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Category: CFI Technique

The essential techniques of successful and effective instruction. The first level is protecting every flight and keeping it safe. Add to this the excellence and effectiveness that come with experience.

“CFI Seasoning” Beyond the Academy!

A truly professional aviation educator should be progressively getting out of the training aircraft one step at a time from flight lesson #1. To be successful as educators, every CFI must willingly become superfluous in every area of operation by flight test time – totally empowering their pilot to be fully “in command.” Obviously, there will always be more to teach and learn, but ultimately our goal should be set every new pilot totally free – NOT create dependence! This “letting go” (think of successful parenting) is not easy for the human ego because every human wants to be needed and valued. Many CFIs secretly foster dependence in their pilots during training (helicopter parenting). Though this creates a strong business bond that works great for the wallet and building hours, it creates really bad – dependent and unconfident – pilots.

And the strange and unfortunate truth is we actually teach this harmful micromanaging behavior to every aviation educator during their initial  CFI training; we build a fatal defect into every new CFI. The most common method for educating a new CFI is to create a “CFI lesson plan binder” full of rote lesson plans tracking the usual pilot pathway. And as we do this, the future CFI applicant is encourated to talk, talk, talk and fly, fly, fly – patterning each maneuver from the right seat and “simultaneously instructing and flying.” And though this is a necessary step in learning to teach aviation, we never finish the job and progress all the way to real educational excellence through supervision and seasoning (STOP talking and let your student fly). We get them “barely competent” and turn them lose in the aviation system.

The FAA system allows for perfunctory CFI preparation – 10-day courses are pretty standard with an 85% pass rates. And there is no “student teaching” or “seasoning” included to build excellence in the field after certification. Consequently, many new CFIs never learn to personalize their instruction to creatively tailor their presentation to suit each unique pilot in training (burn that binder!). It can take years for new CFIs to become creative and effective without mentoring. It takes time to learn the necessary balance of freedom and control to provide students the space to grow and learn. Unfortunately, most just continue the rote, assembly-line instruction from their CFI binder rather than embracing “client-centered education.” They never relinquish the radio, the flight controls or PIC authority and instead smother their eager learners with overbearing micromanagment and excessive erudition; we have created a monster. To become a successful educator, only mentoring and seasoning will grow the CFI create excellence. It takes more time and guidance to create a truly competent aviation educator.

The Canadian aviation system requires every new aviation educator to teach under supervision and and grow further as a CFI before teaching independently. Only after supervised “student teaching” in the field under a master instructor are Canadian CFIs upgraded to teach independently. But this is not the FAA system. After only a perfunctory 10 day “CFI academy” a new FAA CFI could be in the field with very limited preparation. And this is exactly why SAFE created the mentoring program from day one and is now creating the SAFE CFI-PRO™ workshops. These tools bridge the “CFI gap” between good and great. They also encourage the mentoring and networking that creates the necessary “growth mindset” every educator must embrace. Excellent educators must continue to grow if we want to be successful and effective. Fly safely (and often) and please check out the SAFE CFI-PRO™ workshops. We need your support to fight mediocrity and make this new initiative the new standard of excellence in our industry. As every aviation educator improves, we reach and improve every pilot.

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Join SAFE to support our safety mission of generating aviation excellence in teaching and flying. Our amazing member benefits pay back your contribution (1/3 off your ForeFlight subscription)! Our FREE SAFE Toolkit App puts required pilot endorsements and experience requirements right on your smartphone and facilitate CFI+DPE teamwork. Our CFI insurance was developed specifically for CFI professionals (and is the best value in the business).

Teaching Accurate Rudder Usage!

Misuse of the rudder while flying – usually too little or none at all – is a sure sign that some aviation educator failed their student during initial training. This sloppy “flat foot flying” or “driving an aircraft” is sometimes a symptom of a burned out CFI who has just “given up” and does not care any more. This CFI is tolerating sloppy flying out of frustration (“whatever!”). But it is also true that some CFIs were themselves taught badly and cannot sense or teach accurate rudder usage. There are easy exercises to teach rudder (standby for that…) but first, every pilot has to appreciate that lack of correct rudder usage is the heart of unsafe flying. Improper yaw control leads directly to loss of control accidents in the pattern (57% of fatals) – we touched on this elsewhere. This article however is “Rudder 101;” providing CFI resources to build appreciation and proper usage of this misunderstood and underutilized control. A pilot without yaw control does not understand the most basic principles of flying; they are still “driving the plane” and it isn’t pretty or safe. As professional aviation educators, we can fix this. (And if you are a pilot reading, there is great benefit here for you also)

To clearly define terms for this discussion, by “driving an airplane” I mean just cranking the yoke or deflecting the stick like an automobile without correcting for adverse yaw with the rudder. And it is obviously much harder to successfully rehabilitate a “numb butt” than to initially teach accurate, correct rudder usage. Step one is creating and illustrating the aerodynamic principles and developing an appreciation for the *need* for correct rudder; some pilots do not detect their slip/skid flying and cannot understand the need (“My plane does not require any rudder…”). Entrenched habits and lack of caring about rudder usage require serious unlearning first to make any progress at all; “no need no sale.” Then, every pilot initially learning, rusty relearning, or continuing proficiency has to overcome their “driving habit” (we all drive much more than we fly). In a normal syllabus, accurate and appropriate rudder usage has to begin during flight lesson #1; “demonstrate that flying is clearly and demonstrably NOT driving!”

