"Shawn" sdotherecurry@bresnannextdotnet wrote in message
. ..
Robert Bruce wrote:
It might an old message, but I ran across it and would
encourage instructors and those who haven't to at least
experience two flights with no reference to instruments,
at least to pattern altitude. Learn to use the wind
noise and pitch attitude on a glider you know well.
One of the more rewarding aspects of glider flight
is getting away from the knobs and dials and reading
the winds, feeling the thermals in your butt, etc.
Even in the most advanced sailplanes. It also makes
one a better pilot and more confident. When I have
a student that is at the last stage before solo and
they appear to be having trouble with the landing,
most of the time it is instrument fixation, and these
flights right before solo are perfect for zero instruments.
They can do it and it's a great confidence builder.
You'll be in the back seat keeping a watchful eye
as the instructor pilot.

there have been many off field landings and off the
end of the pavement landings that likely could have
been avoided if this 'oneness' with the aircraft were
stressed more in our training. I believe the SSF does
support this position and use of 'instrument failure'
as part of the teaching syllabus. They have a fine
web site very useful to CFIs anywhere.

Why not begin instruction with both ASI and Alt. covered, until final prep
for solo? If the ship has instruments in the back for the instructor, to
meet the minimum equipment list, I don't see a down-side. No crutchs, no
bad habits.
Thoughts?

Shawn

I've done this more and more lately. With the insutrments covered, students
don't have anything to look at inside the cockpit so they look outside - at
things like pitch attitude, bank, other traffic and their position relative
to the gliderport. I suggest they gently raise the nose until the glider
shakes and makes funney noises and then lower it a little until it flies
smoothly. Maneuvers are made at this pitch attitude.

Stalls are just learning to recognize the shakes and funny noises and then
that if the nose is raised further, the glider will get really unhappy and
drop the nose and maybe a wing.

Landings are just lowering the nose a little from the min sink speed to make
the glider a bit noisier at the IP and fly the pattern holding this noise
level while constantly watching the angle to the runway. On final, they
just fly the same noisey airspeed right down to a foot above the runway,
level off with their eyes on the far end of the runway and wait patiently
until the glider lands itself.

Beginning students almost always do better with instruments covered. I
don't remove my Sporty's instrument covers from the airspeed and altimeter
until prepping the student for the checkride. By then they regard
instruments as interesting amd maybe even useful but by no means neccessary
for safe flight.

If I get a student from another school who is having problems, the first
thing is to pull out the Sporty's instrument covers. More often than not,
this cures the problem - neither the other instructor or the student
realized the problem was tunnel vision on the airspeed indicator.

Bill Daniels