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There have been a few magazine articles which have caught my eye in the last month.

Students

Brian Lecomber wrote an interesting article on flight training and outlined what he regarded as desirable characteristics in a trainee pilot. These included

1. DO YOUR HOMEWORK.. Arrive for your lesson having thoroughly studied the Flight Training Guide.

2./3. LEARN ON THE GROUND THEN PRACTISE IN THE AIR. This is really an extension of 1. Although dual rates at OSFS are amongst the cheapest around, maximise the learning gain by being thoroughly familiar with the teaching aim.

4. DON’T WORRY ABOUT APPARENT LACK OF APTITUDE. People learn at different rates, and often the slower assimilation of knowledge / techniques leads to a more thorough raining. (At OSFS we do try to warn the slower learners at an early stage that training may be longer than average!)

Instructors

In the interest of balanced reporting I should also record his comments regarding instructors.

1./2. WORST AND BEST STUDENTS. I don’t believe he’s right on this. The racing driver and CEO I’m training at the moment are excellent students, contrary to his view, whilst I’ve found aero engineers often struggle with the Aircraft General exam as they know too much about the subject!

3. LOOK TO YOUR OWN METHODS. It’s easy to develop unchecked bad habits. The worst of these is talking too much.

4. MESSAGE DELIVERY. Don’t lecture the student while he/she’s flying the aeroplane.

I’d like to add number 5:

5. BE PATIENT AND PERSEVERE.

However to give the author the last word – “Mostly we just sit there while they teach themselves.”