So when your new student (or your recovering “flat foot flier”) is up at altitude in the airplane, please demonstrate an extreme “driving turn” with no rudder and make the problem obvious! If you crank the yoke (deflect the ailerons) aggresively in one direction (fast and furious) the nose predictably yaws off in the opposite direction (a prebrief. on adverse yaw obviously helps to create this “step one” understanding). A couple of these gyrations aggressively applied might also induce a bit of nausea (and that might be a “good thing” – uncoordination makes me sick in a plane!) Next, illustrate a well coordinated roll referencing a distant point on the horizon (eyes outside, not on the ball please). Help your pilot in training try a coordinated turn and demonstrate how much smoother and easier on the stomach it is with appropriate rudder applied. Here is a great Rod Machado video to show a student illustrating this technique:

Now pick a point on the distant horizon and roll with correct coordination on a single point and sustain a level turn for a while. Have your pilot in training practice this with eyes entirely outside; roll into a 30 degree banked turn (make sure they release the rudder pressure) and continue  for 90 degrees of stable turning (This is a good time to mention and practice the appropriate amount of back pressure if it is a new learner). Reverse after 90 degrees of turn in the other direction. Turn reversal is initially more of a challenge but perfectly illustrates accurate yaw cancelling. After a few cycles of turning, try rolling into a bank and reversing on a single point without letting the airplane enter the turn (many pilots call this a “Dutch Roll”). This exercise should be part of every initial flight lesson. This exercise tunes up the feet and overcomes our more common “driving impulse.” Every aircraft requires a different amont of rudder pressure so this is something I do on downwind in every airplane (solo, not with the boss in the back). This exercise is very efficient and only takes about as long as this description required; easy and effective!

This introduction can be followed by more advanced illustrations of yaw correction if your pilot immediately “gets it.” When flying level at approach speed, apply and reduce power aggressively (with NO yaw correction) to demonstrate the left-yaw effects and the necessary application of rudder to hold a distant point on the horizon. As power is applied, right rudder is necessary. (I make this a “muscle memory exercise” – as the right hand goes in with more power, the right rudder is applied).

Finally, illustrate that as the nose pitch is aggressively increased, left turning tendencies are created requiring right rudder to cancel yaw to the left. And when you combine these two forces (as in a take-off or simulated go-around) the right rudder force is more obvious. Again, this is lesson #1 and 2; vital understanding of the physics at work.

These are understandings and skills every pilot in training needs to successfully take off and turn; lesson #1 and 2. And as soon as your pilot in training has mastered these skills, turn over the control and responsibility completely to your new pilot (with no educator intervention or correction). This is the incredibly valuable incremental mastery we mentioned in an earlier blog. This empowers and motivates your new pilot and starts them on the road to assuming full control PIC (essential but rare in student training).

Notice that yaw is so much easier to illustrate in its pure form if you remove and practice these exercises in isolation from “the scenario.”  Once you practice this “yaw cancelling” as a distinct and pure exercise with a little drill and repetition it is quickly mastered and available for all future flying. Unfortunately, in most pilot training, appreciation of yaw forces gets lost in the continuing scenario and the CFI just ends up just bleating out “more right rudder” in a meaningless fashion. Most pilots never learn to properly use the rudder.

Once basic rudder understanding and proficiency are completed in isolation, we reassemble this package resuming a “normal flying scenario” and apply it in every maneuver. This is analogous to practicing scales on piano during initial training *before* we attempt Chopin. A few times through these exercises and your new pilot will only require an occasional “right rudder” reminder or tune up. Pilots trained correctly instinctively sense yaw (“something feels wrong here”) and apply appropriate/accurate rudder. We’ll discuss more advanced rudder exercises next week; fly safe (and often)!

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Join SAFE to support our safety mission of generating aviation excellence in teaching and flying. Our amazing member benefits pay back your contribution (like 1/3 off your annual ForeFlight subscription)! Our FREE SAFE Toolkit App puts required pilot endorsements and experience requirements right on your smartphone and facilitates CFI+DPE teamwork. Our CFI insurance was developed specifically for CFI professionals (and is the best value in the business).

Opportunity To Grow: SAFE CFI-PRO™!

Just a short blog this week, no brain strain or technical discussions. I just want to announce that SAFE has opened up registration for our SAFE CFI-PRO™ workshop in Frederick, MD. This event will be at the  AOPA “Learn to Fly” facility on October 2nd and 3rd and is filling quickly. We are limited to only 75 people at this first offering, so register here soon.

 

This is an opportunity for aviation educators at every level to get together with their peers to network, discuss and learn from some very experienced CFIs; e.g. Rich Stowell, Doug Stewart and Hobie Tomlinson. Each one of these people has been an FAA National Flight Instructor of the Year and each one separately has well over 10,000 hours of dual given. Hobie has been a pilot examiner longer than most of us have been flying; 42 years!

The AOPA “Learn to Fly” facility is a beautiful modern building with an auditorium, classrooms and the latest AV equipment right on the KFDK airport. Discount hotel rooms are planned at both Marriott and Hilton (since pilots are all point monsters affiliated with different programs) and we offer a dinner get together at the National Aviation Community Center with the AOPA people.

Ironically, the last national learning opportunity like this might have been 20 years ago at Embry Riddle in April 1999 when Rich Stowell presented his famous “CFI white paper” to the assembled authorities. Rich went on to help create SAFE’s GA Pilot Training Reform Symposium in Atlanta in 2011 that spawned our current FAA ACS. And Rich pretty much invented the term “Loss of Control,” teaching prevention techniques 20 years before the FAA/NTSB identified LOC-I as the primary cause of fatal accidents. Rich was an expert witness at the NTSB LOC-I Roundtable and still has the best “Public Service Announcement” for “Extended Envelope Training” on the internet:

Register now and join the SAFE team in Frederick, MD on October 2 & 3rd for our first SAFE CFI-PRO™ Workshop.

Apple or Android versions.

Join SAFE to support our safety mission of generating aviation excellence in teaching and flying. Our amazing member benefits pay back your contribution (like 1/3 off your annual ForeFlight subscription)! Our FREE SAFE Toolkit App puts required pilot endorsements and experience requirements right on your smartphone and facilitates CFI+DPE teamwork. Our CFI insurance was developed specifically for CFI professionals (and is the best value in the business).

