GJeffers, I was that kid in 1970. I got three training flights on a Falcon 56 and landed the first flight, took off on the second, and did the whole thing on the third.........

Even to this day, I would rather pass the transmitter than use a buddy box. I can fly a plane from the right side and don't need to hold it to recover from a trainee upset.

But when I train someone, I do it quite a bit different from most. As soon as they can make a few gentle left and right turns at altitude with out dropping the nose into a spiral dive, I start acrobatic training. First loops, then rolls, and then immelman turns and Cuban eight’s. The reason for this aggressive approach is that A.) it is just more fun for the student, it why they want to fly anyway.. B.) Most importantly, it gets the airplane into unusual attitudes which the student learns how to recover from. Because of this, the student becomes very relaxed when just flying circuits around the field, because he has flown what he thinks is more difficult maneuvers. At this point, the time a student can concentrate is very short, so every minute or two I take back the airplane to check the trim. Pretty soon however, they start flying for longer periods as it gets easier for them.

After they are able to do the basic acrobatics without ending up in trouble, we start the pattern work. At first, just lining up with the runway and flying down it’s length at altitude is all you want to do. When they can do the downwind, base and final turns and place the airplane, it’s time to start work on “Slow Flight”. Here they see and feel how the airplane reacts at the low speeds required to land, without being close to the ground. It also gives them the ability to know how to go around if a landing approach looks bad. After this, practice approaches until finally one looks so good, that they land it. Usually this is where they break their first prop, but learning to flair just takes practice.

At this point, you as the instructor, are just the safety net and security blanket. There is still much to teach, but most “instructors” are at about their own skill limit at this point. Cross-wind take-off and landing’s, use of the rudder in turns, and more advanced maneuvers that may be beyond the capabilities of their trainer. I like to continue to work with students for two or three airplanes as their skills increase.