DinoR

Not sure if this is the right forum but lets give it a try .......

At my club here in Sydney , the Warringah Radio Control Society (WRCS), we are trying to improve the flying proficiency not just of our members but our instructors as well. One question that is raised is that most instructors know the 'how to' of flying ( ie aerodynamics, manouvres, procedures etc ) which is the basis for their instruction but theres not much out there dealing with the 'how' of instructing ( by this I mean how instruction should vary with ie. different personality types/ ages, good communication techniques and skills etc etc )....in short what skills can we teach instructors to make them better instructors ?

I know this is going a bit into why is one teacher better than the other discussion....and a lot of it is intangible ...but are there any guides ( either modelling based or from full size) or preferably web based references /downloads that we can access ?

Regards DinoR

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

One thing I always do when instructing is to show the student several techniques - which I learned from other instructors. Because a technique that was taught to me when I learned to fly may not work for someone else. I also often have him spend time with other instructors.

The reason for this is that different people have different techniques, AND because different techniques work better for different people.

So a student may have a difficult time learning with one instructor and an easier time with another - or with another instructor's method.

That said, I think one of the best ways to improve your instructors is to set up a special meeting where they can spend a few hours filling each other in on various techniques

BillyGoat

Check this out. This is something I think every instructor should read.

http://www.palosrc.com/instructors/teachrc.htm#I

RCVFR

My Feedback: (7)

That is a terriffic article! Very complete and on target. The first sentence...."Just because you are good at something doesn't mean you can teach". Dead on! Teaching is a separate skill from flying. Item 10, saturation point, is something I seldom see addressed and is a critical component of teaching. I would even dispute the 8-10 minute time frame for a new flyer, more like 5 minutes untill some stick time is developed. RC flyers tend to forget how stressfull the first several flights can be.

Overall, a great, great article. [sm=thumbs_up.gif]

Geistware

My Feedback: (16)

Dino,
I have tried to get a train the trainer program started at my club for over 2 years. I finally gave up this year. It is amazing that many people are of the opinion that they can train right after they solo. It is also surprising that people who have been flying for a long time think they can train. I wish that we enforced trainer proficiency like other countries do.

red head

There's an old saying " those that can do do, those that can't do teach " I won't say that I go along with it but it does make a point to think about .

In my instruction I like to try to go back (in mind ) to how it was when I was learning, including the SHAKES. I also like to LISTEN to what the student has to say about each flight ( lesson ) then discusse it.

People that will instruct ( HELP ) are not all that available and there are a lot of places that have a hard time finding help (instructors ) , and I know of a few places where adverse comments have been made about " an instructor " and they just said the heck with it and quit, now there is NO ONE.


If you have a couple instructors and can get them to sort of talk between themselves while others are listening that might be a start of a real good JAM session. Try a few questions in front of a couple instructors and ask for their ideas.

ENJOY !!! RED

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

One thing I've found that helps the instructors, even though they aren't aware of it, is to have most of the students and the instructors at the field on the same days. The purpose of this is to get each instructor to watch and listen to the other instructors. Same with the students. Then periodically switch the students off between the instructors for 30 minutes or so. Information gets shared, along with styles and techniques.

The FAA's "Fundamentals of Instruction" is a somewhat dry, but good source of knowledge for fledgling instructors. It teaches the need for a syllabus, progressive and logical steps of course materials and actions. Each successive "class" needs the fundmentals learned in the previous class to expand the students knowledge and abilities. By doing this the student is not always having to re-learn the last class.

A good instructor doesn't have to be the best pilot on the field, although they need to be very good at preventing a plane from hitting the ground. An even better instructor never let's the plane get in a position requiring that it has to be saved. The best instructors are those that have taken the time to prepare a course that takes the student step by step through what's needed in a sequence that builds upon itself. The great instructors also know when it's time to let the student break from the work of training and let's them play while keeping things safe. A club that has the ability and that's serious about expanding the ability of it's students would have a simulator at the field to illustrate the maneuvers prior to flying them.

Montague

A lot of good advice and info there.

Some observations, things I do, and thoughts about teaching someone to fly or teaching someone to teach someone to fly.

- adjust how you talk to the student. Some students need almost a drill-instructor approach, while others need an active chearleader, while others really need you to shut up and talk about it afterwards. Some students are overly timid and some are over confident, so reacting to the student is important.

- to be able to teach something, you have to know how to explain how to do it. A lot of guys fly on reflex, but can't actually describe what it is they are doing. An instructor should try to take a trainer up, and just describe everything he is doing to someone standing near by.

- be observant. Students often learn bad habits or make the same mistake over and over. Making "saves" with the buddy box doesn't help the student learn if you can't tell them what they just did to need a save. I've seen some very good pilots who couldn't actually tell a student what they were doing wrong, just that they were doing something wrong. A lot of mistakes are subtle and take time to turn in to problems, so keeping a close eye on things and pointing out small mistakes early can avoid a bigger correction a few seconds later.

- Some new "instructors" get nervous as well. Going up with an experienced pilot playing "student" can help. Going up with an experienced instructor playing "student" can help even more if the experienced instructor knows how to make the common student mistakes. This is more a quick mechanical thing, but it helps.

- I usually let students get in to trouble a little bit. Some instructor will take control of the model as soon as it deviates from the desired flight path. I prefer to talk the student through making the save themselves, so they learn how to react and fix it themselves. Of course, how much trouble I let the student get in to varies a lot with the student. Some get rattled when the instructor takes control, so holding off and letting them make the save is often better. However, others get rattled by seeing the plane "in trouble", so an earlier save actually helps their confidence.

- Be decisive and clear. When using a buddy box, I always tell the student to keep flying to matter what happens until I say the magic words "I got it". Don't assume I've taken over.

- When I'm holding down the trainer swith, I also "fly" the sticks, even though it's not doing anything. This keeps my brain in the airplane, and allows me to say out loud how to make a correction, I just describe what my fingers are already doing to get the plane back to level flight. I'm generally holding the sticks in the direction to recover back to level flight, so if the student is in a left turn, I'm probably holding a bit of up elevator and a it of right aileron/rudder.

- never give up on an airplane or student. Fly it until the last piece stops moving, and always encourge the student to keep at it.

RCVFR

My Feedback: (7)

What is the point you would like to think about? Just curious. [sm=confused.gif]

Montague

I just read parts of the url BillGoat linked to. While it has some good ideas, the guy who wrote it has some fundimental problems, and he apparently doesn't know how to properly fly an airplane.

He recommends using opposite rudder during a turn and calls it a coordinated turn. That's not coordination, that's a slipping turn in a big way. He apparently doesn't understand adverse yaw and how the rudder is used to counter it since he's using rudder to make adverse yaw worse. Oh well.

BillyGoat

Kirk, it’s been awhile since I’ve read it. Been in my favorites for quite awhile.

Forgot all about that little discrepancy. [8D]

Montague

Oh, I also disagree with him on some other issues, but I should make clear that most of that page is still good stuff. Just that if anyone's reading it, take it with a grain of salt (like anything you read, really).

red head

Jim Dines: I guess the point could be that the best flier doen't always make the best instructor, help or instruction can come from a lot of different places. ENJOY !!! RED

Grampaw

If you want to find our just how much you really know, about anything, try to teach someone who really knows ziltch about it, how it is supposed to be done.