 

The Secret of Pattern Safety!

We all know a majority of accidents occur in the traffic pattern; especially during descent and runway line-up. But the burning question is “why?” Basically, we fear the wrong things. Most pilots don’t understand the basic flight dynamics of descending turns and the real consequences and risks of unstabilized flying. With a little knowledge, practice and a committment to artful flying excellence, we all can do better and fly safer.

But instead pilots try to achieve safety by never banking over 20 degrees, flying huge patterns and becoming increasingly timid.  Others advocate oval patterns to eliminate the steeper corners of the pattern (but fly a constant turn). Why not just “learn to turn” correctly and safely in the first place? I watch in amazement as pilots horse their planes around to final with varying bank angles and wildly changing airspeeds (hold on partner!) exhibiting a lack of stability, ground track control and overall discipline. The physical problems with patterns are obvious but they are driven by a lack of understanding risk and knowledge of the forces at work.  This lack of stability and control continues directly into professional piloting where unstable approaches and overrun accidents are the #1 cause of accidents in corporate jets. As aviation educators (and pilots) we need to do better. Understanding some basic flight dynamics is critical to success.

Safety and a passion for pattern precision starts with an understanding of the invisible angle of attack (AOA) where the real risk hides. Simply presenting and thoroughly explaining  a set of pictures like the ones above  can jump start the conversation and clear up some very common misunderstandings. When asked which aircraft depicted above has the greatest angle of attack (AOA) almost every pilot (and many CFIs) pick the nose-high Cessna. The “a-ha” learning opportunity is that the AOA is the same on both of these aircraft. And that means the airplane in the glide is just as close to a stall as the nose-high plane on the left (now risk becomes clear). If we never demonstrate a stall with the nose *below* the horizon a new pilot in training will never understand AOA and how accidents occur. There is a “natural” (but erroneous) assumption that with the nose low, we are “safe” and “all stalls occur with a nose-high flight attitude” – wrong and reason #1 for pattern accidents! Even if this error is not stated verbally, practicing and demonstrating only nose-high stalls builds this myth and masks the true danger of descending turns.

In our initial flight instruction teaching the basic level turn, we emphasize that when a plane is banked, the lift vector is redirected to the horizontal (to create the turn) and no longer entirely opposes gravity. Consequently, some back-pressure is necessary to maintain altitude in a level turn. And during initial flight training, we build up this rote, muscle memory “bank and add pressure” response through repetition. But when we move on to the descending turns, is essential to emphasize this previously memorized script is incorrect.

A descending turn is completely different and requires “bank and release” because the added load of the bank will add drag and cause a decrease in airspeed (and greater AOA) unless back pressure is relaxed (and trim is a wonderful and underused tool here). Pilots descending tend to lose airpseed on every turn; they are banking and inappropriately adding back pressure (or failing to appropriately release). This is reason #2 of the “why” that explains many pattern accidents. This failure to understand the basic flight dynamics of the turn and AOA (also probably add some initial “ground fear” of being low) causes pilots in training bank to mishandle AOA. And once bad habits are extablished in training, they never go away.

How “eyeball friendly” is your trainer?

Outside visual reference and proper trimming are also vastly undervalued in modern flight training. If the airplane is trimmed properly and the pilot in training knows the proper, predictible flight attitude for a descent in various configurations, the stabilized control of the aircraft is much easier. Unfortunately, many pilots in training are inappropriately focused inside on the panel chasing the airpseed indicator instead of setting a flight attitude with outside references. Personally, unless my pilot in training can fly the whole pattern visually, with eyes outside (and the instrument panel covered) I hesitate to even consider a solo. Fly safely out there (and often).

And of course, more on this and other key educator tools at our Oct. 2/3 SAFE CFI-PRO™ workshop at AOPA in Fredrick, MD. The registration form will be live in a week. This will have Hilton and Marriott rooms at a discount and a networking dinner at the National Aviation Community Center!

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Join SAFE to support our safety mission of generating aviation excellence in teaching and flying. Our amazing member benefits pay back your contribution (like 1/3 off your annual ForeFlight subscription)! Our FREE SAFE Toolkit App puts required pilot endorsements and experience requirements right on your smartphone and facilitates CFI+DPE teamwork. Our CFI insurance was developed specifically for CFI professionals (and is the best value in the business).

Start With Basic Honesty!

As a flight instructor have you been guilty of telling eager beginners that “learning to fly is easy”? Do you personally really believe that often used phrase? If you think back to *your* initial training don’t you remember those dark moments of discouragement and disappointment that are inevitably part of this process? Learning anything complex is not all sunshine and light. Struggle, disappointment and personal growth are all a necessary part of learning to fly. But if you were successful, at some point some caring person helped you through those  dark times of doubt – a mentor or hopefully a compassionate, honest aviation educator? We know from survey data that a caring and compassionate CFI is  the essential magic element responsible for success in flight training. In our enthusiasm to sell flying we might be doing damage by describing learning to fly as “easy.” I think we all would benefit more by being honest; the result would be a better completion rate and more happy pilots in training. This would help to insure the health of our aviation industry and give us many more lifetime clients.

In our eagerness to sell flying we have  failed our future pilots- it all starts with that initial interview. I personally believe this is a major reason we see the 80% rate during initial pilot training; we need to more accurately communicate the challenges and control the expectations here.  Present the honest story, with the future benefits.  Certainly “sell the sizzle” but do not diminish the challenges.

