A lot of the conversation at ground school revolved around discussing
how much we had flown, who we were flying with, what they were like, would we
recommend them? Etc.
There were a wide range of experience levels. Some people were
close to their flight test. Some hadn’t even started flying yet. Some people,
like me, were doing ground school at the same time as starting the flying
stuff.
There are many opinions as to which way round to do things, should
you get ground school out of the way, then learn the physical stuff? Should you
get a feel for flying and then cover the theory later? Or do both at the same
time?
Like anything, it depends on what works for you. I won’t lie to
you. Ground school was intense, a lot of work and I found it tough going. I was
constantly behind in my reading for ground school let alone the lesson reading
I had to do before each flight. However it was really helpful to experience in
the plane, the stuff I was learning on the ground.
It sounds like a little thing but after learning about asymmetric
thrust and stuff in ground school, the first time I actually felt the plane
kick round after I applied full throttle was an exciting moment!
Of course, while ground school is an ordeal that has to be
tolerated, the big question is how do you pick your instructor?
This is a BIG decision. You are going to be up close and personal
with them for a minimum of 45 hours in the plane, and probably at least that
amount of time on the ground. This person is going to push you to your personal
limits while at the same time making sure that you don’t kill them, yourself or
anyone else (probably in that order!)
I lucked out in that I knew I was going to go with the instructor
that had gotten RTH through the last part of his flight training. However I
still think I can impart a few tips judging on my experiences outside of flying
and from my conversations with fellow ground schoolers.
Use ground school as
an interview platform – you are going to be exposed to a fair number of instructors.
Talk to them. Get to know them. If they irritate you on the ground, do you
really want to fly with them?
Book trial lessons
with multiple instructors – until you find
the one you like. Yes it might be pricy but you are going to be investing a
hell of a lot of money (and time) with this person. Getting it right at the
start will save you all kinds of problems at a later date.
Know yourself and
your learning styles - I’m nervous. I need someone who is going to hold my hand and
reassure me. Bob does that well. However if I was a 17 year lad who thought I
was invincible. That level of handholding would be irritating. Can your instructor
adapt to your needs?
Do you feel
comfortable with them? – both physically
and mentally? The planes are small and cramped. You are going to bump elbows,
arms and legs all the time. If that person creeps you out on the ground, you
should not get in a plane with them! Mentally you have to trust this person
100%. Eventually they are going to be putting you in potentially dangerous
situations. You need to trust that they can get you out of them. You are also
going to mess up. Do you trust this person to put you right without destroying
your confidence forever?
Pick someone with
similar goals to you – if you are on the fast track to becoming an airline pilot, then
maybe picking an instructor with similar aspirations would be a good thing,
they can share industry tips, insider knowledge etc. but it could be
counterproductive if you are just flying for fun and are not interested in how
to land that job at Air Canada.
If you are not happy
with them do something about it – talk to them,
talk to the Chief flight instructor, talk to the owner. If you need to, swap
instructors. You are the consumer here. Don’t worry about damaging egos.
They’ll get over it. You may only have the funds for one shot at this.
Teaching is an art in itself. I used to train teachers so I speak
with some authority on this. Some people are great at what they do, but simply
can’t teach others. Anyone can impart
physical skills or knowledge but understanding the psychology of your student
and how to prepare them mentally is a whole other matter. Students can have
very fragile egos, what might be a minor hiccup to an instructor can be
devastating to us.
So with all that in mind I followed none of those tips above. I
just inherited Bob! Having said that though, it’s for the reasons above that
I’m sticking with him. Initially I was worried that he seemed to be expecting
too much from me. We covered a lot in our initial lessons. I thought he had
unrealistic expectations of me. I wanted to say to him “you do know I’m a bit
rubbish don’t you?”
In fact I’d go as far as saying that initially I got a bit annoyed
that he seemed to be expecting the same standard from me that he would from any
other student. He obviously didn’t realize that I’m a special unique snowflake
who needs extra care and attention (as well as flying gloves with an “L” and an
“R” marked on them) ;)
It turns out though that he was right all along*. It is part of his
role to push me right to the limits of my comfort zone (and beyond). He
actually has a better handle on my abilities than I do. Consequently I’ve
achieved stuff that I’d never even dreamed I was capable of.
*God it is depressing the number of times I’ve had to admit that
someone else was right on this blog!
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