3 week wonder?

[Rocketman99]

OK folks, I've got a situation where some insight would be greatly appreciated. I've got a student, shiny, new, 1 each who is enlisted and putting together a package to be commissioned as an officer and go to flight school. He is looking to get his private and 41 hours to get a large amount of points for his package. Here are the details:

- he is on leave here from mainland Japan where this is no aero club available he can fly at
- he only has until the first week of August to finish the license before his leave runs out
- the cutoff date for turning in his package is the beginning of august
- if he doesn't get the license, getting 41 hours gets him much points than 20 hrs (the next lowest time cutoff)
- I am a shiny new CFI with no experience teaching new students (not ideal, but so life goes)
- I am only available evenings and weekends as I have my real job during duty hours
- being an AF aero club I am bound to the Jeppesen syllabus for his training

I think it is possible provided the weather stays great, he proves to be a realtively quick learner, and that does A LOT of the bookwork on his own at home. On the other hand, there is the consideration of just doing a bunch of long XCs during the last week if it seems he wont make it for the license, just to get him the 41 hours for points for his application.

I'm expecting this to be quite a learning experience and as difficult for me as it is for him. So how would you folks handle this? Any suggestions/advice/opinions? Fire away.

[Ralgha]

Your real job is the only real obstacle here. If he's motivated he can get it as fast as he wants.

I would sit down with him and draw up a detailed schedule using the Jepp syllabus. Leave a few days of padding on the end for flexibility. Make sure he knows that he has to study his ass off and be absolutly ready for each and every lesson. He could (and probably shoud) do at least two lessons each on Saturday and Sunday.

Also keep in mind that once he solos, he can do solo work during the day and fly with you in the evenings.

Get a schedule that allows for some flexibility and then stick to it as closly as humanly possible.

Don't worry about being a new CFI, it just means that you'll have to put more work into it than he does (and he has to put a lot into it). Expect the best from him, and give him your best as well. It'll be a great learning experience for both of you.

[KLB]

[ QUOTE ]
OK folks, I've got a situation where some insight would be greatly appreciated. I've got a student, shiny, new, 1 each who is enlisted and putting together a package to be commissioned as an officer and go to flight school. He is looking to get his private and 41 hours to get a large amount of points for his package. Here are the details:

- he is on leave here from mainland Japan where this is no aero club available he can fly at
- he only has until the first week of August to finish the license before his leave runs out
- the cutoff date for turning in his package is the beginning of august
- if he doesn't get the license, getting 41 hours gets him much points than 20 hrs (the next lowest time cutoff)
- I am a shiny new CFI with no experience teaching new students (not ideal, but so life goes)
- I am only available evenings and weekends as I have my real job during duty hours
- being an AF aero club I am bound to the Jeppesen syllabus for his training

I think it is possible provided the weather stays great, he proves to be a realtively quick learner, and that does A LOT of the bookwork on his own at home. On the other hand, there is the consideration of just doing a bunch of long XCs during the last week if it seems he wont make it for the license, just to get him the 41 hours for points for his application.

I'm expecting this to be quite a learning experience and as difficult for me as it is for him. So how would you folks handle this? Any suggestions/advice/opinions? Fire away.

[/ QUOTE ]

That Jeppessen syllubus works faster than you think. It goes right along with the Jeppessen private pilot manual. If actually sits down, studies, and is prepared for every lesson. And you guys do a lesson every day and maybe twice weekend day, it could be done.

[USMCmech]

Explain the obstacals to your student. Show him a scheduale, and let him decide wether or not he want's to give it a try.

[Rocketman99]

That he's going to give it a shot is already a foregone conclusion. We started up Monday. So far so good. He's been great at hitting the books and I have been impressed with his flying so far. Of course, it's only been 4 days and three flights so...

The plan I had figured on was flying every day and twice a day on weekends much like folks have suggested. I'm also considering taking a few days of leave myself to fly twice a day during the week with him if we get close enough.

[NEFlyer]

We have some F15E WSO (backseaters) training here for the same reason. The military guys trying to put together a package are extremely motivated and make great students. If you take a few days off near the end of his training I think you can make it. It depends on the DE, the DEs around here won't even look at a student without 42-43 hours. Ask before you send him for a check ride with 41 hours.

Good luck.