My personal formula for introducing the subject goes something like this; “Learning to fly is a great challenge and provides amazing adventure and fun. This process does require hard work, effort and your time and money. In addition to acquiring the obvious physical skills it also requires personal growth and assuming responsibility; it rewards a ‘take charge’ personality and some courage. Your investment of time, money and effort will be paid back a hundred fold if you stay the course and work through the process; being a pilot opens up so many worlds of fun and adventure. And the learning and discovery can be fun and rewarding; we’ll work through the difficulties together”

The professional aviation educator has to commit to being more than just a technician in this learning process. A great CFI is a coach, motivator and practical psychologist in addition to guiding the skills part (did you know you signed up for this?). If you are a pilot seeking a CFI look beyond the badges, patches and accolades. Look for a true committed professional, a warm-hearted “people person” who cares about your success and has a track record of happy pilots.

50KsoloEvery initial interview between potential pilot and educator is similar to an “engagement letter” that any lawyer would write.  This tool should be part of any professional relationship involving a lot of time and money (and its usually in writing). Unfortunately in flying, honesty is rare, we tend to sell sunshine and light and diminish the struggle. And if we present the FAA “40 hour myth” we are also lying. I have certainly finished some very talented students in 35 hours (141 school), but we all know that is not the “average” and not an expectation I would promote to the general public. Doubling the 40 is a more reasonable target (and I don’t embrace other FAA minimums – like VFR in “one mile clear of clouds” either). Someone for whom completion is not possible (or will take excessive time) should be informed early in training (and gently terminated if the project is not going to work). Again AOPA survey data reveals that the reason people drop out of flying is not the cost, it is the unrealistic expectations presented in the early interview and a lack of value. If you initially told them $12K to be a pilot and we are passing $18K and still in X-C you are going to have problems. This is no different than  remodeling contractor promising your new bathroom for $20K then proceeding to charge $35K (and its still not done).

The critical part in flight training that differs from other professional models is the level of personal commitment and caring required of the effective aviation educator. We are not just technicians who perform a sterile service or twist a few screws to create a performance. We need to be personally involved and coaching our pilots in training to get them through the goal posts. It requires caring and compassion and that is rare in our modern world of aviation instruction. I don’t think they teach empathy or compassion during initial training at our “puppy mill” CFI academies. This is acquired with life experience and comes with time. But it is the essential trait if you want to be a successful aviation educator; you have to care. This is the magic that makes flight training work. Fly safely out there (and often)

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Join SAFE to support our safety mission of generating aviation excellence in teaching and flying. Our amazing member benefits pay back your contribution (like 1/3 off your annual ForeFlight subscription)! Our FREE SAFE Toolkit App puts required pilot endorsements and experience requirements right on your smartphone and facilitates CFI+DPE teamwork. Our CFI insurance was developed specifically for CFI professionals (and is the best value in the business).

New Tech: Accurate Fuel, Envelope Protection…

The number one reason aircraft end up in the weeds is still lack of fuel to the engine(s); starvation or exhaustion. The gauges on small planes have always been unreliable and estimates are subject to error and “excessive optimism.” I am sure that you, like every other pilot trained, have been counseled repeatedly “never trust your fuel gauges.” And this is for the very good reason that their reliability has been terrible. (and there are easily explainable reasons for the inaccuracy)

One of the many blessings of new aircraft and associated technological advances is the amazing accuracy they demonstrate when fueling (provided you input the new data correctly!) We now often verify a top off to within a tenth of a gallon of the gauge reading. For older aircraft, CiES, an innovative company based in Bend, Oregon, has developed highly accurate, reliable magnetic field fuel quantity sensors STCed for installation in just about every GA aircraft. Their testing data and verification of accuracy and durability is amazingly comprehensive. If you honestly want to manage the #1 risk factor in your flying, installation of accurate fuel gauges is hard to ignore. But how will our industry react to this news?

I can bet many pilots and educators will continue to preach “never trust your fuel gauges.” And though I certainly would agree with that advice if they mean trusting as a single source of data, wouldn’t it be great comfort to finally have an accurate, reliable depiction of acutal fuel on board to compare with a calculated estimate (to filter out gross errors)?  Of course we also know the tragic irony is that despite absolutely accurate fuel readings, pilots will still continue to run out because they can cut their margins even closer (hard to defeat human “ingenuity”). Has anyone out there tried these new units and can offer a testimonial? Even the 1946 bobber in my 7AC Champ is nervous.

Another bit of tech wizardry in modern planes is the “envelope protection” initiative from Garmin and Avidyne built into new airframes (just when SAFE is advocating for pilot “envelope expansion” practice for safety).

I was instructing commercial 720 steep turns for a multi-commercial add-on in a DA-42 and the machine made it clear 50 degree banked turns were “unacceptable” for “normal operations.” The servos (auto pilot off) kept nudging the stick back to level. It took a little digging in the manual to discover the the setting in the G-1000 to disable this feature (continuously operational even with autopilot off). Better guidance from Garmin is here and for Avidyne systems here. Until I learned more I had a “Max-8 MCAS moment.” And even with the control servos disabled the alarms go off to let you know you are “too steep” with aural warnings. It’s a brave new world out there with something to learn everyday. Fly safely (and often).

Apple or Android versions.

Join SAFE to support our safety mission of generating aviation excellence in teaching and flying. Our amazing member benefits pay back your contribution (like 1/3 off your annual ForeFlight subscription)! Our FREE SAFE Toolkit App puts required pilot endorsements and experience requirements right on your smartphone and facilitates CFI+DPE teamwork. Our CFI insurance was developed specifically for CFI professionals (and is the best value in the business).

“Artful” Control Usage; Pattern Precision

Rudder use in climbing turns is critical to safety in the pattern!

Flying around the pattern with perfect coordination is more difficult than most pilots think. Its also essential to safety because this is where the majority of accidents happen either from collisions or loss of control. Aviation educators must be insistent on thorough understanding and proper control usage if we are going to make better, safer pilots.

