Instrument student...

[adreamer]

Well, this student is my very first instrument student whom I train from the beginning. I think I need some advise / comments / suggestions. He seems has hard time to hold heading and altitude. We went over the basic instrument scan. It does not seem like he is not progress as much as I want.

When he reach assigned altitude, he is either over - control or let the control go. Any suggestions? i.e. 10 degree nose up pitch attitude for 100 below assigned altitude.

When turning toward to assigned heading - Once reach assigned heading, he like to turn back or over shoot heading. i.e. The plane is still in standard rate turn when reach assigned heading or level the wing before assigned heading.

The biggest problem I have with him - the mind set. He constantly ask me about the acceptable error for heading, altitude, and CDI. I constantly tell him about the percision. Now, I am about running out of words / vocabulary.

Any advise, suggestions, and / or comments would be appreciated.

[roundout]

give him to the new guy.

[meritflyer]

Beat him with a wooden stick.

[jrh]

What kind of a VFR pilot is he? Does he fly the same way without the hood on? I'm thinking probably not.

You might spend some time with him without the hood on, showing him how to correct common errors, such as being 100 feet off his assigned altitude. Do it visually, but point out the instrument indications while you do it. Show him how it takes gentle, subtle movements to correct errors during instrument flying, just like when VFR. The plane flies the same way, no matter if it's in the clouds or not.

Also, during certain tasks you have seen him make mistakes on (undershooting or overshooting heading, for example), ask him what instrument he is looking at at that particular moment. You might find he is looking at something completely irrelevant (airspeed, for example), when he should be watching the heading indicator.

Something I read a while ago, I believe MidlifeFlyer posted it, was that one of the secrets to a good instrument scan is knowing where to look, and when to look there. That little piece of advice has made life a lot simpler for my instrument students. I talk to them about every phase of flight and what instruments to use for that particular task.

For instance, during the initial part of a climb, the pilot should look to the airspeed indicator to set pitch, and heading indicator to stay flying straight. Their eyes will bounce between airspeed and heading, with an occasional glance at the other instruments. When they are nearing the top of their climb, they should shift their scan away from the airspeed indicator and on to the altimeter. They can then use the altimeter to set pitch and level off as they reach their assigned altitude. So then, most of their scan will be bouncing between altimeter (to maintain level flight) and heading indicator (to keep from turning) with an occasional glance to the other instruments to cross-check their indications.

Good luck with your student...it's the tough ones who make you a better teacher!

[Ian J]

Just something simple my instrument instructor at Rucker taught me long ago... during a climb or descent, the altimeter means nothing and during a turn the heading indicator means nothing. They don't give you any relevant information until the maneuver is almost complete, so minimize them in your scan until you are about to level off.

Then again, don't omit them, lest you blow through your altitude or heading.

[jrh]

Originally Posted by adreamer

The biggest problem I have with him - the mind set. He constantly ask me about the acceptable error for heading, altitude, and CDI. I constantly tell him about the percision. Now, I am about running out of words / vocabulary.

I forgot to address this part in my first post.

To me, it sounds like he knows he's having a hard time and his reaction is to get barely "good enough" to pass a checkride. He probably doesn't enjoy instrument flying very much and just wants to get it over with.

Hopefully once he starts making progress and doing better he'll see instrument flying isn't so bad and will naturally stop worrying about the standards.

If he keeps asking you about these standards, I'd be honest with him. Tell him what the PTS standards are to pass a checkride, but also tell him he's going to suck as an instrument pilot if that's all he cares about. Tell him it's amazing how mental instrument flying is. If he decides +/- 100 feet on altitude is acceptable, he'll probably fly to the limit. If he decides +/- 50 feet on altitude is acceptable, he'll fly to that limit. It's all about what he decides. It's amazing how many pilots are ok with flying 75 feet off altitude, just because they know they're still within "acceptable" limits.

To make the best possible pilot, he should decide +/- 0 is the limit on everything. Even though it's impossible to fly to those standards, it means that as soon as he identifies he is off altitude, or off heading, or off airspeed, he will take action to correct it, rather than sitting back and mentally saying, "Ehh...it's within standards, I'll let it go." Taking that attitude will make him 10 times more precise.