Difficult Student

[SkiHigh2002]

I just picked up a student from a CFI who is leaving for the airlines and I've been hearing about how "out there" this guy is. He is very hard to keep on task and is constantly spouting off things he "read in the book" which usually have nothing to do with our lesson. He is extremely thorough and at first would take nearly an hour to do the pre-flight inspection but has now gotten it down to twenty minutes. He is DEATHLY afraid of stalls and slow flight. He is definetly not the "hands on" pilot that most student pilots are. He wants to see me do it so he can "process" the information. Truth be told I believe he may be just a little autistic. I say because I have dealt with autistic people before and I know how they just seem to phrase things a little differently. I'm not being insulting here--I'm really trying hard not to be...

Do any of you all have any tips on how to approach him as a student? He is in love with aviation and told me yesterday he has a goal of getting his PPL by May 2007--a very reasonable goal as he wants to fly around three times a week. I know that I cannot approach him the same why I do my more traditional students. He told me yesterday the reason he wants to fly is just for fun--no more. He's not looking for a career change here. I believe he is very intelligent and very motivated to finish.

Any tips? Help!

[MSNFlyer]

I have a student almost just like yours. When we are going over ground school info he is constantly going off on tangents and is afraid of slow flight and stalls. We have only flown together twice so no stalls just yet but on the ground I make it my job to keep him on task. When he starts to wander I just bring him back gently by reminding him of what the topic is. I know he is just being enthusiastic but I tell him we need to really concentrate on one point at a time and that we will get to everything but that aviation is about building knowledge. You have to start with a good foundation and build up on that. So, don't let your student get off track when you are going over things on the ground. It sounds like he can make it through things (the 1 hour preflight down to 20 mins) so as long as you stay in control of the lessons hopefully his concentration will improve.

As far as being frightened of slow flight and stalls just start talking about how to accomplish those maneuvers, the things to avoid and go slow. I did a checkout once where the student refused to do stalls. However, once I talked him through them, demonstrated how to do them correctly and demonstrated how to correct for them if something went wrong he tried one. After that went well, he tried another one and another and another and now has no problem with them. People generally fear what they don't understand so making students understand it will go a long way.

[Airdale]

Sounds like your student is definitely motivated, so maybe just try and give him some mentor guidance on the areas he needs to focus on and stay focused. Its tough to come up with the proper approach without actually meeting the person. I'm sure you'll find a way though, so just be patient. One thing I've learned as an instructor is that every student is different and they all require a different approach. Some of my students are sharp as a tack, and love to be challenged in the airplane. They thrive on walking away from every flight with a sweat (not hard to do here in the sumer though). I also have some students who need a more laid back approach. Taking things slow, one foot in front of the other. These students require patience and a "positive" attitude approach. I usually cater to their personality and adapt my teaching methods to help them learn much better. Its all about creating an environment in which they feel safe, comfortable and confident. As an instructor, creating this environment takes a lot of patience.

Now I'm not a seasoned instructor yet by any means, but these are things I've learned so far.

When it comes to being affraid of stalls and slow flight, the first step according to many books I've read, is to teach the student everything about stalls. From the aerodynamics of them to why they occur, how to identify them and so forth. By better explaining stalls, you take away the "unknown" that many students have about them. Anxiety about stalls is normal to someone who is not thoroughly educated in that area. Many fears exsist because stalls seem to be presented in a negative manner too often.

When in the air, I've had a few students affraid of stalls. In some cases I've demonstrated trim stalls, and let the airplane continually stall and recover. Proving to them that as long as we maintain coordination, the stall is nothing to be affraid of. Of course once the student becomes comfortable with stalls, then introduce them do why stalls are dangerous in situations and how they can properly recognize the onset of them.

There are a lot of great books out there about training techniques outside of the FAA published books. I've learned a ton just from reading my monthly AOPA flight training magazines. Maybe check out the library and do some reading. Sounds like you care about the student, so I'm sure you'll figure something out.

[fish314]

The fact that he is "constantly spouting off things he 'read in the book'" and is "very thorough" makes him sound to me a little bit like something I call the "scientist pilot".

This is a type of guy (or girl) who needs to think through the hows and whys of every situation before applying it. This type of person needs to know the scientific explanation for everything in order to understand what's going on.

Generally I've found that "scientist pilot types" don't benefit very much from seeing it in the air. They benefit from seeing it on the chalkboard from every possible angle first. If you show it to them in the air a hundred times they'll never figure it out, but talk through it for an hour on the chalkboard/classroom setting and then go out and fly it and they put 2 and 2 together.

Does this sound like it could be your guy?

[SkiHigh2002]

Thanks for all the replies. I would definitely say he is the scientist pilot type. But I would also say he retains little and is often quite wrong when he speaks on topics that has "read about in the book". One bad habit I definitely have to break him of is his habit of answering way more than the question asked. For example, yesterday I asked him what the red line on the ASI meant and he began explaining regulatory details dealing with VNE. Its sort of like the old adage "do you know what time it is?" -- the answer is "yes". Answer only what is asked of you. If he keeps spouting off random information that is quite often not correct the FAA examiner is going to crucify him!

I think I am definitely going to approach him as a "scientist pilot" and try to explain everything in great detail when we go flying.

Thanks again for the replies!

[pscraig]

This guy is obviously motivated, and even sounds a little like me while I was working on my PPL. He's trying to get it right, and probably trying apply the same discipline to flying that he has to his career or profession. You have to get through to him that flying isn't a virtual or just a mental exercise, it's a very real physical exercise that requires mental preparation. In other words, he has to just go out there and fly the airplane.

You might want to mention that discretion when answering questions is a good habit, especially when preparing for a checkride. I've seen students bust an oral because they said the right answer and just kept going until they said something incorrect.