The correct actions and control pressures required in the pattern often go against what initially seems “natural” to new trainees; their “naive rendition.” Aviation educators need to patiently unpack and overwrite naive assumptions with correct theory and control usage. These are “trained responses” and require lots of practice to become embedded, implicit scripts that are constantly ready for use by the savvy pilot. There are lots of negative transfers from our more common transportation activity; driving.

Every educator will get arguments that mastering the correct control application is unnecessary because what they are doing “already works” or they will correct sloppy control later; neither is true. The basics must be mastered early and practiced often in flying or you have embedded a ticking bomb in your procedures that will surface later when a critical surprise situation requires immediate and accurate control skills to save the day. Marginal performance from power loss or density altitude challenges can suddenly require us to squeeze every ounce of performance from our aircraft. For safety and efficiency we need to unpack some of these less studied effects and work to master correct coordination.

A common example of “instinctual control” is seen in new pilots on initial power application and rotating to climb for take-off. These new learners counter left yawing tendencies with aileron;  a powerful negative transfer from driving. Many experienced but rusty pilots still exhibit a trace of this incorrect control input. Correctly canceling the yaw with rudder is a trained response that has to overwrite “intuition” and driving habits through continual reinforcement. With practice, the nose should rise straight and steady to a know climb attitude with outside reference and rudder pressure canceling yaw. (Extra points are awarded for not wagging left and right as the climb progresses) As the plane leaves the ground and starts climbing, some even more subtle control pressures are necessary to stay coordinated.

After rotation the pivot point for elevator shifts from the wheels to the CG point (forward of the wing) so a release of back pressure (lower nose) is required (nosewheel plane). Additionally, the increase of induced drag upon leaving ground effect requires a subtle relaxing of back pressure. The proper climb picture required should be memorized and acquired with visual outside reference. The view outside will also allow a pilot to see that left aileron is necessary to keep the wings level in the climb. Right rudder pressure causes a proverse roll to the right (more prominent in some planes than others). This subtle force surprises even experienced pilots when it is pointed out. Climbing coordinated requires some cross control pressure to keep the ball centered and the wings level; “cross-coordinated.” In the proper configuration, most planes exhibit 15% greater climb rate when correctly coordinated on the takeoff since they are stramlined and more efficient. (Try gliders to experience how necessary proper coordination is to performance) Though 300-700 HP can pull almost anything airborne even sideways, bad coordination in emergency situations is the killer. It is amazing that 24% of fatal accidents occur on the take-off and initial climb. Many pilots just don’t value all the challenges here – “hard to miss the sky!”

During the initial high-power, low-speed climb, most singles require right rudder pressure to center the ball. This induces a right rolling moment. Left aileron input against the right rudder is subtle but necessary to keep the wings level as the ball is centered. Once the plane is “subtly cross-controlled” in this manner, it will climb much better because drag is minimized.

The standard left crosswind turn in the patterm  is an even greater challenge to keep properly coordinated for new pilots; right rudder is required! Recent accident data indiates the climbing crosswind turn in the pattern may be even more dangerous than the well known base-to-final turn. Pilots turning left in a climb usually don’t apply the proper right rudder pressure to cancel the prominent left-turning forces since is initially “so unnatural.” As mentioned in many of these blogs, flying well requires many counter-intuitive trained actions to be safe. Remember, since both wings have equal lift in a stabilized turn, and the left-turning tendencies are still present and require right rudder – we are still climbing! Unfortunately, many pilots skid around their left climbing turns (standard right-hand patterns would be safer for control). Pilots who have tried chandelles – a more extreme climbing turn – are very familiar with the cross-coordination concept here. But even in less extreme left crosswind climbing turn, right rudder is essential. But why is flat-footed flying dangerous here?

In skidding turns, the force of roll and yaw are both acting in the same downward direction; they are coupled and adverse in effect – pro-spin. And when pilots inappropriately counter this skidding force in a climbing left turn with more aileron, this incorrect control application increases the angle of attack on the lower, slower wing. This makes the lower wing more likely to stall first and tuck into a spin. This illustration from Bold Method provides a depiction of the many problems with a skidding turn. Correct control application must be taught relentlessly by a committed aviation educator and studied carefully by the pilot in training to become an embedded habit. And this is particularly hard to master since it is a llearned action that is initially completely counter-intuitive. But anything less is clearly unsafe.

The skidding turn seems to be always depicted in a nose low, base-to-final turn in the pattern. This is where pilot action creates the skid with rudder to inappropriately increase the rate of turn. But you will see far more skidding turns in a climbing left turn if you pay attention. The skid here only requires pilot inaction. All the powerful left-turning tendencies create the skid that must be corrected by pilot action. These left-turning forces must be actively countered with right rudder to prevent a skid. This dangerous tendency is especially common in bigger planes and more powerful engines in the climbing turns. Do the math and you can discern that this is often demonstrated by the “captain of industry” – an affluent step-up client who bought a big new plane. This person is allegedly a “trained pilot” but often really requires remedial instruction to be safe. The professional aviation educator must be firm here to address and fix these coordination problems. Acquiescing to poor control or bad technique is unprofessional and unsafe; it’s how we are losing control in our aircraft every day. Fly safe out there (and often)!

An appreciative nod to Michael Maya Charles and his amazing book “Artful Flying” (SAFE members get 20% off) which continues to inspire me daily. Flying well is more than just being safe. It is the daily joy of pursuing excellence in aviation; flying artfully!

 

 

Apple or Android versions.

Join SAFE to support our safety mission of generating aviation excellence in teaching and flying. Our amazing member benefits pay back your contribution (like 1/3 off your annual ForeFlight subscription)! Our FREE SAFE Toolkit App puts required pilot endorsements and experience requirements right on your smartphone and facilitates CFI+DPE teamwork. Our CFI insurance was developed specifically for CFI professionals (and is the best value in the business).

Practice in Ground Effect: “Centerline Slow Flight!”

