cloud to check your rudder input, keep the wings level by the horizon reference, and the nose just above the horizon. OK Ale= x, you can look inside for a second to check airspeed, power, oil temp and pressure, and ammeter and vacuum gage.

Alex: Hey this is great. What a nice da= y. Did you see that parade downtown?

A.J.: Exactly what your student will say!

Alex:&= nbsp; OK, that was pretty cool. How about teaching coordination? I have a = real hard time getting my students to feel how much rudder to use. I usually hav= e to tell them to look at the ball on the turn coordinator and that does not see= m to help that much. Do you have a technique for teaching rudder input in turns?=

A.J.: Absolutely. You just reminded me of my instructor when I was a student pilot. He was always trying to get me to feel coordination. Looking back, mostly I was trying pretty hard not to feel sick and I could never fe= el what he was talking about. Here is how to do it. Once again it is a totally visual maneuver. <= /span>

1.&n= bsp; First, the instructor flies the airplane.

2.&n= bsp; Slow the airplane down to a fairly slow airspeed but not slow = flight, about 70 knots works pretty well in a Cessna trainer. The idea is to get the airplane slow enough so there is a lot of adverse yaw in turns but not so s= low that it is falling out of the sky on the back side of the power curve.=

3.&n= bsp; Next tell the student that you are going to demonstrate turns using no rudder, and pick two horizon references about 45 to 60 degrees apa= rt on the horizon. Today I will use the tip of that lake for one point and that power plant for another.

4.&n= bsp; Make sure that the student is not on the controls including the rudder pedals. Put your feet flat on the floor and make your student look at your feet to confirm this (briefly).

5.&n= bsp; What we will do is to do a series of turns utilizing a 30 degr= ee bank from one point to the other. I am going to roll briskly into the turn, and observe the adverse= yaw that results from no rudder input. When the nose of the airplane gets to the next point, I roll fairly abruptly to a 30 degree bank in the opposite dire= ction using no rudder input.

6.&n= bsp; You can clearly see the nose yaw about 15 to 25 degrees in the opposite direction of the intended turn. Do this a few times directing your student to look outside at the nose waggling all over the place.=

7.&n= bsp; Then tell the student that you will now demonstrate the turns using adequate rudder input. Now when the nose of the airplane arrives at t= he reference point, I make the turn using enough rudder to rotate the airplane smoothly around the longitudinal axis so that the nose stays glued to the horizon reference point. Make sure the student is looking in the right place too.

8.&n= bsp; Do this a few times and then have the student repeat the whole exercise, starting with feet flat on the floor just like you did. Don’= ;t let them lead the turn.

9.&n= bsp; Make sure you don’t drag this out for too long as you mi= ght get a queasy student.

Alex: Wow! What a great exercise. I cou= ld really see how much rudder input to use. Let me try it.

A.J.: Yeah, it works pretty well. You can also do it progressively starting with 10 degree bank, and then 20 degree bank, etc.

Alex: OK that will really help. Now, how about teaching coordination in stalls?

A.J.: Well, first do the coordination exercise we have just complet= ed to show the student the power of rudder input. Then remind your student abo= ut how you taught them to judge rudder input during climb out, keeping the nos= e on that cloud with rudder and the wings level with the ailerons.

Alex: OK, but does this work all the way through the stall?

A.J.: Sure, I will instruct, you be the student. Now Alex, we have slowed the airplane down and we have cleared the area. Do you see that clou= d at 12 o’clock and about 30 degrees above the horizon?<= /p>

Alex: Yes, that little puffy one all by itself.

A.J.: Right. Now we are going to do a power on stall because your instructor told me that you guys got into a spin doing this yesterday! We j= ust finished our clearing turns, and we are headed towards that cloud, slow to = lift off speed, good. Now start to pitch up slowly as you add full power smoothl= y. Use the rudder to keep the nose stationary with respect to left and right movement on the cloud reference. That’s it. See how visual that is?

Alex: Yeah, but shouldn’t I check= the ball?

A.J.: No, not this time. You have a much longer visual moment by lo= oking at that cloud. In other words, you can do this more accurately by keeping t= he nose straight on that cloud than you can by trying to keep the ball centere= d. You also can judge your pitch accurately and you won’t pitch too high= . OK keep increasing pitch so that airspeed keeps slowly decreasing, kind of like the second hand on a clock going backwards. Keep the visual picture……and Voila! A perfectly coordinated power on stall!

