Scaring Yourself Into Additional Dual Instruction

Every pilot frightens themselves at least once, and the experiences often make us better aviators.

Meg Godlewski

Tuesday, April 30, 2024 at 10:23 AM ET

Verified

If you scare yourself in the airplane, ask your CFI for more dual instruction. [Courtesy: Wayman Aviation]

Key Takeaways:

A meticulous student pilot lost confidence during solo flights due to concerns about radio silence in the practice area, unexpected turbulence, and the awkward feel of practicing slips.
A flight instructor helped the student deconstruct these issues, clarifying the correct air-to-air frequency and its typical usage, explaining the causes of turbulence for a lighter aircraft, and providing further instruction on mastering slips.
Through debriefing and additional dual instruction, the student regained confidence, demonstrating that understanding and addressing perceived problems makes pilots better, and continuous learning benefits all aviators.

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The student pilot was signed off for solo flight, and his next two flights were supposed to be short hops out to the practice area to work on learned maneuvers. He was known for his attention to detail, use of checklists, and meticulous preflight planning.

So imagine my surprise when after his second solo flight he asked for additional dual instruction. He had scared himself, he said, and was worried he had done something wrong.