A recent YouTube highlighted the difficulty pilots experienced flying in ground effect at #OSH22. Control in ground effect is definitely a weak area in pilot proficiency. Even in normal operations, 80% of accidents happen in the take-off and landing phase; low and slow (often with a crosswind too). Practice "centerline slow flight" for increased safety; dual please!

I recently spent a beautiful evening watching students in the pattern challenging their young instructors and abusing their aircraft. Almost every approach was clearly defective long before getting anywhere near the runway; inconsistent configuration, altitudes or ground track; and poor airspeed control with “lucky line-up.” Despite all these obvious problems they all continued to an “arrival” that also kept the lawn mowing crew nervously looking over their shoulders. Without any mastery of the critical sub-components necessary for landing they continued grinding out (and reinforcing) more errors all the while beating up the equipment and hoping for some kind of magical improvement – remember that definition of insanity? And 58% of accidents occur on landing – where we spend only 5% of our time. This lunacy also discourages and drives away many students with an assault on their self-worth and sanity. There is an easy remedy here and it is not complicated. It does however require a “culture change” (which can be difficult). We need to teach landings later  in training – and only after full mastery of the required basics. And instead of only teaching landing in their final form, try some “centerline slowflight.”

The common joke among flight instructors is that the only maneuver we actually teach is landing. This is partly because (if we are honest) most pilots are unable to consistently land well (except me?) But this joke is also true because “landing well” incorporates almost every aircraft control skill – plus judgement and risk management- with time pressure, low altitude and ego. Ironically, the critical importance and focus on landing also results in landings being taught very poorly during initial training.

Most schools and instructors teach landings way too early and only in their final form. They begin landing before the individual components have been mastered by the pilot in training. Usually this is a misguided attempt to motivate the pilot in training and demonstrate “fast progress” and success. But many times there is a worse motivator;  an ego-boost for the instructor or image-builder for the school demonstrating low-hour “success” (scare quotes because the specious low standard).  Unfortunately what usually happens is that the new duty of the CFI becomes “protecting the plane” while the student “figures it out” with a series of frustrating “hints and near misses” that I was witnessing. Is it any surprise young CFIs run for the airlines? Is it any surprise 80% of students drop out?

Dishonesty in teaching landing often starts on the first flight (and with the best intentions).  We have all heard (or said) “You landed on that Discovery Flight – See how simple that was?” (I once thought this was helpful myself- duh!) This dishonesty actually seriously damages the total process of learning to fly and results in many problems later. It can actually be a major cause of students quitting; “If it is simple why can’t I get it? – I must really suck at this!” It is so much better to begin the flight training relationship by honestly stating “learning to fly well requires hard work and commitment but the satisfaction and payback are incredibly worth the effort. Landing well is neither simple nor easy and pilots will probably spend the rest of their life mastering and refining this skill set.” We humans actually love challenges but only if there are clear, manageable steps and the results are demonstrably worthwhile (they *are* in flying). With proper guidance, students master landing more easily – in less time and ultimately more thoroughly – if they start later with “incremental mastery.”

To start correctly, it is essential to carefully define and demonstrate what the objective of a “safe landing” looks like – on speed, on point in the proper landing configuration, etc. It is necessary to burn the media hype of “the greaser” and all that associated crap. Aim instead for a manageable, safe, landing with consistent, attainable, goals. A full explanation of all the skills and components gives motivation for working hard and incrementally mastering ground tracking, speed control and configuration changes when you are practicing together out of the pattern. Only after your pilot in training takes over all these essential components (see incremental mastery) are you are ready to begin “pattern work.” Your pilot in training must earn landing practice by demonstrating mastery (not just because the clouds are low on the third lesson and the CFI has to pay rent). A relationship of trust in essential in this process because if your student imports all the crap they see on YouTube they will make this process longer and qeven more “exciting.”

Once in the pattern, I enforce the “rule of three”  – and transfer this to students as a necessary tool. This is simply calibrating the evaluation skills every good CFI already possesses. To be successful (and safe) the learner must see and remedy “high/low, fast/slow, not configured”  and terminate their attempt with a go-around if necessary. The pilot in training must develop evaluation skills too. There is absolutely no advantage to continuing with a “salvage job” or accepting the substandard landings I was watching. Even though the CFI is (usually) able to do salvage most landing attempts, we are guilty of fixing way too many ugly landings for students and thus setting a bad example (land at all costs). Whenever there are consistent deficiencies with basic aircraft control these issues need to be resolved before attempting further landings (otherwise we are practicing and reinforcing errors). It is essential to disassemble the bigger process (final form) into manageable elements that can be mastered safely at altitude then reassembled for success; e.g. once airspeed and ground track are functioning we can continue in the pattern productively.

Pilots in training master aircraft control at altitude first and progressively gain confidence and control at increasingly lower altitudes. Once slow flight has been mastered at altitude, bring it into normal pattern practice by flying down a long runway ground effect at approach speed. This is remarkably helpful and should occur before any landing practice with the specific goal of precise centerline control at progressively lower altitudes. In a few passes most students can track right down the line at 3-5 feet in ground effect (a skill that is still lacking after endless touch and goes) Achieving this kind of control through “centerline slowflight” is a trick used by every experienced aviation educator I know. Unfortunately, they usually only bring it out for “tough cases” as a “method of last resort.” You will be surprised how effective it is for every student (before landing practice).

Every CFI needs to be comfortable with centerline slow flight and it should be part of every normal student syllabus. This maneuver builds confidence in your learner and overcomes “ground fear” for new pilots in training. It also builds the subtle control feel and visual cues for the buoyancy of ground effect that contain 90% of the secret to effective landings. One huge psychological advantage to centerline slow flight is removing the expectation of landing that seems to be built into every pilot. Flying a series of low passes builds mastery of the go-around as a viable and safe “escape option.” This maneuver also saves wear and tear on the training aircraft and makes the subsequent teaching of a full landing a snap.

