CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 11 Issue 1 - 31

CFI'S POINT OF VIEW
Now we only got in four landings in 1.4 hours
on the Hobbs but look at the experience that
was acquired and what the student was able
to demonstrate. Because of prior training at
this airport the student was comfortable on
the radios with pilot/controller phraseology. In
busy airspace task management and situational
awareness become essential skills. The busy
airport environment can also be motivating and
inspirational because you are in a professional
pilot environment and your experience will
lead you to becoming a better pilot. A private
pilot who has trained at a Class Delta, Charlie,
or Bravo airport has had so much experience
with ATC that the communication part of the
instrument rating is natural to what she or he
has already been doing. Most of all, a pilot will
be a better and more comfortable pilot capable of
flying into places like North Las Vegas, Nevada,
or John Wayne Orange County Airport in busy
southern California, or Salt Lake City, Utah.

Years ago, when I was flying around the Navajo
Indian Reservation there was a flight instructor
giving lessons at the Window Rock, Arizona
Airport. I was amazed that his students were
afraid to fly to Albuquerque or Phoenix. They
got the required control tower experience at the
small Farmington, New Mexico airport. But it
would have been much easier for these pilots to
handle the big airport environment if they had
learned to fly in a busy environment.
In contrast, I managed a flight school in
Honolulu, Hawaii, which is a Class Bravo airport
that cohabitates with Hickam AFB. This is a
busy airport with a mix of military aircraft,
transpacific heavy transports, interisland
airline traffic, and general aviation including
a sea lane for float equipped airplanes. We had
several CFIs come from the mainland without
previous Class Bravo experience and they were
initially intimidated with flight in and out of
Honolulu International Airport. It would have
been beneficial for these CFIs to have had some
Class Bravo and Class Charlie experience before
teaching at Honolulu.

Is it better to train at a busy airport?

What's been your experience as a flight instructor or pilot? Please send your comments to CFInewsletter@aopa.org.

It is a little more expensive learning to fly at
a busy airport because of traffic delays when
you are fourth in line for takeoff or extended
downwind because there are five aircraft in the
traffic pattern. However, it is not always that
busy and proper ground study can minimize
some of the Hobbs time. Allow your student to
chair fly the traffic pattern to get the procedures
and general radio dialog in his or her mind and
role play pilot and controller with your student.
Then provide a good preflight briefing detailing
what you are going to do with the airplane in
order to maximize the use of the airplane with
minimum Hobbs time. Nearby uncontrolled
airports have their own training experiences and
advantages to be recognized. However, the home
base advantage of a busy airport provides a longterm advantage to pilot skill and confidence.
Ed Helmick has been a flight instructor since
1988. He formerly managed a flight school
in Spanish Fork, Utah, as well as schools in
Scottsdale, Arizona and Honolulu, Hawaii.

CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 11 Issue 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 11 Issue 1