Flight Training - September 2011 - 22

INSIGHTS

By Ralph Butcher

WHY I TAUGHT FLYING

THE BIG PICTURE

’ve often been asked why I was so interested in flight instructing when most of my time was spent flying commercially. The answer: Because of the time that I was humbled and redirected to a full understanding of the big picture.
were positioned about 200 feet from the runway threshold. If you caught the rope with your tailwheel or could not land on the runway, you were toast. The big picture consisted of attitude, power, and glidepath. I was in trouble at the beginning because I spent far too much time using the instruments to maintain some absurd level of preciseness. The big picture said: Keep the wing tip in a slight nose-high attitude using visual references and use power as necessary to maintain glidepath, which will vary because of up- and downdrafts and

Upon arriving at Fort Rucker, Alabama, in 1965 for U.S. Army flight training, I was placed in a class with 20 lieutenants who had never flown an airplane. Considering that I was already a certificated commercial pilot and flight instructor, I thought I’d have it made in the shade. Wrong! During my fourth flight in an L-19 Bird Dog—the Army’s two-seat version of a Cessna 170—the instructor who flew from the back seat yelled, “I don’t know where you learned how to fly, but you’re….”

I TOOK EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO SIMPLIFY RATHER THAN COMPLICATE FLYING, AND MY STUDENTS' ENTHUSIASM BOLSTERED MY INTEREST.
After we talked on the ground, he obviously realized that I was conscientious, trainable, and willing to learn the Army way. I had worked hard to earn the money required for my civilian training, and it was somewhat of a shock to realize that those results were substandard. That’s a good example for all new pilots—be open minded as you gain experience and be ready to accept change. My brain acquired the big picture during short-field landing training, and that moment redirected my perception of flying forever: Nuts to the instruments. Fly the wing. Fly attitude and power. Army flying was bush flying; performance trumped everything else. Short-field landing practice started on a short, narrow, paved strip that was 1,000 feet long, if that. Small, colored triangular flags, suspended on a rope between two 50-foot bamboo poles, changes in wind direction and velocity. To me, that simple solution was a revelation. I realized that preciseness is a byproduct of prior actions—in this case, attitude, power, and control feel from the ailerons and elevator. Too mushy, too slow; too firm, too fast. When the flag-barrier approach and landings were mastered, short-field landing practice transferred to dirt strips carved out of Alabama pine forests. When descending below the treetops on final approach, the changing wind gradient—from headwind to calm in most cases—caused an increased sink rate, and a power increase was mandatory. You wanted some engine power during the flare because propwash helps generate positive elevator authority. If a high sink rate occurs, you must be able to raise the nose for the landing flare—impossible with the required low airspeed we used and idle power.

When I returned to general aviation, I taught what I had learned, but I had to use the FAA-mandated higher airspeeds and airplane flaps that often were limited to 30 degrees of extension— Army airplanes had at least 40-degree flap capability. I took every opportunity to simplify rather than complicate flying, and my students’ enthusiasm bolstered my interest. That’s why instructing occupied most of my free time. My favorite teaching tool was onehalf of a manila file folder that I used to cover the flight instruments. That forced students to use visual references—wing tip, nose, and windshield framework in relation to the Earth’s surface. I always used the cover during the first three lessons for initial flight training, and when introducing and initially practicing any new maneuver. That forces students to work with only visual references, pitch/power relationships, and control feel. The learning process is simplified and becomes far more enjoyable. Once a maneuver can be flown with only visual references, a basic understanding and proficiency level has been established. Now, remove the file folder from the panel and add the instruments to the scan so that the maneuver can be flown with enhanced confidence. Problems occur when flying is introduced to a new student with an overreliance on instrument reference. There is too much to scan, and the wrong priorities are established. Properly trained pilots spend 80 percent of their time looking outside the cockpit during visual flight. That’s divided into cycles of four seconds inside and 16 seconds outside. Now you, too, have the big picture.
Ralph Butcher is a former airline pilot and chief flight instructor.

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Flight Training - September 2011

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