Once centerline slow flight is mastered, it is almost magical to train landing from a slow flight a lesson on a longer runway. Simply slowly reduce power as your pilot in training holds their sight picture in ground effect. Surprisingly your student has landed before they know it; tracking straight on the centerline without even expecting it. All you have to do is fully reduce power on touchdown (a crutch you obviously want to later remove). It is simple to adapt and adjust this procedure to become a normal approach and landing. The steps now to landing are easy because all the necessary skills are there; no semi-crashes and “protecting the airplane” arrivals. How many pilots screw up landings because they are uncomfortable in ground effect or trying to “make it land” rather than “waiting for the touchdown” with the perfect set-up? This and more useful techniques are part of our SAFE CFI-PRO™ Curriculum. In-person meetings canceled due to COVID (stand-by…soon!) Fly safely (and often)!

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Teaching “Invisible Angle Of Attack”

Angle of attack (AOA) is the most misunderstood concept in aviation – just raise the topic casually in a hangar flying session to sample the confusion. Our previous two blogs on tail-down force and the basics of a turn demonstrated the many scary gaps in the average pilot’s knowledge.  Some CFI somewhere has failed these pilots in training. Ignorance and misunderstanding, along with lack of solid skills are at the heart of many of our fatal loss of control accidents. Most pilots are fine and happy in the limited “comfort zone” of their 5% flight envelope, but terrified when forced by surprise events to maneuver. (I highly recommend Rich Stowell’s Emergency Maneuver Training to every pilot. This book will fill many “gaps” and is written in wonderfully clear language)

Controlling AOA is the central tool in the generation of lift and essential to everything we do as pilots defying gravity. Understanding and managing AOA is indisputably the most important knowledge and skill set we (should) learn as students. But unfortunately, if AOA exists at all in a pilot’s vocabulary it seems to represent only  the feared excess of the stalled condition. And even the simple stall is clouded in mystery and fear and hidden behind an over-reliance on technological protections. Now that  minimum controllable airspeed (MCA) has been removed from the private pilot ACS, educators often don’t teach this important skill and sample “the feathered edge” of critical AOA. Learning to maneuver in MCA not only teaches coordination, it teaches all the kinesthetic cues of the impending stall.

I have been privileged to own a 7AC Champ for the last 30 years. This plane has no stall warning device at all – and no blue button or “envelope protection” either. Demonstrating AOA and teaching stalls is so easy in a Champ or Cub (or glider); pilots in training learn it early and fairly painlessly. Add all the distractions of a technologically advanced airplane and the slow flight/stall process can take longer and be disguised by distractions. Don’t get me wrong, technology is wonderful and necessary in a “go fast” machine, but the physics of lift is identical and more easily learned in a simple plane.

Angle of attack is most commonly confused with flight attitude (an aircraft’s relationship to the horizon) but there is no relationship between AOA and attitude. I think this misconception is a deeply embedded “natural” human assumption. And it is essential to eradicate these misconceptions during flight training. This requires knowledge, demonstration and practice; but we often don’t get there. Any plane can be in level flight attitude and stalled, be pointed straight down and also be stalled (both exceeding the critical AOA). Air France 447 was a landmark case study of a very experienced crew mishandling AOA.

As illustrated above, in a still photo of an aircraft, you just can’t determine the AOA from the outside view; it is invisible. To discern AOA you need motion and trend; it is the difference between where the airplane is pointed and where it is actually traveling. And that is another good reason for a pilot to keep their eyes outside for more than infrequent glances; you need to see the trend to achieve control. If it’s going down out of control you need to unload and push it further down to recover. “Unloading” (reducing AOA – especially when nose down already) is so unnatural and at first it is incomprehensible to new pilots.

A secondary stall is a excellent tool to illustrate the difference between AOA and flight attitude and train unloading – the student is confused p“the nose is down below the horizon but the plane is stalling? How can that happen?” This initial confusion (cognitive dissonance) is a “learning opportunity” for full explanation, full understanding and training muscle memory in the learner. And here the aviation educator has to be patient and kind but also somewhat relentless in achieving understanding and proficiency (DPEs do not evaluate this skill on flight tests). If pilots do not fully grasp this “unload” concept, they will never be safe in emergencies.

My personal familiarity with AOA is largely from many hours of “dual given” watching people misunderstand and mishandle the physics of flight. And my passion is guiding them back to comfort, knowledge and control in their aircraft. But this takes commitment on both sides of this instructional relationship. Our natural human tendencies (called “naive rendition”) of how flight works is initially all wrong. Our intuition fails when it tries to “do physics.”

Everyone seems to “know” the nose high aircraft is “high AOA” (the crime of flight school demonstrations). But nobody seems to comprehend that a nose-low A/C can have an equally “high AOA” and be just as close to a stall (it mistakenly appears safe). The untutored knowledge that is “natural” to new pilots does not work and only gets worse when fueled by fear in an upset (pull away from the ground). Flying is largely applied physics and requires proper counter intuitive knowledge and understanding. Flight training is a careful process of discovery as we overwrite what humans intuitively guess is going on. And that takes trust and willingness on the part of the learner and requires a strong CFI/learner relationship to work through these issues completely – also rare.

After many years of flying and teaching, we know most people can drive a plane down the center of the flight envelope with very little guidance  – “look mom I learned to fly in a week!” We’ve all seen this on the cover of Popular Mechanics and I would love it if it was that easy. Unfortunately, if these marginally trained pilots experience displacement from “normal” or are startled, loss of control is a certainty. Even the most experienced pilots can fall into AOA traps. The video below is of an Air Force Thunderbird F-16 that suffered a very predictable LOC  problem. Watch carefully and see if  you can figure out why this happened (no one was severely injured here and the pilot ejected in time)

I often present this video at gatherings and call this “the perfect stall.” It demonstrates that even the most amazing military machine with endless power can’t make an airplane do the impossible and defy physics. Below is a screen shot that looks like a “fly by” – but in a static picture AOA is invisible – it takes motion and trend of a video to reveal the 7G stall.

