Get it right the first time

Referring to romance, Joel cautions that it’s essential to make the right moves right from the start:

Get it right the first time
‘Cause that’s the main thing
I can’t afford to let it pass
You get it right the next time
That’s not the same thing
Gonna make the first time last.
—Billy Joel, 1977

His message also is particularly meaningful to all people learning to fly. Get it right the first time.

Piloting an aircraft is unique. It is not analogous to driving a car. Because learning to fly is new, it must be presented to the student correctly when introduced. The process starts with the CFI discussing the elements to be covered, then demonstrating the maneuver and supervising the student’s practice of the task. A lesson concludes with the student showing the CFI that the maneuver has been understood and that mastery has been achieved or is at least underway. In essence, a lesson consists of four steps: teach, demonstrate, drill, and test. Teaching is done most effectively in a classroom; an aircraft is needed for demonstrating, drilling, and testing. Upon satisfactory completion of the maneuver being taught, the next task is addressed. The process is logical and effective.

Consider the analogy of constructing a road on a pristine plot of land. The ground is prepared, drainage is arranged, hot asphalt is laid, and a permanent roadway is established. If the roadway is not properly located or is inadequate, it must be removed and a new road established. The new pathway may be OK, but the scars of the removed road remain.

At the onset of flight instruction, the student’s landscape for learning is unmarked by previous misconceptions or convoluted paths. Well-planned and properly taught, the path to becoming a pilot clearly leads to a productive and safe career. When the CFI teaches techniques right the first time, there is no need to remove incorrect concepts or ineffective procedures.

When not properly taught, however, deficient procedures must be corrected. At the very least, more flight time is needed to repair the CFI’s failure to teach effectively. More significantly, the scars of inadequate instruction impede further learning.

Finding the right CFI

Finding a certificated flight instructor who respects the need to get it right the first time is challenging but doable provided a student conducts basic research and asks questions. Part 61 of the federal aviation regulations specifies the requirements for training at all levels from ab initio student through airline transport pilot as well as what is needed to be a flight or ground instructor. What a student must be taught—the curriculum—is clearly stated. There are no exceptions.

The outline of how the curriculum will be taught—the syllabus—depends upon the flight school and its flight instructor. The FAA issues certificated pilot school designation only to entities that meet the FAA’s training course requirements per FAR Part 141 and have their program submitted to and approved by the FAA. Each flight task must be articulated in a lesson plan that describes the objectives, standards, and planned time for completion of the maneuver.

Flight instructors not associated with a Part 141 school also must have a training syllabus, but there is no government oversight to assure such preparation is available to students. Students seeking the right CFI should insist upon seeing and following a syllabus regardless of the school being certified per FAR 141 or allowed under the less formal procedures of FAR Part 61.

Lesson plans are essential for effective learning; they must address how the four elements of teach, demonstrate, drill, and test will be covered. Each lesson should begin with a discussion of the maneuver to be learned prior to entering the aircraft. Teaching is most effective when the student is not distracted by the excitement of flight and can concentrate on what is being taught by the CFI. The aircraft is the place where what has been taught can be demonstrated by the CFI and practiced by the student. In essence, the place to learn is on the ground—the place to practice what you learned is in the air.

Students should review the CFI’s syllabus of lesson plans and be confident that each maneuver will be discussed thoroughly as the first step in every lesson. Beware of the CFI or flight school dispatcher who rushes students into the air without scheduling time to review the appropriate lesson plan. Getting it right the first time depends upon such preparation.

John W. Olcott is an airline transport pilot, CFII, and remote pilot, as well as former president of the National Business Aviation Association.