On your own
There is strength from the struggle
Here’s a question for all you student pilots out there: Which instructor would you rather have?
Instructor 1: A nurturing CFI who makes lessons a pleasant experience by helping when you start to struggle and by providing detailed answers to all your aviation questions.
Instructor 2: A surly sort who sits quietly during flights while you fumble through a radio call and never gives you the answers to your questions but forces you to comb through resource after resource looking for the solution.
Because most of us aren’t gluttons for punishment, I’d guess the first CFI is the most popular choice. But which instructor do you think will give you a better chance of passing your checkride? In my experience, overly helpful instructors tend to make weak checkride applicants. I can always tell on the checkride the students who have had to stand on their own two metaphorical feet as pilot in command and the students who have been coddled throughout their entire training process, so much so that they can’t handle any sort of challenge in the airplane. These are the common areas where I notice signs of a CFI who has never allowed his or her students to struggle:
Ground portion. When applicants don’t know the answer to a checkride question, and they have no idea how to use their resources to get it, I know the CFI has been spoon-feeding answers rather than insisting their students look it up. You must know how to use the index in the back of the FAR/AIM (or the search function if using digital). You also want to be able to access the legend for the sectional chart or instrument approach plate. Remember, the test is open book. But that doesn’t do much good if you don’t even know where to start looking.
Radio work. If an applicant is missing call after call or looking to me as the examiner to answer for them or clarify when they don’t understand, I know the CFI has been stepping in on the radios at the first sign of trouble.
I can always tell on the checkride the students who have had to stand on their own two metaphorical feet as pilot in command and those who have been coddled throughout their entire training process.On any checkride, the applicant is in charge of the radios. On rare occasions, the examiner will answer a call if during the middle of a maneuver or if given a traffic advisory for an instrument applicant, but this is the exception rather than the rule. If your CFI is not gradually handing over more and more radio authority as you progress through your training, it’s time to start asking for more responsibility there. Your radio communications don’t need to be flawless, but you do have to be able to handle them on your own before your checkride.
Botched landings. If you bounce a landing, do you know how to make the airplane stop porpoising? Have you ever made the independent decision to go around without your instructor calling it? I’ve had many applicants who try to force the airplane onto the assigned landing spot only to land either flat or nose gear first, then start bouncing down the runway with no knowledge of how to make the airplane stop. Keep in mind, if the examiner takes the controls for safety reasons, that is cause for failure. So, make sure you can handle the airplane in all phases of flight, especially landing.
Safety precautions. It’s always a good sign when I ask for a maneuver on a checkride and the applicant announces they will be doing their pre-maneuver check first, which includes clearing turns, fuel pumps, lights, and so on. Safety is the responsibility of the PIC; on a checkride, that’s the applicant. So, if it’s the last lesson before a checkride, and your instructor is still saying don’t forget clearing turns and watch your airspeed and hey you missed an item on the checklist, then you need more practice before you take that appointment with the examiner.
Learning to fly an airplane can be an uncomfortable process. But it can be lots of fun too if you just remember that struggle leads to strength. You don’t have to be perfect, but you have to be able to operate the airplane on your own. If you are a CFI preparing a checkride applicant, make sure you allow your students to mess up, and only step in for the purpose of keeping them safe. And if you are a student getting close to checkride, talk to your instructor about allowing you to work through your own problems, so that on checkride day, you can handle any challenge the airplane or the examiner throws your way.
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