What Makes A Good Instructor?

[rotorheadrob]

Dear Mr. "rob",

 

I humbly apologise for my attitude. I have rethought my position and will become weak kneed and meek so that i don't offend anyone. My new position is this: Don't take charge of your own training and ultimately your destiny. Let others walk all over you and treat you like a door mat.

 

It is a sad statement of both our industry and humanity that i have experienced all the things that i mentioned first hand. I guess things work best for those who would take advantage of others if there is no questioning of their actions and if no one stands up for themselves.

 

L3

 

I was only joking man, as I said above you make some good points. I agree with your statements, was only commenting on your last line, so don't take offence as none was meant!

 

rob

[Emory]

i spent 3/4 of my dual time in stitches with my instructors. i think that being able to smile and be "light" even in tense situations really helped build confidence and a comfortable learning environment. not sure what those qualities would be, but put simply, if you're instructor is the type of person that you really enjoy spending time with on the ground as well as the in the air that sure helps! i would like to think i made some good friends while i learned

[Winnie]

I would like to be able to change the syllabus some too, some of the requirements we are teaching for, are not really the way things are done.

 

Problem being, Transport wants students to do things "by the book" for the flight test, when in reality we don't do some things this way.

That makes it difficult to show someone how to use the helicopter efficiently, without failing the TC ride.

 

For instance, someone mentioned in an earlier thread about crosscountry flights, they landed at an airport, on the threshold of a runway, when the customer wants you to land at the pumps.

 

Circuit entries, I would like the rules to reflect the "american way", helicopters shall avoid the flow of fixed wing aircraft.

 

Other than that, good points. If you can't be courteous, and realise that the student is a customer, all money is equal and so on, then perhaps you should not be an instructor.

 

Patience is a virtue...

 

Cheers

H.

[dammyneckhurts]

Disclaimer:

I am not a flight instructor, so I don’t really know squat about teaching flying ....but had over a decade teaching other stuff prior to flying, many of those years were teaching teachers how to teach. (Pedagogy)

 

 

I think Rob makes some good points.

 

People learn in different ways and the instructor needs to be able to figure out how the student learns best.

 

-Some people are visual learners.

-Some learn best by listening.

-Some learn best by simply doing.

 

If an instructor can tune into how the student learns, the delivery of information can be tailored to suit the individual student both in the classroom and in the air.

 

If a student simply cannot grasp a new concept or task no matter how many times the instructor repeats the lesson, (and it could be a very good delivery that works for most other students) perhaps this student has a different learning style and a different delivery method is required.

 

Efficient delivery is half the battle. The other half is the ability of the instructor to tune into the level of understanding that the student has about a given subject. Much of the learning process in flying is progressional. Meaning one task needs to be mastered before progressing to the next. An undetected "minor glitch" in a student’s understanding of a task can hinder their progression in the next task.

 

At the end of a debrief an instructor can ask a student for specifics of exactly what they are going to work on during the next flight. From this the instructor is able test the level of understanding the student has about the changes he/she is asking them to make. In addition clue into the method of communication the student uses when explaining things to you.

 

Is the student sitting in the chair- hands at their sides using only words? Perhaps the student is using their hands to illustrate different visual pictures that are passing through their mind as they speak. Perhaps the student assumes the “flying position” in a chair...left hand on an imaginary collective, right hand on the imaginary cyclic, they close their eyes and almost seem to replay the flight physically with their whole body as they answer your question.

 

Now you know if they actually understand, and you have some insight as to their particular learning style.

[V Toss]

I think on top of all the great comments made already, the only thing I would add is the ability for the instructor to keep challanging the student but not to the point of overflow. I can remember when taking my training, you think you are just beginning to understand how something works and the instructor would throw something else at you. Keeping you 150% occupied in the cockpit. In the end you don't waste any valuable time. So I guess the instructor has to know each students mental breaking point and ride it to the edge so at the end of the day he or she is (if i can use the word) spent!

[Torquestripe]

(but unlike Rainman i tend to ramble a bit) So to sum up: If you are the type of guy who has no patients, likes to grab the controls and jerk them around to "make a point" (total losers) or cheat your students by giving pre-flight briefings in the machine and billing the student flight time or billing more than skids up to skids down, i hope you burn in he**.

 

WTF???? :down:

[06HeliMAN]

Everyone has hit on the key points already. Just to throw this in - a good instructor can't be afraid. When I first started flying, I flew with an instructor who would never let me fly the helicopter he was so afraid. He kept his hands so heavily on the controls I couldn't "feel" the helicopter. I don't mean for the first hour, but rather for three hours! How will your student ever learn how to fly? Needless to say I switched to a different instructor rather quickly, and he, on the other hand, would let my play around until I let things get out of wack before he would then correct the problem and explain what I was doing wrong. I learned rather quickly from him!

[Torquestripe]

My instructor made me make a circle using both hands and fingertips around the cyclic and demonstrated that one could fly the helicopter without touching my hands. He then gave me control and put his fingertips around the cyclic and said if he doesn't feel the cyclic touch his hand he doesn't have to get nervous. I asked, "I'm supposed to fly already?" to which he replied "you are paying to fly right? I believe you should have hands on as much as possible".

 

It was a great learning tool as it showed my how little the cyclic needed to move and i was flying the rest of that flight with the exception of the landing as it was in my first hour. He was able to talk me right to the ground before I started to lose it and then he took over and landed. I was amazed how little fear he showed and how out of shape I could get before he would take control.

 

As I was learning to hover, he would always look over and smile as I was totally losing the picture then he'd asked: "so, how comfortable does this feel?" He would smoothly regain control and immediately hand it back to keep me in the groove.

 

Best trait? He was always relaxed.

[407driver]

I would like to be able to change the syllabus some too, some of the requirements we are teaching for, are not really the way things are done.

 

Problem being, Transport wants students to do things "by the book" for the flight test, when in reality we don't do some things this way.

That makes it difficult to show someone how to use the helicopter efficiently, without failing the TC ride.

 

How about the fact we are supposed to teach that climbs and descents are to happen at the same speed. I can surely say that an operational/ real world descent is not done at Vy

[rotorheadrob]

How about the fact we are supposed to teach that climbs and descents are to happen at the same speed. I can surely say that an operational/ real world descent is not done at Vy

 

 

Well, 407 driver,

 

No offence meant but I'm sure my attitude will come out, so in advance I'm sorry!

 

Climbs should always begin at the best rate of climb speed 60, as that is the speed we always want to be at. Secondly decending should always be done at the lowest rate of decent speed 60, because we always want to be there, but hold on, thats the speed we want in an auto, oh ya, thats the speed I always want to be at, ya go 60, its always safer at 60! and if in dought, go 60, ya go 60!!!

 

Yep I like 60, :punk: :up:

 

PS: they have to understand how important 60 is!!! Life and death S H I T !!! Very important!!!

 

 

 

rob