And the question we left you with in last week’s blog; What is the AOA device installed in every airplane? AOA corresponds with how much chrome you see on your yoke (how far you are pulling back); and how much back pressure you feel on the stick (right side up). “Unloading” (overcoming that dangerous “monkey pull”) allows the reduction of AOA and is the first step to recovery of control (or don’t go there in the first place). To me personally, this huge, universal AOA device is more obvious and compelling in an emergency than a small electronic AOA device hidden somewhere in a busy panel.  But there are many good Upset Recovery Schools for you to try this for yourself and decide while experiencing upsets safely.  There is also excellent technical guidance on LOC-I in our SAFE public resource center (available to everyone) and in the FAA Airplane Flying Handbook. Fly safely out there (and often)!

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The Basic Physics of Flight Control!

Basic center of gravity is critical to aircraft  control but this is another important concept  most pilots (and some CFIs) don’t solidly understand. And confusion about stability and basic flight dynamics seems to be at the root of many of our LOC-I accidents. To simplify all this concept for students, I call it “balancing the teeter totter.” And this is obviously a “donuts and coffee” level pilot discussion, not a “graphs and Greek letters” deep dive. My hope is to generate some awareness, surprise and more questions for further deep study. Once there is surprise – “wow, I did not know that” – there is learning and these concepts are best learned and mastered in a calm environment (not upside down).

I know from speaking presentations to assembled fliers that this question; “where is the CG?” creates consternation and confusion – and half the pilots get it wrong! So obviously this is an “opportunity for growth and learning” if you join in and participate. Ask yourself honestly and pick an option please. Experienced CFIs please use this with your students – you will be surprised. Which end is heavy (and then we will talk about why it matters).

It’s ironic that in pilot training, we spend endless hours calculating and explaining the minutia of moments and moving imaginary baggage around to get into the approved CG range, but we miss the bigger more important picture – the basics of how every familiar GA airplane works. And I can corroborate this from giving flight tests over the last 20 years. Please make your choice…where is the weight? Then click here for the answer.

The nose of the plain vanilla, part 23 GA aircraft is the heavy end and the tail of every plane you fly is “lifting” DOWN. The implication of a heavier nose for most LOC-I situations is that the pilot is (usually) the responsible party creating the LOC-I problem with excessive back pressure. To restore control, step one is to stop pulling on the yoke (which creates and maintains the excessive angle of attack) and RELEASE, to reduce the angle of attack (AOA). There is inherent stability built into a well-designed aircraft if we do not over ride it with a fearful, startled pulling force. Reducing power is also critical (for reasons we will explain later). To simplify, planes don’t stall, but pilots stall planes by pulling. (The one exception being a batched go-around – trim stall!)

So why is it the pilot initiates this problem by pulling and stalling? There is no sure answer available but it seems to be a human tendency that occurs as part of the startle/fear experience. I personally call it the “monkey pull,” since it is an atavistic survival mechanism somewhere in our (ground-based) DNA. Pull away from what is approaching? Unfortunately for flight dynamics, this instinctive reaction in LOC-I is completely wrong for aircraft control and overrides the stability built into the machine. Much of our initial flight training involves attempting to train out this fear/startle response and overcome the pulling response in emergencies. I do not think personally we can ever entirely succeed and the training gets faint if we do not practice continuously.

Bold Method Graphic; click for CFI Tool

Adding a durable intellectual understanding of the how basic CG and angle of attack work on an aircraft (tail force down/heavy nose) is essential, but obviously often missed, in flight training. When you screw up an aerobatic maneuver (and I’m good at this) my mentors always counsel, “reduce power, and let go, the heavy end comes down.” The power part is obvious if you again click here for the CG diagram. High power (often added inappropriately in panic situations) creates induced airflow over the tail that further drives the tail down (and increases AOA). Power also compounds the LOC problem with yaw and torque.

The bigger CG picture and the inherent stability of the plane should be explained and demonstrated to all pilots in training by the professional aviation educator in a very careful and non-threatening manner. We discussed an airplane’s stability in  a turn  – trim and fold your arms and your plane will keep happily turning until it is out of fuel. A stable GA trainer in a stall will recover very nicely if you just reduce power and release back pressure. I personally think this is how the first stall should be demonstrated in training; start gliding power off- gently increase AOA (raise nose too high – not even above the horizon) and the plane will stall gently. Simply release back pressure and the plane starts flying…easy peasy! It is counter productive (and often permanently detrimental) to scare and confuse your new aviator with a complex procedure and wild flight attitude. We want to convey the concept and all the variations can be added later. No learning occurs in a terrified student and we perpetuate the fear that prevents proper recovery later.  The first stalls can be a great confidence builder. When I do that procedure with students they breathe a sigh of relief and comment “that was a stall?” and they can’t believe it. The often also comment “All the other students told me I would hate them and be terrified…”

Next week we will dig further into AOA. For a quiz question to lead that discussion, which of these airplanes here has a higher AOA?

 

 

 

 

 

Did you know that EVERY aircraft actually has an AOA indicator on board? And it might be more reliable than that techno-wizardry you just paid to install? Stand by for that… Fly safely (and often)!

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Join SAFE to support our safety mission of generating aviation excellence in teaching and flying. Our amazing member benefits pay back your contribution (like 1/3 off your annual ForeFlight subscription)! Our FREE SAFE Toolkit App puts required pilot endorsements and experience requirements right on your smartphone and facilitates CFI+DPE teamwork. Our CFI insurance was developed specifically for CFI professionals (and is the best value in the business).

 

 

 

 

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