On 2008-01-01 21:48:18 -0800, Brian said:

snip
* *It is amazing how attitudes change over time and how certain flying

procedures become part of our culture.

* *If I recall correctly, it was some time back in the 70's when some
FAA
bureaucrat made a PTS change decreeing that a normal landing was to be wit
h full
flaps. *Before that, flap use was taught as something that was much more
at the
pilot's option. *The change caused quite a furor at the time. *Some in
structors
thought that full flap landings were much too advanced for mere student pi
lots!

Vaughn


My observation on this is that there are instructors that learned to
fly at large flight schools catering to teaching airline pilots. The
thing to remember is that these flight training schools are not
teaching these pilots to fly
single pilot single engine airplanes. Instead they use a Cessna 172 as
a 737 simulator and teach their students to fly a C-172 like it was a
737. The result is that these pilots do learn to make full flap
landings every time and no flap landings are an emergercy procedure as
they would be in a Boeing 737. This is an excellent and efficient
method to train airline pilots. (As a side thought I wonder if this
may have been some of the motivation behind Cessna removing the 40
degree flap setting, Since about the time they did that some of thier
biggest customers were these flight schools)

I have not observed this. The flight academies teach you to follow the
checklist that comes in the POH, not fly a 172 as if it was a 737. If
they taught you to fly the 172 like a 737, they would teach crosswind
landings differently. So I question your whole premise and the
conclusions that follow from it.


--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor