The knowledge bank

I am still fascinated when a new student rocks in and says that he is keen to get his licence as soon as possible. ‘I can do three flights a day” he says. Not with me I think…

A new flight student may be keen but as they enter the halls of learning to fly they can suffer shell shock as there is so much new happening around them that while they may want to make three flights on day one two flights will be wasted.

They may log three flights on that day but the information that they take in will only be from that first lesson. The other two lessons will simply fly over their heads. So when I hear “I can fly three lessons in one day” all I can say is, No! The expression information overload comes to mind.

I for one advocate that a new student sticks with one instructor for the initial basics. It is completely counter productive to be constantly changing instructors. If nothing else it costs the new student more money as his next new instructor gets to know him and what his strengths and weaknesses are by way of relearning part of or even most of the last lesson.

It can however be good for a more experienced low time pilot to fly with several instructors at a stage in their flying where they can pick out the best elements of the instruction to add to their collective cache of knowledge.

There is also the situation where a more experienced instructor will be able to add something to the other pilot’s catalogue of knowledge by way of his background and experience. The classic example would be an instructor with commercial flying experience working with a budding CPL student and being able to pass on real life tips, clues and experiences to the rookie. This is something that is often a failing in modern flight training where a lot of instructors are teaching potential commercial pilots but have no commercial experience themselves.

But knowledge is many things. Sometimes a student or pilot will approach me wanting my thoughts on a particular subject. I tell him the story of the three wise monkeys better known as the three wise instructors. Now these guys are all experienced instructors. Good guys, good reputations and with wide experience on a variety of aircraft and locations. They all have different names (naturally!) but more importantly they have different ideas on various issues. So when a pilot approaches the wise three men he will get three different spins on any one subject.

Now that is not to say that any one instructor is wrong but the information that they give out to our knowledge thirsty student pilot needs to be taken on board in light of how it fits into his budget, how often he will fly, what type of aircraft he will fly, VFR or IFR?, single or twins, the terrain, his career ambitions, the weather, the location, private or commercial operations, etc.

With aviation the only constant is change.

Our man needs to stir that information around and pick out the best parts of what the three wise men (instructors) gave him and apply that to his particular situation. I tell the student seeking my opinion and that he should weight up the information that I have given him and see how it applies to his query.

In the aviation game knowledge is something that is acquired from the first training flight and built on until the day comes to stop flying. With aviation the only constant is change, be it aircraft, navigation systems, aircraft structures, engines, avionics, flying techniques, aircraft systems and of course the airways system.

When the typical student commences flight training he probably thinks that just getting a commercial licence will be the time he can stop the study and knowledge gathering and relax. Nothing could be further from the truth as a commercial pilot, as different from a private pilot, will need to continue studying to both maintain proficiency as well as increase his knowledge to advance in his flying career.

It makes no difference how many hours a pilot flies, how many log books he has filled out, how many years he has been flying, how many aircraft types he has flown, he can never know it all. Indeed it can be said that even the most experienced pilot has only scratched the surface of what there is that can be learnt about flying.

He has simply learnt enough to stay alive and fly within a certain knowledge envelope. In the aviation sphere a pilot cannot get enough knowledge, he is always learning.

Contact Dave by email: [email protected]