Flight Training - September 2013 - 6

RIGHT SEAT

By Ian J. Twombly
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BIG-TENT THEORY

TIME TO OPEN THE CURTAINS?

ecreational aviation is at a crossroads. Our population is
aging, and as the large cadre of World War II, Korean War,
and Vietnam-era veterans hang up their wings, it’s also
shrinking. Our fundamental question is whether we want to
continue to be a somewhat elite activity that is defined by superior skill
and determination, or one of a big tent, in which we encourage everyone to participate in the life-changing process of learning to fly.
I think the answer is clear. Aviation is
of significant benefit to the country and
to the people it inspires. Far from being
a secret society (“oh, you’re not a pilot,
you wouldn’t understand”), we need to
be evangelists, pushing everyone who
has ever shown even a cursory interest in
flight to try it firsthand. Doing so ensures
a future of relatively inexpensive and easily accessible aviation in this country.
Clearly not everyone agrees. To be open
to the big-tent theory, one has to put ego
aside and admit that most people can learn
how to fly. Which, incidentally, is not the
same thing as saying they will. It means
having a culture of encouragement and

have no education in graphing. The types
[of ] graphs shown (wind versus speed) on
page 39 are classified as Cartesian coordinate graphs—not polar.”
He’s right, but it’s a classic example of
winning a battle but losing the war. We
should have no patience for instructors or
mentors who get pleasure from putting
down students and new pilots because
they lack knowledge.
Some flight schools are starting to recognize this. A school owner recently told
me he only hires instructors who “love
to teach and like to fly.” Another successful school owner said he goes through
a lengthy personality-based interview pro-

WE SHOULD HAVE NO PATIENCE FOR INSTRUCTORS
OR MENTORS WHO GET PLEASURE FROM
PUTTING DOWN STUDENTS AND NEW PILOTS
BECAUSE THEY LACK KNOWLEDGE.
support, and dropping the prevalent, “I’m
right and I’ll tell you why you’re wrong”
approach to flight training and mentoring.
A perfect example of this came to
me in an email a few weeks ago. You
may remember that two months ago we
published a story about best glide speed
(“Glider Pilot for a Day,” July 2013 Flight
Training) that referenced what glider
expert Tom Knauff calls a polar graph or
polar curve. The letter writer, a longtime
flight instructor and airline transport
pilot, wrote, “I saw a label on a picture on
page 39 labeled ‘Polar Graph.’ I can see
that you either forgot or did not participate in middle school geometry or you
possibly misquoted Mr. Tom Knauff’s
book (maybe he doesn’t know) or you

FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

cess before they ever touch an airplane.
It’s no accident that both of these schools
are growing significantly.
We’re starting to wake up to the fact
that students are educated consumers
who rightfully demand good service,
and if we want to continue to grow and
thrive as a community, we must cultivate and strengthen that community.
Doing so means encouraging new pilots,
mentoring through patience and good
will—and as a student, not accepting an
instructor who doesn’t have the interest
to actually teach.
Email Editor Ian J. Twombly at ian.twombly@aopa.
org; Twitter: ijtwombly; and visit Flight Training on
Facebook.

Publisher | Craig L. Fuller
Senior VP, Media/Editor in Chief | Thomas B. Haines
Editor | Ian J. Twombly
Editor at Large | Thomas A. Horne
Managing Editor | Julie Summers Walker
Technical Editors | Mike Collins, Jill W. Tallman
Senior Editors | Dave Hirschman, Alton K. Marsh
Editorial and Production Assistant | Sylvia Horne
Administrative Assistant | Miriam E. Stoner
Contributors | Pete Bedell, Greg Brown, LeRoy Cook,
Budd Davisson, Rod Machado, Walter Miller, Dan
Namowitz, Wayne Phillips, Bob Schmelzer,
Jack Williams, Kathy Yodice

Design Director | Michael E. Kline
Art Directors | Elizabeth Z. Jones, Jill C. Benton
Senior Photographer | Mike Fizer
Photographer | Chris Rose

eMedia Managing Editor | Alyssa J. Miller
eMedia Editor | Sarah Brown
Web Production Manager | Lezlie Ramsey

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email: flighttraining@aopa.org
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Flight Training - September 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - September 2013