[Rocketman99]

Yep, he is pretty highly motivated and well prepped for each lesson. As for the DE, it's not such a big issue. Our DE is the club manager and he is both aware of the situation and the one who assigned me the student. WXed out this afternoon and tomorrow for the typhoon. It's not hitting us, but coming close enough that winds will be around 40 kts until Monday. This morning we had winds 20G29 about 10 deg off the runway when we came back to land.

[flyingmaniac]

It seems that you are located at Okinawa, I suppose. Well if you were at mainland Japan you could go to Yokota Air Base. There you could work on his license on an Air Force base.

[Rocketman99]

I am active duty AF and the training is being given at Kadena. In terms of travel, Okinawa is just as far from Iwakuni MCAS as Tokyo for all practical purposes, so he elected to come down here instead of heading to Yokota.

After flying out here operationally for almost 4 years, I can say I would not want to learn how to fly at a base in Japan. You lose a lot of the weather/XC/flight plan practice you would get in the states flying overseas. The ideas and procedures may be the same, but the forms and information are different Plus, leaving the local area means talking to Japanese controllers and that is no easy task even though they're speaking English!

[flyingmaniac]

Well I might need your help when I decide to move back to Japan in the future. I learned here in the states how to fly, that is the reason why I came back. But I love Japan atmosphere and so I plan to come back.

[Rocketman99]

Be glad to help if I'm still around here when you get back.

[Doug Taylor]

When you go back, make sure you leave contact info with Kristie or I because a Japan trips on our medium-range radar.

[Rocketman99]

Just how medium range Doug?

[Doug Taylor]

Perhaps this year sometime? We might do a Greece in October and a Japan a little later on around Nov or Dec.

[Rocketman99]

Oh. I should be back home in the states by then. Time's about up.

[flyingmaniac]

Well I lived there from 1999 to 2002 3/4. I loved most of everything, except the tight living spaces. The main area I was in was Yokohama and Yokosuka.

[Rocketman99]

Never been around Yokosuka. I had a friend stationed there when I got here initially. Spent many a week in Yokota and Misawa while I've been here. I think I'd have to say Misawa is my favorite place to go here basewise. Can't beat the snowboarding close by. Drifting off topic here...

So looks like my student is coming along toward initial solo soon. Basic maneuevers are solid enough so far and the traffic patterns are good but he seems to lose it right around the flare. I think the touchdown zone elevation at Kadena might read a little lower tomorrow... All in all, not bad for only 5 flights to date (typhoon canxed several days of flying).

[flyingmaniac]

Yeah you know Japan has a Typhoon season and to fly during that season you'd accept cancellations.

[Rocketman99]

Well, knock on wood so far we've only had the three day break. Last year we'd had almost 10 typhoons at this point this year we've only had one.

15 days in and he's soloed and has almost 20 hours. Now it's really crunch time trying to get the rest in with only 9 more days...

[NEFlyer]

Good luck, Rocketman99. I hope the weather holds up for you.

[Rocketman99]

Thanks man.

[KLB]

It's pretty much all down hill from here. Is he studying for his written yet? Thats can really hold up the process.

[Rocketman99]

He says he has been from the Gleim book. I guess we'll see soon enough.

[Rocketman99]

And so the 3 week wonder comes to conclusion. He leaves tonight and unfortunately without his private ticket, but he DID get the 41 hours for his commissioning package to go to pilot training so it wasn't completely fruitless.

Everything was going great and he should have been done yesterday morning until - you guessed it - typhoon number two made it's way over. What sucks is, the typhoon never actually hit us, but it passed close enough that for the past 5 days we've had direct 20-25 kt XWinds and low ceilings. He's missing solo XC #2 the Stage 3 check and the checkride and he is finished. I'm kinda bummed, I really hoped we could get it done. Damn the weather gods!!

[woodreau]

Sorry to hear the three week wonder wasn't able to get his private, but got as much as he could have done within the time constraints.

I flew out of Kadena in 97-98 and it was fun sharing the pattern with F-15's and E-3's.

Talking about typhoons, we'd have our contingency plan for typhoons, as soon as they set TCCOR 4, a few of us would go out for kegs, a few more of us would go out for food, batteries, water and candles, and we'd throw our typhoon party in the quad on Camp Foster. Those were the days - we got to hold 4 of those typhoon parties before the season was over.