Learning to fly, or thinking of learning? Post your questions, comments and experiences here

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By WelshRichy
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1904531
Day one completed

First up was a paperwork exercise to ensure I met all pre-requisites for the course and then straight into the FIC pre-entry flight test. Purpose of this is not only to ensure your flying is to a reasonable standard, but to see ensure you have additional capacity as this is the resource the FIC Instructor has at his disposal to tap into.

The profile we flew was out to the west. Climbing up to altitude. Some turns whilst talking through what I was doing. Steep Turns. Stalling. PFL, Go-around, EFATO after the PFL, standard overhead rejoin and then a no-flap landing back at base.

The FIC has picked up on the fact when I apply full power in the air I don't simultaneously apply right rudder. I apply right rudder after I have applied full power. Something I'll need to work on. Apart from that the rudder work was fine. Just the full power climbs. We'll also be doing a load of PFLs during the course so these will be ironed out also (always been one of my weaker areas).

Then it was into ground school and some basic principles of teaching/learning as well as running through a demo brief. Some homework tonight in preparation for our first session tomorrow.

I also need to think about a subject (anything, doesn't need to be aviation related) that I can use for my first presentation subject. Networking springs to mind as I'm familiar but I don't want to put my Instructor to sleep! :lol:
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By T6Harvard
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#1904554
Nice report, @WelshRichy . Lovely weather for it!!
Which aeroplane were you flying?

I guess it's going to get a bit intense. How long is the course?

Of course your presentation will be interesting if it's a subject you enjoy :D
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By WelshRichy
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#1904557
T6Harvard wrote:Lovely weather for it!!
Which aeroplane were you flying?

I guess it's going to get a bit intense. How long is the course?

Of course your presentation will be interesting if it's a subject you enjoy :D


I'm flying the Archer ('LE today) but we'll need to swap aeroplanes for the spinning element, actually looking forward to spinning once again, its been over twenty years!

The course is around six weeks in duration (Monday - Friday) and as I've a full time job elsewhere the school has been extremely helpful in allowing me to split it into three chunks, attending for two weeks at a time and with two weeks in between.
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By TopCat
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#1904603
WelshRichy wrote: and then straight into the FIC pre-entry flight test. Purpose of this is not only to ensure your flying is to a reasonable standard, but to see ensure you have additional capacity as this is the resource the FIC Instructor has at his disposal to tap into.

Were you right seat already for this?
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By TLRippon
#1904660
Hi Welsh Richie
I know blogging is helpful to many but I can remember just how exhausted I was by the middle week of my FI course, please don’t feel obliged to make regular posts. I’m sure most would be happy to hear all about it once you are through.
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By WelshRichy
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#1904683
TLRippon wrote:I know blogging is helpful to many but I can remember just how exhausted I was by the middle week of my FI course, please don’t feel obliged to make regular posts. I’m sure most would be happy to hear all about it once you are through.


Day two and I already totally understand(!) what you are saying and yes I did say at the beginning I am not promising anything due to workload/wellbeing etc. Yup tired and off to bed for an early night to the land of nod! Just finished prepping for tomorrow. :lol:

I do have two weeks off in between each two week block which I'll be using as breathing space to arrange my thoughts in my head. I may have some time then to put some basic thoughts down in between catching up on my day-job emails (those can wait!).
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By WelshRichy
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#1908842
Approximately half way through the course now and I thought I'd update this thread before heading down to breakfast at the hotel. I was going to visit my parents this weekend between course weeks but they both tested positive for the lurgy that has plagued us over the past couple of years. As I have another week at school this week I didn't want to potentially waste a weeks leave from work for the course. They're both doing really well, just fatigued and a cold more than anything.

Why don't I just go home? It would have been ~6 hour drive home each way so would have only had Saturday at home before driving back down today. Plus saving on fuel! :lol:

Anyhow, I mentioned I'm about half way through. Even though my logbook states that, I certainly don't feel halfway towards being capable of teaching a student to fly!

Turned up on Monday to be informed we were going spinning. Went through the long brief and pre-flight briefings for the exercise, especially looking at the POH and of course Mass and Balance. We needed less fuel for me so my course partner went first. I don't know why my nerves kicked in as I have spun before, albeit 23 years ago. Up to 5,000', recovery at incipient stage. Yes I remember how much fun these were. Full spin... yes, brilliant! Enjoyed it so much I'm looking forward to the next time for the spin element of the AoC sign-off. Oh and I have long forgotten how much fun a C152 Aerobat can be though I mentioned in another thread, the cafe patrons must have laughed at me trying to check the fuel in the left wing, it was like trying to unsuccessfully heave one up onto a horse from the ground with left foot in stirrup and bouncing in the right leg!

Briefings being minutely dissected now and I need to cut out the waffle. It turns out when I am thinking what is next I start to talk nonsense to cover up my thinking time. Noted. Thursday's was much much much better and Friday was decent enough but the briefing shouldn't have taken as long as it did. Work in progress. At least I'm now trying to use only the words I write on the board as they're there for a reason.

My head is filling up with acronyms like PAT, APT, PAAT, LOI, LAI, SCAAB, SHT among others and I have a far greater respect for the early exercises in the PPL/LAPL course. I don't think I really appreciated the content in those early foundation exercises as I do now.