Alex: Wow! That worked great! I bet it = works on a power off stall to, but how about a turning stall?

A.J.: Well you’ve got me there. Turning stalls are the one th= ing that I have not figured out how to do totally visually. Gotta look at the b= all on that one, but don’t stare at it! Just glance at it every few secon= ds and adjust rudder input. Try to put it together with that feeling of being ejected out the side of the airplane!

Alex: OK, well how about approach and l= anding then. We certainly need to make sure the student is keeping the airspeed indicator in his scan picture, right?

A.J.: You bet. But if you have done everything that we have done to= day on the first few flights, then your student will already be controlling the airplane well by visual reference and will be learning to take snapshots of information from the instrument panel to see how things are working out. Th= is is the way we should be teaching final approach and landing.

Alex: Well, here we are at the airport.= Why don’t you instruct me through a pattern and a landing as if I am a student on my first flight?

A.J.: OK, but let’s talk about a few concepts first. I don= 217;t think it is such a good idea to let the student land on the first lesson.

Alex: Really? I always do that! It real= ly gives the student a lift and it’s a challenge for me too. I really li= ke walking away from the airplane after that first flight knowing that I was a= ble to help the student actually land the airplane on the first lesson.

A.J.: Well, I can understand why it makes you feel good but I want = to examine this practice in another light. Most of us pilots welcome the opportunity to land the airplane, and as instructors we tend to automatical= ly transfer this fascination to the student. In fact, I would contend that man= y, possible most students are pretty apprehensive about landing the airplane e= arly on. I will go further and say that I think most pilots are at least a little frightened at the thought of being in control during touchdown. As we all learned reading the Fundamentals of Instruction, fear narrows the perceptual field and actually blocks the perceptions that we need to give meaning to our experiences and finally, to learn. So here is a better way to teach the landing phase.=

1.&n= bsp; On the first flight we demonstrate a traffic pattern to the go-around point, then have the student perform a traffic pattern to the same point, and then execute the go around maneuver.

2.&n= bsp; Then the instructor will demonstrate the pattern again, only t= his time all the way through the landing. During the landing process the instru= ctor will NOT allow the student to be on the controls with him, but instead will direct the student’s attention outside the airplane at the references being used to make the final pitch and cross wind corrections during the landing.

Alex: That doesn’t sound like muc= h fun for the student. How does watching me land help him learn? I have always thought that we only learn by having our hands on the yoke. Besides, I would feel guilty taking flight time from my student when he is paying for the airplane rental.

A.J.: It may not be much fun, I don’t know. But I do know tha= t it is a good teaching technique. Let me elaborate a little more. First though I want to help you get over this notion that you are stealing flight time from your student if you demonstrate a maneuver or a landing. This is the biggest myth in flight training. Remember flying airplanes is a visual experience. Anything we can do to help the student “see” the visual picture, the relationship between ground references and the airplane attitude is a g= ood learning tool. To complete the equation though, you need to make sure that = the student is looking exactly where you are, and I guess this means that you h= ave to know where you are looking as well. If you are doing maneuvers and landi= ngs by “feel” then you have little hope of communicating specific visual references to your student. It is good to demonstrate maneuvers, and= not just once. Yes the student needs to practice, but he or she also needs to s= ee the maneuver performed well to have an idea of what it should look like.

Alex: OK, I see your point. Now what ab= out this pattern procedure? What are you really getting at?

A.J.: The idea is that on the first three or four lessons, this sa= me scenario (as well as the other maneuvers in the syllabus) are repeated. Tea= ch the student to fly a good, stable traffic pattern and final approach, to th= e go around point, and then have him or her execute the go around maneuver. Then you, the instructor takes the airplane and demonstrates the pattern again and the landing, all the while talking about the ou= tside references. After a few lessons, her is what you have accomplished.

1.&n= bsp; The student has learned how to execute a stable approach down = to about 10 or 20 feet above the runway. Because this has been done with no &#= 8220;landing anxiety” (meaning there is no danger because the student knows that h= e is not going to land), the perceptual field is open wide, and the data streams= in at an increased rate.

