Tips & tricks every student pilot should know about
Before I started my flight training I didn’t have a clue what to expect. Let alone know how I was going to learn to fly with my instructor. I thought it would be a great idea to interview some instructors here at Wayman so I took some of my time to sit down with Jenny, Merrick and Daria. We sat down in one of our classrooms at North Perry. All three of them just returned from a flight with their students and definitely know the ins-&-outs of instructing. Read these tips, learn these tricks, apply and thrive in your flight training.
Prepare to chairfly in a non-competition
Strange sentence, huh? Well, read-on to understand it!
So, what’s the biggest tip you can give future students?
“Come prepared to learn, I would get the Jeppesen book and read through it before you start your training. And really read the books and take notes” said Merrick.
“Chair flying, from engine start to taking off; maneuvers, checklist and everything.” says Jenny. Okay, well thanks for that great tip. But this is the real world, and chairs don’t fly. This is not a Harry Potter movie Jenny. What is chairflying actually? I took the liberty to look it up for you and chair flying is actually just sitting on a chair, and going through the whole flight in your head. This will help your cognitive memory and get all the flows and procedures in the cockpit a lot quicker. A great way to learn effectively and efficiently at zero cost! That’s a great tip, thanks Jenny!
“It’s not a competition between you and other students or friends.”
According to Daria beginning students also get frustrated really fast “because they can’t get their maneuver the first time. It takes patience to learn something. Some students solo in 8 hours. Some don’t. Who cares! It’s not a competition between you and other students or friends.”
This is what a lot of students do wrong!
I was wondering if there are things that a lot of students do ‘wrong’ when they first start their training. Which is totally fine, because you are in training. But is there something that almost everybody does wrong the first couple of times? This is what Merick, Daria and Jenny had to say about that;
“None of my students, when they begin, are aware of the left turning tendencies.” Merrick told me. Just remember to keep that rudder in when you are taking-off! “They also, well a lot of them, don’t take into account the winds when flying” Jenny adds. This is something that’s pretty important and can be quite dangerous with take-offs or landings. You have to have aileron deflection when you do a crosswind take-off or landing. “I noticed that a lot of my students think that the airplane flies itself, and they don’t touch the controls. But that’s not the case, make the plane do what you want it to do. After I tell them that I see a tremendous change. “Also they look inside way too much. You are not an IFR pilot yet! Look outside!” Is Daria’s comment.
What do instructors really like to see in students?
I tried to get the instructors to spill the beans so you can get that license within 40 flying hours. There are things they like to see which will make your training go faster!
“After you tell them something and they apply it. Then it’s like; yes they listened!”Jenny says.
“Read the maneuvers first then chairfly it before you show up the next day. Then fly it with your instructor. And after that chair fly it again!” is Merrick’s biggest tip.
“I think it’s really important for students to write notes for themselves on what the instructors tell them.” So, after the flight write everything down during your debriefing with your instructor. “Don’t just brush it off and go home” is Daria’s tip to you, the future student.
Do you have any other questions you’d like to ask our instructors, or me? Just post them in the comments below!
Safe landings!
GR