What I have found difficult is trying to patter with only enough words to be effective, using the correct words and without the waffle. Also, I have been trying to rush through the exercises which means my flying has been all over the place. Friday was much better though, I slowed things down, did the teach in my own time and ended the week on a very positive note. Even did a nice nothing-wrong-with-that comment from my instructor crosswind landing in the gusty and turbulent conditions we were experiencing.

Where possible we're back seating each others lessons (i.e., we couldn't for spinning for obvious reasons) and am finding it very useful as I'm taking notes ready for the next day's give back. Each evening I then go through these notes to create a crib card for my kneeboard so I can reference during the flight exercise (lesson plan) and then run through the actual lesson, arm chair instructing as you will. Example crib:

Revision: 30 AOB Turns
Demo Clean Stall (Note Datums)
Teach Flap 40 Stall
Teach Power On Stall
Teach AOB Stall
Recovery 1st sign:
Teach Base Turn Stall
Teach Final Stall
Demo Effect of G

May be too much on the crib sheet but it seems to work for me. I did have a lot more on them early on in the course but definitely cut things down somewhat and I have revisited those I made for the early exercises to do the same. Where there is a teach the student also practices. Also generally means Eyes forward, Follow me through... these phrases are automatically rolling off the tongue now as are others.

I have found even though I thought I could fly an aeroplane the course is overwhelmingly teaching me how to fly correctly at all times using the correct techniques. For instance, if I am 50' off my datum altitude a student may think, oh my instructor was 50' off so it won't matter if I'm a hundred feet off and it snowballs from there. Accurate flying 100% of the time is the aim and personal tolerances should be near enough zero for an FI. Main thing for me is to slow things down and the flying will instantly be more accurate.

My first of three presentations went well a few weeks ago so was very happy with that (topic: Flying in America - could have chosen anything including non-aviation related), have another to pull together for this coming week and that is today's job. I'm struggling for a third topic for next time but I'm sure I'll think of something (these next two need to be PPL/LAPL theory related). Otherwise it'll be the defecto 4-stroke engine or Thunderstorms. :D

Overall I am really enjoying the course. Yes I am finding it tough and definitely one of the, if not the, most difficult things I have done and I include passing those CPL exams in this. But that is me. Everyone is different with individual backgrounds etc. Incidentally it is amazing how little those 13x CPL exams prepared me for this course(!).

I'm off for breakfast now, happy flying everyone!
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By lobstaboy
#1908858
Sounds like it's going really well - all very familiar! And you're obviously enjoying it.

Crib sheets - I typed mine up and laminated them so I could use them when teaching for real. Well worth while as it gives you an anchor to work from.
Patter - yes it's difficult, but it does get easier !
Flying standards - absolutely and one of the things that makes it so rewarding

Best of luck with the rest of the course.
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By T6Harvard
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1908872
Great stuff [usermention=20421]@WelshRichy[/usermention] !!
I imagine it's exhausting but extremely gratifying :thumleft:
Keep up the good work.

The requirement to use minimum words when instructing is totally logical, as you know - the repetition of short phrases gets them drummed in to the student's brain so that even when they are right at the limits of their capacity they can hear the correct sequence in their head long after you've spoken. Works for me :)

I'll be doing the poorly-executed jump up to wing tanks again tomorrow. Perhaps we could line up all the school Cessnas and do a synchronised display for the cafe visitors?

(Hope your parents are over 'it' quickly)
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By WelshRichy
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#1909398
Thank you [usermention=6019]@lobstaboy[/usermention] and that is a very good idea and once refined I'm definitely going to laminate them all. Have been speaking with very experienced instructors at the club and they use lesson plans for each lesson as an aide memoire, especially the earlier exercises so was going to use something. I may be taking a trip to the office to make use of the laminator... :D
By Rjk983
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1914985
@WelshRichy I assumed no news was maybe bad news, but I think I see from the class of 22 thread that you passed?

Well done, and what was the second half of the course like? (I only ask out of interest as it is not something I will ever be doing :D )
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By WelshRichy
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#1915008
@Rjk983 thank you and I will update this thread, just been a little hectic back at work and have been a little under the weather as well but back to normal now it is the weekend (and unfortunately rain)! :D

I'll sit down and write up the second part this weekend.

On another note we completed my application on the same day as the AoC (probably one of the first using the new online form) and yesterday I received a text message from FedEx saying I've got a parcel being delivered on Monday and as I don't have anything else I'm waiting on it must by my license! Yay, well done to the CAA, no queries and eight working days to process my FI(R) application. Let's hope my license comes back with everything correct... :D
Last edited by WelshRichy on Sat Jun 11, 2022 1:06 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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By Rob P
#1915012
WelshRichy wrote: Let's hope my license comes back with everything correct... :D


Especially the spelling of 'licence"? :wink:

Rob P
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By WelshRichy
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1915014
Rob P wrote:Especially the spelling of 'licence"? :wink:


Oh yes ha ha, I know it should be licence and I don't know why but I changed it to license as a red squiggly line was highlighted underneath "licence" on my computer. Whoops. It has happened again, twice in this paragraph! :lol:

Luckily I wasn't doing any flying around Stansted and the many times I have incorrectly stated Stanstead god-damn-it in the past, lol!
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