Teaching Methods

Mjg2011

Mjg2011

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Mjg2011
I am going to start training for my CFI pretty soon and I was wondering why a lot of instructors don't cover up the instruments for their private students on maneuvers. I was taught by checking the instruments and my maneuvers sucked but a while after I got my private I started to only look outside and I would be +/- 10 feet and within 5 knots on steep turns. Why aren't we forced to do this from the beginning?
 
Likely inertia... a CFI often teaches the way they were taught, with some small variety that makes the instruction their own style.
 
Mjg2011 said:
I am going to start training for my CFI pretty soon and I was wondering why a lot of instructors don't cover up the instruments for their private students on maneuvers. I was taught by checking the instruments and my maneuvers sucked but a while after I got my private I started to only look outside and I would be +/- 10 feet and within 5 knots on steep turns. Why aren't we forced to do this from the beginning?
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You can blame the FAA who says we're supposed to teach using the integrated method of using both visual and instrument references at the same time.
 
Depending on the client I find value in covering the instruments.
It forces them to look outside.
 
I do this quite often with my students. They do tend to fly better with most of the 6-pack covered.


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So I covered the ASI... hmmm, the digital glass attitude indicated has airspeed. Figure out how to shut it off... the one right below it took over... hmmm...

And THEN I shut off the gps and took his iPad!

We got a good chuckle out of it.

My landings in my pietenpol got better when I just got lazy and didn’t troubleshoot my dead ASI (for a couple years...).

I totally believe in partial panel in all sorts of scenarios and training.
 
I would/will someday when I instruct... I just read “hypnotizing Maria” and I think many ideas from that fiction book could be applied to primary teaching to reduce the stress on the student and hasten them “getting it”
 
Mjg2011 said:
I am going to start training for my CFI pretty soon and I was wondering why a lot of instructors don't cover up the instruments for their private students on maneuvers. I was taught by checking the instruments and my maneuvers sucked but a while after I got my private I started to only look outside and I would be +/- 10 feet and within 5 knots on steep turns. Why aren't we forced to do this from the beginning?
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I made a cardboard panel cover that had holes for engine instruments but blocked all the other distractions. As someone else mentioned up thread there is such a thing as training inertia. My instructor covered up stuff to keep my eyes outside as well. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary to me. I just thought that’s the way to teach.
 
I remember my instructor telling me, "there's nothing on the panel you need to see."
 
Mjg2011 said:
I am going to start training for my CFI pretty soon and I was wondering why a lot of instructors don't cover up the instruments for their private students on maneuvers. I was taught by checking the instruments and my maneuvers sucked but a while after I got my private I started to only look outside and I would be +/- 10 feet and within 5 knots on steep turns. Why aren't we forced to do this from the beginning?
Click to expand...

Because the FAA wants the CFI to use integrated flight instruction. Integrated flight instruction is flight instruction during which learners are taught to perform flight maneuvers both by outside visual references and by reference to flight instruments.

https://www.faa.gov/regulations_pol...structors_handbook/media/11_aih_chapter_9.pdf
 
Mjg2011 said:
I am going to start training for my CFI pretty soon and I was wondering why a lot of instructors don't cover up the instruments for their private students on maneuvers. I was taught by checking the instruments and my maneuvers sucked but a while after I got my private I started to only look outside and I would be +/- 10 feet and within 5 knots on steep turns. Why aren't we forced to do this from the beginning?
Click to expand...

You as a CFI need to cover everything in the ACS and the students performs to the standards. But you also as a CFI can exceed what is covered in the ACS, such as covering the instruments.

I go beyond the ACS with students. My first question to them is do they want to learn just to pass a checkride or learn to be a pilot.
 
