On thing I just thought about.

I think I'd get along fine with Mike and such, I'm actually rather laied back, even if the posts don't sound like it. I don't do a "formal test flight" or use a real paper checklist. When students ask me what they have to do get signed off by me, I always reply "convince me you won't kill anyone".

And I'm always confident in my student's abilities when I sign them off.

The problem comes in when we have multiple people teaching and signing off students. They need to know that I'm not going to sign off someone I shouldn't, and I need to trust them, and the other 200+ guys in the club (some of whom have never met me, and may never meet me) have to trust us.

So they set up these "rules" to try to make themselves feel safer. And it mostly does that.

Stuff I've posted, I treat in a "show me you won't kill anyone" way, not in a "sorry, your loop isn't good enough to pass" way. When we do simulated deadsticks (or a real one if their engine quits) if the student makes a mistake and winds up in the bushes (or would have been in the bushes), that's still a "pass" as long as their decisions weren't unsafe. I don't care if you hit the runway, I do care if you freeze, panic, or do something that could be a problem.

There are others in my club who treat the same rules as a hard and fast list, and get real picky about that. I try to get my students signed off when these up-tight guys aren't at the field . I don't need someone telling my student their deadstick wasn't good enough.