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instructor has every right to be compensated when he’s directly or indirectly involved in teaching you. If, however, he’s only spending 1.5 hours with you and 30 minutes chewing the fat (or the Slim Jim) with the boys, that’s a different story. You shouldn’t be expected to pay for time that doesn’t in some way involve teaching. In your case, if we’re talking 10 minutes or so of lax time, I would advise caution in thinking you’re getting a bad deal. If this instructor is as good as you say he is, then he’s probably not being paid enough. Good instructors are worth their weight in slow-running Hobbs meters. Buy him lunch now and then. You might even think about tipping him on occasion. Dear Rod: Some of my students like to grip the control yoke tightly, which causes them to overcontrol. I’ve begun making them hold the yoke with only their pointer finger and their thumb. What’s your opinion? Chas Greetings Chas: I only recommend the finger-thumb technique if you’re plucking pickles. I don’t recommend it for flying an airplane. Why? It doesn’t allow a student to properly sense the pressure he’s applying to the controls, nor does he properly receive and perceive the pressure coming from the controls. So, use the tried and tested method of placing a pencil under your student’s

middle finger as he applies a full-finger grip on the yoke. A tense grip means pain. This works well, especially if you use smaller pencils. I knew one CFI who used a carbon-nickel steel Harley spoke. Imagine how that must have hurt. He claimed that all he had to do was show the spoke

to his students and their hands melted on the controls.
Rod Machado is a flight instructor, author, educator, and speaker. Machado has been a pilot since 1970 and a CFI since 1973. Visit his blog (www.rodmachado.com).

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Flight Training - September 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - September 2011