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Teaching Someone to Fly by Osmosis Doesn’t Work

Learner decides they don’t want ground instruction refresher or CFI input while in the airplane.

A learner who had a bad experience wanted a CFI to sit in the airplane but not talk during the lessons. [Credit: FLYING Archive]
A learner who had a bad experience wanted a CFI to sit in the airplane but not talk during the lessons. [Credit: FLYING Archive]
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • A student pilot, frustrated by past sporadic and rote-based training, sought an instructor solely for legal compliance, intending to self-teach without any ground or in-flight instruction.
  • The article advocates for active and interactive teaching methods, especially for ground instruction, to effectively engage learners and move beyond basic rote memorization.
  • Instructors refused the student's request due to their professional responsibility for safety and effective learning, emphasizing that active guidance is crucial, not optional, for pilot training.
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The learner was looking for an independent flight instructor. He said it had been years since he flew, and this summer he was determined to finish his private pilot certificate.

He had his own airplane, a hangar to keep it in, a student pilot certificate issued some 10 years ago, and a lapsed medical certificate.

Meg Godlewski

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.

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