Practice Makes Pilots

Repetition remains the key to improving your skills.

Meg Godlewski

Tuesday, September 26, 2023 at 11:39 AM ET

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[Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

Flight training heavily relies on repetition and practice, governed by the "Law of Exercise" (things most often repeated are best remembered), to develop proficiency from initial attempts to skilled performance, especially for critical maneuvers like takeoffs and landings.
True mastery in aviation involves not just performing a maneuver, but understanding its underlying purpose and executing it consistently to established performance standards (e.g., ACS or syllabus), rather than merely having "done it."
Effective instructors are crucial in guiding this learning process by providing ample practice opportunities, clearly explaining lesson objectives, linking theoretical knowledge to practical skills, and clarifying the expected performance standards.

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Remember the first time you tried to taxi an airplane? You probably tried to steer with the yoke, inadvertently added brakes, and wallowed like a drunken goose.

By the second or third flight lesson, you were steering with the rudder pedals and used just enough power to avoid stomping on the brakes. By the third lesson, you used the perfect amount of power to avoid the need for brakes, and you even applied appropriate crosswind correction.