2.&n= bsp; The student has had three or four chances to practice the go around and can now do it easily and effectively with no stress.<= /span>

3.&nb= sp; The student has seen you land the airplane repeatedly and has = been watching outside at the relationship between the cowling and the runway as = you gradually change the pitch, etc. while hearing your running commentary about what control inputs you are using to accomplish these changes.

4.&n= bsp; The student has fulfilled the “Law of Readiness” a= nd is growing weary of watching you land. The student is ready to learn to land the airplane and willing to accept any perceived risk without undue stress.=

5.&n= bsp; During the next flights, the student is instructed to perform = the go around during landing practice, anytime the airplane is out of a pre-def= ined envelope of airspeed, glidepath, and relationship to the runway length and centerline. Thus the student learns to make judgments and to take alternati= ve action during landing practice.

Alex: Hmm, that does seem to be a comprehensive approach. Does it really work?

A.J.: Yes it does. I have used this in a variety of situations and I see more students soloing on time, and even better, the ones who don’t solo, make good judgments and go around with no prompting when their approa= ches are not working out. It is really amazing to see.

Alex: OK then. Why don’t you demonstrate the landing like you would for a student?

A.J.: Right, here we go. OK Alex, here we are on the downwind leg in our Cessna C150. I am using 1= 800 RPM today and we are doing about xxx knots which is below flap speed. Abeam= the touchdown zone, I reduce power by about 200 rpm and add 20 degrees of flaps= . I lower the nose of the airplane so that I see about half ground and half sky, then check my airspeed. Airspeed is good, about 70 knots. At this time I ha= ve already completed the before landing checklist and I have been cleared to l= and. I descend 200 feet from pattern altitude and turn base making sure to keep = the nose below the horizon for the half ground half sky picture. I clear final and descend another = 300 feet on base leg so that I turn final at 500ft AGL. On final I continue to = see half ground, half sky and I add my final flap setting. I am aiming for the = numbers and I see no relative motion which means that my glidepath is stable. =

At the point where I b= egin to sense a lot of relative movement on the runway (this usually happens abo= ut 15 feet AGL) I will smoothly start to reduce power and level the airplane. = Now I look all the way to the end of the runway. Because I have reduced power t= he airplane will start to sink, as I see the sink happening I will see more ru= nway in front of the cowling. Notice that I am pulling the nose up so that the t= op of the cowling just touches the end of the runway. I keep working this relationship, as I sink more, I pitch up very gradually to keep the cowling just under the end of the runway, and there we go, “plop” another nice la= nding.

Alex: Wow, that sure was visual. But shouldn’t I use more airspeed references?

A.J.: Well you can, it is your judgment call. If you are teaching t= he student to keep the nose below the horizon, and occasionally check airspeed, you are probably much safer than teaching him to fixate on airspeed. Pitch makes airspeed, so why not focus first on pitch and then read the result sparingly on the airspeed indicator?

Alex: Makes sense. So if I use this str= ategy my students will really learn the judgment to go around when things are get= ting scary?

A.J.: Yes they will. The key is to give them clear and specific vis= ual criteria as signals to go around. For instance:

1.&n= bsp; Anytime the approach is so low that we have to climb to re intercept the glidepath, or if a tree or other obstacle is between us and t= he runway.

2.&n= bsp; Anytime the approach is so high that idle power does not corre= ct the glidepath within 10 seconds maximum.

3.&n= bsp; Anytime the airplane will not touchdown on the first third of = the runway.

4.&n= bsp; Anytime the airplane main landing gear is not straddling the runway centerline.

5.&n= bsp; Anytime the longitudinal axis of the airplane is not aligned w= ith runway heading right before touchdown.

6.&n= bsp; Anytime the airplane is drifting sideways right before touchdo= wn.

These are just suggest= ions. The key is to be specific and develop criteria that makes sense and is safe= .

Alex: I am going to try all this stuff = on my new student and I will let you know how it works out.

A.J.: Great! Remember to come by and discuss the results with me. I = am always interested in learning more, and I know that in a few months you will have some new techniques to teach me!

Alex: Thanks AJ. This is a big help

A.J.: You are very welcome. When you come= back next time, I will tell you how all this will actually help to make better instrument pilots too!