CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 1 | Issue 2 - 3

I remember in initial Beechjet training discussing the electrical system. At some point I looked around and saw the same blank stare on every guy in the class. I whispered to the guy on my right, “Do you understand what he’s saying?” “Nope.” Same answer from the guy on my left. So I asked the instructor to clarify, which he did, albeit unsuccessfully. The worst part was the whole rest of the training he kept stopping after every block of instruction to ask me, “Did you get that, Lynda?” He was certainly just trying to be helpful, but, man, was I embarrassed by the extra attention. Eventually I realized that the guys in class weren’t worried. They were able to memorize what would be asked of them to pass their checkride, and they were OK with knowing that, with time, they would come to understand through osmosis. I have only had one simulator session with a female instructor. During the prebrief she mentioned a system on the Cessna Citation X that I was having the hardest time memorizing the limitations for because I didn’t understand the system. What did she do? She opened the systems manual to a picture of the system and said about 10 words on the subject and my understanding fell into place. I think she was able to explain the matter so that I understood because as women we spoke the same language. In my training to become a CFI while on furlough from my fractional airline job I hope to put my theories into practice and share with you the insight I gain. Lynda Meeks, a former U.S. Army helicopter and fixed-wing pilot, has also flown for regional and fractional airlines. She has more than 5,000 hours and is the founder of the nonprofit organization Girls with Wings, Inc. (www.girlswithwings.org).

ASF Online

Weather Wise: Thunderstorms and ATC
BY MACHTELD SMITH
AS A CFI YOU KNOW ALL ABOUT THUNDERSTORM AVOIDANCE and you teach your

students to stay away from them. Yet, every year, a number of pilots fly into a thunderstorm and not all of them live to tell about it. In many cases, these pilots were in contact with ATC before they entered the storm. So why does it happen? Too often, simply a failure to communicate, brought about by mistaken assumptions, leads to inadvertent thunderstorm penetration. For example, pilots may think ATC will provide a “thunderstorm warning" when the controller can only identify different precipitation levels. ASF’s newly revised online course “Weather Wise: Thunderstorms and ATC” (www.asf.org/wwthunderstorm), produced with the generous support of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service, looks at the capabilities and limitations of ATC weather radar, and provides effective ways for pilots and controllers to avoid critical misunderstandings. To bring home the reality of a thunderstorm’s powerful and destructive elements, the course includes a video recreation—with actual ATC audio—of a reallife thunderstorm incident. Bolster your students’ understanding and respect for the power of these storms, and share with them important tips from controllers and details on what ATC radar does and—more importantly—doesn’t show online (www.asf.org/wwthunderstorm). Course completion qualifies toward the AOPA Accident Forgiveness and FAA Wings programs. Machteld Smith is a senior aviation technical writer for the AOPA Air Safety Foundation and a multiengine instrument-rated commercial pilot.

Safety Quiz: Wake turbulence
You wouldn’t willingly fly through a tornado, would you? Then beware of an equally powerful force—wake turbulence generated by larger aircraft and heavy jets. You now have a great opportunity to test your and your students’ understanding of wingtip vortex paths and danger zones for arriving and departing airplanes. Ask your students what they would do if they suspect the onset of wake turbulence on final approach. See if you can answer every question and share the quiz with your students (www.asf.org/turbquiz). The quiz is underwritten by the AOPA Insurance Agency, Inc.

www.asf.org | 3

http://flash.aopa.org/asf/wxwise%5Fthunder/thunderstorms.cfm http://www.asf.org/wwthunderstorm http://www.asf.org/wwthunderstorm http://www.girlswithwings.org http://www.asf.org/turbquiz http://www.asf.org/turbquiz http://www.asf.org

CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 1 | Issue 2

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 1 | Issue 2