So I am 7 lessons into my IFR rating, and so far I have only been in the sim up until this point. Today I "flew" with the instructor, and what I mean by "flew" is he did the majority of the piloting. He wanted to do the pre-flight even though I am a PPL. Was explaining to me how to do a pre flight which I felt insulted my intelligence, but fine whatever. Teach me how you want it done. He did not do the final walk around, and just got in the plane.[ So I took it upon myself to do it. Then we got in the plane and I thought it was odd that he did not want to make a taxi call on CTAF because a better use of time was needed for pilots to make traffic pattern calls instead. Then he proceeded to taxi and do the run-up. Then during the run-up he paused and asked if I wanted to look at a T-6 that was landing. I said "We are doing the run-up." Then he finished and proceeded to takeoff. Then on the climb out had me put on the foggles and I did a hold. Then he set up a LOC approach back into the airport and did the whole thing himself! Only at the very end did he say "your controls." Then I landed and after a smooth landing I retracted the flaps. Then he said "Don't do that!" I said why, I have always done that. Then he said once you are in a multi-engine plane you could accidentally retract the landing gear. Then I thought to myself "Okay whatever I have always done it like that." Then on the way back to taxi to the ramp, there was a person crossing in front of us maybe 30ft ahead, and he said "10 points if you can hit him." Now tell me how in the hell am I supposed to learn from someone like this?! Am I being unreasonable, or should I expect my first IFR lesson in the plane to be like this. He also found it surprising that I asked him to clear the airspace before I proceeded to turn 360 degrees like he asked.
Princesspilot206,
Point-by-point, here are some thoughts (since you asked). If you choose to read the following, please consider that I wasn't present and only have the information contained in your post (your side of the story) to go on.
Taxi call: As others have pointed-out, making such calls is often entirely unnecessary and serves only to clutter the frequency. At certain airports, and under certain circumstances, such calls can be meaningful to other traffic and serve to increase safety. It should not be a standard procedure at every uncontrolled airport, but carefully considered on a case-by-case basis.
T-6: Good for you. You were focused on accomplishing a safety-critical task and chose to maintain that focus despite the distraction. Well done.
LOC approach: It's unclear why the CFI chose to fly the approach. This makes no sense to me, unless he has an interview coming up and wanted to use the opportunity to sharpen his skills--and if that
were the case, it was entirely inappropriate and unprofessional.
Flaps: There are circumstances in which retracting the flaps during rollout may help reduce ground roll. Some AFH/POH procedures recommend it, but even then, the difference in actual ground roll is relatively small. On the other hand, there have been THOUSANDS of incidents in which pilots have inadvertantly retracted the landing gear while rolling-out after landing. This represents a very real threat, and especially so when flying certain aircraft such as Bonanzas and Barons. In many cases, it seems likely that pilots were taught, or adopted, this technique as a SOP to be used on every landing, and it became a matter of unthinking habit--a habit which had no adverse consequences,
until one day... You were wise in the case of the T-6 distraction, and the same philosophy applies to this matter. There is rarely any pressing reason to touch any controls other than the yoke, pedals, and throttle, until the airplane is clear of the runway. Take a moment to consider the potential benefit vs. the potential consequences of making a mistake. I suggest that, as a
matter of SOP, pilots should not operate the flaps until clear of the runway and able to focus on moving the
flap lever. In exceptional situations when maximum braking effectiveness may be required (short runway, wet grass, standing water, snow/slush/ice, etc.)
and when retracting the flaps after touchdown may make a meaningful difference in braking performance, the landing should be carefully planned, briefed, and mentally rehearsed, before entering the pattern.
10 points if you can hit him: An oblique reference to the 1975 movie
Death Race 2000 probably made with humorous intent. The humor, such as there may have been, is lost if you didn't see the movie.
Airspace: I assume you were wearing the Foggles during the maneuver, in which case clearing the airspace woud be solely his responsibility, 100% of the time. More context is needed.
Having said all that, here are a couple more thoughts:
Preflight: In this first sentence, you tipped your hand. Without having been in the room when the CFI discussed the preflight inspection, it's difficult to understand how such a discussion might have "insulted" your intelligence. How, exactly, was your intelligence insulted? Was the CFI condescending? May I suggest that many instructors (including yours truly) have had experiences in which a student did not perform an adequate preflight and missed something important. Perhaps your instructor has had a similar experience and learned not to take the matter for granted.
But what is most curious to me is your decision to seek validation from the Internet, in high dudgeon, instead of sitting-down with the CFI and discussing your concerns directly with him--a conversation that could go something like, "I really liked it when you [A, B, C]; but I found it frustrating when you {D, E, F}, and I didn't understand why we {X, Y, Z]." I suggest that such a discussion would benefit
both of you much more than any of the replies to a forum post.
Good luck.
