Bob Gardner wrote:
If your student mistakenly sets the power at 1700 instead of 1800, I
hope
you don't get on his case and develop in him a case of
head-in-the-cockpit-itis. I'd rather have the student remember the
position
of the tach needle relative to straight up (one o'clock, two o'clock,
etc)
and let it go at that. Precise power setting ain't all that
important, yet
some students will devote ten long seconds to massaging the tach to
get an
exact number because that's what their instructor told them (if you
think
ten seconds is a short time, I will gladly stick my finger in your
eye and
hold it there for....heck, two seconds be enough to make my point?).

Bob Gardner


Nah. I generally avoid 'getting on his case' about anything if I can
avoid it; generally there are better ways of fixing problems. And I am
generally less of a fan of the FAAs emphasis on 'integrated
instruction' for primary students than many other CFIs seem to be. If a
VFR student is looking inside the cockpit for *anything* for 10 seconds
at a time (power control or anything else) then we've got something we
need to work on (generally).

What I try to teach are 'rules of thumb' that the student can use so
that he *can* focus outside on the task at hand. 2000 RPM on the
downwind isn't really going to be much different from 1900 or 2100. But
2000 RPM generally produces the speed that works well on downwind (with
the correct pitch), and is easy to remember. I like things that are
easy to remember; things that 'come back to you' when you need it. Just
as much as I think teaching precise v-speeds is really
counterproductive (of course most DEs ask for the 'precise' speeds')
because in a situation where the v-speed is important (Vg in an engine
out, Vy after takeoff, Vref down the pipe) there are usually much more
important things to be focused on. If my student's engine croaks, I
really don't want him worrying about whether Vg was 87 knots, or 84.

Which goes back to my teaching philosophy and why I prefer students to
fly with only me as a CFI during their primary training. I have decided
upon upon Einstein's Dictum ("Everything should be as simple as
possible, but no simpler") as a major component of primary training.
For instance, while I teach students the various necessary speeds, I
teach an additional 'critical speed' that seems to exist for most light
training planes. This speed (while different for each kind of plane) is
an easily memorable speed that can be used as a 'multipurpose' speed if
a student can't remember a speed or has a situation arise where he
needs to focus elsewhere for a while. In the Cessna 172N, I teach
students that the 'critical speed' is 65 knots. You can use this speed
for climb (it's halfway between Vx and Vy), you can use it for
approach, both flaps up and down, you can use it for best glide...and
remembering this one speed *might* help in an emergency...just pitch it
for 65 knots, regardless of what you are doing. Simple...easy to
remember, and it works.

But I know other CFIs who are *very* focused on speed control. If you
aren't at Vy on climbout, you're wrong. That's a reasonable
approach...teaching that as a method of flight discipline from the very
beginning, but it isn't very compatible with my training philosophy.

As I have said, at the higher levels, it is probably fine to use more
than one CFI. But primary training (IMO) is qualitatively different,
and I strongly advise my students to do as *I* teach them. It's fine
to fly with other pilots if they want, but when they are taking
instruction, I'd really prefer it if they only take it from me. or from
somebody else. But not both.

Cheers,

Cap