Beware instructors brandishing charts

I may have to confiscate Bob's charts, they cause me all sort of problems. I knew it was going to be a fun* flight. As I started off my preflight checks, I got as far as “passengers briefed.” I took a quick glance over at Bob, primarily to reassure myself that a) he’s still in the plane and b) he’s strapped in with his window shut; basically that he’s in the plane and planning on staying in it!  I call out “passengers briefed” and see Bob busy over his chart, pencil at the ready.

I know that look.

I know exactly what he’s up to.

He’s planning an “alternative route.”

I think I was quite justified in my response to that checklist item being “oh look the passenger is currently seeing just how he can screw over his student this lesson!”

Sure enough he picked out another town, thus throwing my carefully marked off route into disarray. Meh, I got us there anyways!

Later on, apparently just for the hell of it, Bob decided that he’d pull back the power for a forced approach. I’ve done these before, reasonably successfully. This time though, once he’d pulled back the power, that was it. Again Bob seemed to develop a deep fascination with his chart and the view out the right side of the plane. Absolutely no help was forthcoming from him then. Bob has this very carefully cultured “I’m not going to answer any of your questions, nor respond to any of your swearing” look. They must teach it in instructor school or something. So I figured I may as well just take a bash at it and see what happens.

Result, we made the field, I held off with the flaps because the winds were reasonably strong. Bob said this was the right call (when he eventually started speaking to me again), so obviously he started looking for the next new and exciting way to screw me over! That’s for another post.

I suppose I should somehow be flattered that he thinks I can handle this stuff now; because it would appear that I actually can!

Bring it on!

 *Again note the ironic use of the word “fun” here