[4*60]

Right on! Gary and the Jims. Can a person instruct safely? Are they competent pilots? Only 2 questions.
Aerobatics competence means nothing to instructing. I was a full-size sailplane pilot and instructor (a good one I might add) and regular safe flying and stalls and spins were all that was required.
If a person wants to fly a model around and relax and an instructor can train them to do that, then please let them do it!

[Nuker]

Wow touchy subject.

MHO (My Humble Opinion)

1. Can they fly safe and do they regularly do so themselves? (do they walk the talk)

2. Can they teach and pass along information (do they talk to the students before, during and after the flights; calming the student nerves?)

3. Do they treat the student plane as if it was their own treasured plane?

4. Do they come out to teach often or do they find teaching an inconvenience?

5. Do they know when to take over for the student and when to let the student fly?

6. When taking off in a cross wind, do they take off sideways into the wind or do they show the student how to use the rudder; do they follow the same flight pattern as everyone else? (do they teach bad habits?)

7. Do they teach the same basic techniques and procedures as the other instructors (though of course with some slight variations)

8. Is what drives them to teach condusive with a club approach (are they in it for the hobby/club)

9. Do they have the reflexes to save a plane, regardless of willingness to teach? (not everyone is an instructor)

10. Most important, do they remember what's it like being a student?


If I had a choice between someone whose only qualification is that they can do a clean Cuban eight versus someone who really cared and can save a student plane when required, who understood what I was going through and who could teach, guess I'd want to learn from the second instructor.

Again MHO,

Bob aka Nuker

[BrianDallas]

Right on the nail Bob - exactly what my full-size instructor believed in as well !!! The toughest part of learning to fly proficiently (model or full-size) is straight and level flight and proper procedure turns.

[Guest]

Good points Bob, but again how would you test someone on this stuff? Every person is going to have a preconcieved idea about what is safe, what constitutes good reflexes etc. Without something definative how can you really grade someone?

I know that my ideas about safe controlled flying far exceed those of the average sport flier, if I were to test the instructors in our club I think I would fail half of them, because in my mind they lack the requirement of what I consider a proficient pilot.

Anywho, off to practise that useless pattern stuff

[Ken Baker]

If a profeciency flight is deemed necessary to qualify as an instructor, it would be more to the point to use a trainer since that is what he will be instructing on. Rather than demonstrating competency in loops, rolls and avalanches, he should be able to recover from the attitudes that a ham fisted inexperienced student causes. ie spiral dives. An experienced instructor can be the student putting the plane in the out of control situations and see if the prospective instructor can regain control quickly and competently.

A guide could be written up to establish how this could be accomplished. It must be a "guide" not hard and fast rules. The end result should be that the instructor regains and maintains control at all times.

[JamesP]

I like most have a problem with the program. I flew when I was 12 to 15 and then took a break and came back to this wonderful hobby and have now been flying (with A wings) since Aug 28 2002. My main concern is the fact that you have to have instructor wings and a certificate stating that you are a qualified pilot in order to preform at a show. My problem is this,, What if you only fly scale planes?? For instance,, when was the last time anyone saw a 1/12 langcaster preform a four point role?? How about a three reverse outside loops?? I agree that not just anyone should be able to fly at demonstrations,, but really,, is it necessary to preform maneuvers that you would not, can not , and will not preform that said type of craft??

[RC_MAN]

I'm with most of the guys on this one.

I would consider myself a show pilot and have flown all the manoeuvres required to qualify, but as stated not all planes are capable.

When I fly my jets I would not consider doing a stall turn or an intensional spin due to the extra risk that may be posed to the general public.

To me if a pilot can execute an inside loop, outside loop, roll in each direction, high speed and low speed flight inverted flight and a cross wind landing that should be more than enough to qualify as a senior instructor.
Of course if they do it with the smoke ON it would be even better.

[Nuker]

Chad,

the hardest part is communication. Let's face it, open communication is key as there is too much at stake.

Chances are you already know who should teach and who should work on ground crew. Being eager doesn't always mean being a good instructor.

[Guest]

Ahhh, back from another day of that evil pattern practise :P ...too bad the sun is setting at 7:10 nowadays, landing when you cant see the ground is losing its appeal

Agreed Bob, I am just playing devils advocate trying to bring out some quantitative skills that would be required based on the ideas provided, I think its working so far.

I think Ken had some good ideas about putting the prospective instructor as a "student" and placing him in various situations, seeing how he reacts to each one.

Personally I dont instruct mainly due to lack of time because of my practise schedule, and I dont think I would make a good instructor in the first place. I find flying to come very naturally, and find myself getting frustrated when attempting to teach people simple things and they are just not getting it, character fault of myself I suppose.

I will teach aerobatics to anyone who is interested and willing to learn and find those people much easier to deal with as they usually have all the skills for flying and can pick up the aerobatics part of things fairly easy.

We will see how long my engagment lasts when I start teaching my fiancee how to fly

[Sideslip]

Originally Posted by can773

Really what other method of skill testing can you use, that will work at any field and able to be done on virtually any model?

I am sure if one wanted to teach, he could take the hour to learn the manuvers, pass the test, and be considered competent.

I don't think the method needs to be so formalized. Most regular pilots at a club have a good idea of the competence and safety practices of their fellow pilots. I'd guess the the best method is to let the guy who has been chosen as the chief instructor select the other instructors based on his knowledge of their basic flying and safety skills, and his judgement of their ability to patiently teach.

Of course, a club then has to make a good judgement call on selecting a chief instructor... but a big part of his job will be to organize and run the program, motivate the instructors and make sure they are all on the same page, and encourage students to come out and learn. As such, the best flyer may not even be the best choice as administrator of the student program IMHO.

I'm sure you are right that most instructors could perform the maneuvers with a little practice, and this would be a good idea if the problem was that clubs had too many pilots clamouring to be instructors... but in general the reverse is true, and if you force a perfectly competent pilot to practice up to qualify in a discipline he isn't interested in, then he might just not bother all together.

This has been a good thread though, with lots of great input.