Different techniques. I alway cover instrument when a trainee has issues with a visual maneuver. Always helps, During ground reference maneuvers, one of my students used to say "and the mystery altitude is..." as I pulled the cover off the altimeter. I"m not doing primary training anymore but (after it was done to me on a checkout) one of my requirements for solo was landing with the ASI covered. I still do that to pilots on flight reviews and checkouts,
 
midlifeflyer said:
Different techniques. I alway cover instrument when a trainee has issues with a visual maneuver. Always helps, During ground reference maneuvers, one of my students used to say "and the mystery altitude is..." as I pulled the cover off the altimeter. I"m not doing primary training anymore but (after it was done to me on a checkout) one of my requirements for solo was landing with the ASI covered. I still do that to pilots on flight reviews and checkouts,
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Did you get to do a normal landing during the checkout before the no-ASI landing, or was it the first, like when I got checked out in the Bonanza?

amazing how the same power settings work with different airplanes. ;)
 
my son has his driving learners permit.....fixates on the camera image shown on the center screen whenever backing are parking... I cover it 80% of the time...trying to teach him that it's only one of 5 tools.... 3 mirrors + eyes out the windows...and he should use all 5 tools.

I really don't recall in my primary training how much my CFI covered the instruments for visual maneuvers. I have sometimes thought that it would have been good to cover the airspeed indicator more....
 
Does the FAA require some IFR training in the PPL? In Canada we have this:

(b) The flight training shall include a minimum of:
  • (i) 17 hours dual instruction flight time, including a minimum of 3 hours cross-country flight time and 5 hours of instrument time of which a maximum of 3 hours may be instrument ground time;
https://tc.canada.ca/en/corporate-s...ngs-canadian-aviation-regulations-cars#421_26

We did partial panel during that time, too, right down to needle-ball-airspeed only. And yes, we often covered stuff up during the VFR training. We had numerous students showing up with computer flight sim experience, and they wanted to focus on the panel all the time.
 
If I ever get back to teaching full time, I want to go back to one thing I used to do... start everybody out in a Cub for the first 4-5 hours while teaching the basics. Once they've got that, let 'em use the instruments more. Laws of primacy are so useful in the first 10 hours...
 
RyanShort1 said:
Laws of primacy are so useful in the first 10 hours...
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Exactly. Learning to use the outside horizon. Learning to use your feet. Learning when to expect the stall. Finding out what can happen when you skid a low-speed, descending turn. One learns to gauge the margin above stall from airspeed, load factor and the feel of the airplane, not from an AOA instrument or stall warning horn or some other crutch. Learning to fly the airplane until it's tied down.
 
Vance Breese said:
Depending on the client I find value in covering the instruments.
It forces them to look outside.
Click to expand...

Did my 1st 300-400hrs of instruction mostly in Champs and Cubs. Didn’t need to cover up instruments, although did occasionally have them cover up the ASI in the Champs. In the Cub I would just lean to the left a bit.

Now days it just depends on the student, If I notice they are becoming overly dependent on an instrument, usually indicated by them having difficulty with the maneuver, then we will practice with the instrument covered up.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
 
Brad W said:
my son has his driving learners permit.....fixates on the camera image shown on the center screen whenever backing are parking... I cover it 80% of the time...trying to teach him that it's only one of 5 tools.... 3 mirrors + eyes out the windows...and he should use all 5 tools.
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My daughter got annoyed when I did that, but she was glad I did because the examiner did it, too. ;)
 
My son’s first 8 hours were in the FRONT seat of a Pietenpol, not a single instrument. NADA.

This was because we weren’t sure we could switch seats weight and balance wise, so we checked and all was indeed good, so...

I gave him one flight in the back seat and siloed him. He’s a great stick.

Hehe, his first flights trying to do turn patterns and such with a set of instruments were HILARIOUS! I think it was an Archer...
 
An interesting tidbit... gave a TWELVE THOUSAND jump parachutist his first airplane flight lesson a few weeks back. We was practically lost without the feel of the wind on his face...

When teaching ground reference maneuvers, I intercede at various points and ask them to guess their altitude, to 10’, before coming in to look. Doesn’t take long and they indeed can! Forces them to reference, rather than fly by.
 
MauleSkinner said:
My daughter got annoyed when I did that, but she was glad I did because the examiner did it, too. ;)
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Excellent.!!

My wife watches the back up camera, so one day I put a piece of tape over the camera and told her the camera went bad. Some day I will fix it....
 
MauleSkinner said:
Did you get to do a normal landing during the checkout before the no-ASI landing, or was it the first, like when I got checked out in the Bonanza?

amazing how the same power settings work with different airplanes. ;)
Click to expand...
I did a few "normal" landings first.
 
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