Preparation is the key to enjoying a lesson

[Mr_Creepy]

I had a pleasant experience flight instructing yesterday which I'd like to share with you.

Al has been a student of mine for a while now. He is not seeking aviation as a career, but enjoying it as a hobby. He should be getting his private license soon this summer.

I won't reveal his age, but this is Al's second try at flying. He first soloed the year I was born.

Well, as happens to many people at our advanced ages, Al has faced some medical challenges recently, particularly with the FAA medical procedure. He had to stop flying for six months while he got it all straightened out. He got his medical renewed and asked to go flying again.

We decided to go up and do a few touch and go's, just to get the feel of the airplane back, before proceeding back in to the final stages of pre-check-ride lessons.

What a wonderful experience it can be when you fly with someone who is prepared!

The first landing was a little tentative but still very smooth. I had to reach to critique it. I asked him for four more smooth landings. Al stunned me. The next four landings were not only right on the centerline, but were of the type where you want to call the tower and see if you've actually landed Amazing performance after six months away from the yoke. Have you been doing touch and go's on your flight sim Al?

And this was all with a 12 kt crosswind ...


Great job Al, you will be a great pilot!

[MrSandman]

Glad to hear you had a great flight!

It's always a joy to see a student that is highly motivated and willing to take the time to study. I recently had a student who was the same way, except these were his first few flights and he was already greasing them in on landings better than some commercial students.

One thing to watch out for, and I am not looking to put a damper on the high spirits, but if you are consistently complimenting him on his flying and he hits a snag--he might not take it particularily well. I'm not saying that is going to happen, but just a thing to watch out for from my own experience.

[Mr_Creepy]

Thanks for the tip.

I appreciate all tips I've gotten from all levels of pilots in the last 16 years of being a CFI.

[MidlifeFlyer]

I know what you are talking about, John. Not as old as yours, but I had a primary student who had to mix a hectic work schedule with lessons, so we only flew once a week most of the time, with a lot of breaks thrown even into that.

But one of the things he did was use his Sporty's DVD course to keep up with the syllabus. Reviewed the last lesson and previewed the next. He was so well prepared on a regular basis that our pre-flight briefings usually involved him explaining to me the basics of how to fly the new maneuver with perhaps some very targeted questions about it.

[moxiepilot]

hooray for Al!