Flight Training - June 2015 - 49

INSTRUCTOR REPORT

Developing standards
Know when and how to say no
» By Rod Machado

GIVE A PIG and a boy anything they
want, and you'll get a fat pig and a
bad boy.
Recently, a newly certificated
instructor whom we'll call Bob
told me about his primary student
who desired to fly solo at night.
While reluctant, Bob acquiesced
to his student's request. The next
week, that same student managed
to get lost in the traffic pattern one
night after following the controller's instructions to extend his
downwind leg. Upon hearing of
his student's night debacle, Bob
confessed, "I knew it wasn't a good
idea to let this guy solo at night."
Being a good instructor occasionally means saying no to a student's
request. The question is, how do
you know if a student's request is
reasonable or unreasonable? Bob
clearly had second thoughts about
permitting his student to fly at
night, but he didn't have a strategy
for evaluating the merits of that
request.
Here's one of the great flight
training lessons I learned a long
time ago: Because I behaved a certain way in the past doesn't mean
that my students are now permitted
to behave this way, too. If teachers, parents, or guardians didn't
learn the same lesson, they'd have
no basis on which to demand good
behavior from those they supervise.
After all, everyone can recollect an example of less-than-stellar
behavior from their past. A grade
school teacher once asked my
school chum if his dog really ate his
homework. He replied, "Yes, but I
had to force him to eat." That's bad
behavior and we've all been there.
The lesson to be learned here is
that we shouldn't let our personal
history override our

better judgment when supervising
our students.
It turns out that Bob's instructor
had let him fly solo at night. It only
seemed fair to Bob to let his student do the same. There are several
things wrong with this rationale.
First, we can't assume that Bob's
instructor did the right thing with
Bob. Sure, Bob may not have experienced problems soloing at night,
but that doesn't make a night solo
any less risky for a student pilot.
Second, newer airplanes and
modern airports demand more
from student pilots today than they

his or her present level of training?
Finally, given your understanding of human nature, how likely is
your student to behave properly
when you're not there to supervise?
It's your understanding of human
nature that allows you to make
grand generalizations about how
students might behave when left
unsupervised.
Years ago, my primary student
Tommy (a junior in high school at
the time) asked to fly a cross-country trip to a high-altitude airport
to have lunch with his girlfriend.
I let my understanding of human

BOB'S INSTRUCTOR HAD LET HIM FLY SOLO AT NIGHT. IT ONLY
SEEMED FAIR TO BOB TO LET HIS STUDENT DO THE SAME.
did in the past. Soloing students at
night at Everybodygone Airport in
a Cessna 150 is less risky than soloing them at Itbecrowded Airport
in a Cirrus SR22. There was a time
when the tower would simply yell
at you if your nosecone was a foot
over a runway hold line. Now, it
seems as if everyone wants to get in
on that action. It's as if people from
different airports line up to yell
at you-to say nothing of the spanking you're likely to receive from
the FAA.
So, how should you evaluate a
student's request? Begin by listening to your gut. If you initially
wonder whether or not your
student's request is reasonable,
then there's a good chance that it's
not. Let your gut reaction be the
inspiration to ask the following
questions:
What are the challenges your
student is likely to encounter by
doing the activity in question?
How is your student likely to
handle these challenges based on

nature do the math for me here:
young male full of testosterone +
girlfriend + glamour of flying an
airplane = meeting a long line of
people who want to scold you and
ensure that you receive an FAA
spanking. So sorry. No lunch for
Tommy and Betty.
Sometimes you must make decisions with little or no precedent for
guidance. Begin by refusing to let
your past behavior automatically
justify your student's present or
anticipated behavior. Ask yourself if
your student's request is a reasonable one. Then listen to your gut
and your brain. Let your understanding of human nature guide
you. This is how you make better
choices and avoid a long line of
people who want to yell at you and
arrange for you to receive an FAA
spanking.
Rod Machado is a flight instructor,
author, educator, and speaker.
Check out his CFI affiliate program
(www.rodmachado.com).

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