Scudrunners

[quote]Kirk was already a pro when he started lessons. he was in the band Exodus playing lead guitar. All I tried to do was increase his awareness of more musical options and practicing disciplines.

He was a good student. [b][u]Many of his friends and contemporaries would storm out complaining thinking I was a too harsh a teacher.[/u][/b]

Jude Gold from Guitar World, recounted a story that I didn't remember. He was taking a lesson from me and recounted a story I for his last podcast. There was an 8 year old before me, in the middle of Jude's lesson I told him that the 8 year old did better than you did [i][u]in an attempt to get him to practice.[/u][/i]

Kids were cute, walk in the toys and put them on amp. They had no fear of the guitar teacher. It was the teenagers that were a bundle of nerves. [b][u]Adults were depressing.

[i]Music teachers face a lot of psychiatry.[/i] You have to remind them, I'm just the guitar teacher.[/u][/b]

Charlie Hunter was a student, met him when I was 8 years old. He was really something.[/quote]

No parallels drawn to flight instruction, no sir.

Practice?  Effective practice?

[quote]used to teach an exercise, Find the note everywhere. You pick a note and string by string you play it on the fretboard in all it's locations, as fast as you can. All the way up and all the way back down. It's a horrible exercise, but it must be done.[/quote]

Hard work, with occasionally hurting people's
[i]feelings[/i]?  Lots of psychiatry involved?

Yeah, nothing to do with flight instruction.

When asked,  "How many hours a day do you typically spend practicing?"

Joe replied:

[quote]If I'm preparing for a tour, maybe [b]5 hours a day[/b]. If I'm writing I might be playing but not practicing [b]8 hours a day.[/b][/quote]

How many people fly for 8 (or even 5) hours a day,
to get better?

And people wonder why they can't land in a 15
knot crosswind ...

PS  A long time ago, I really learned to fly a twin, 
by flying 105 hours in 21 days.  At the end of it, I
could make that pig sing.

Yup, no parallels here at all.

Definitely +1 .
When I learned a guitar it was tough for me because I had to learn music (notes, listening to the frequencies, singing), physical mechanics on the guitar playing, and electric guitar intricacies. I had an awesome teacher that gave me a good boost in the beginning and after that it was just a religious experience and one hour practice every night for two years straight.

I just played my guitars the other night after the loooooooong hiatus probably 4-5 years did not touch them, but now the feeling comes back quickly. My callouses are gone so the fingers hurt again. Gotta remember to relax the hands and stop choking the guitar neck.

Playing the fret board is like hand flying IMC, light touch only and gentle smooth transitions.

To get good at flying you need: Good instructor, funds, patience, free time, easy access to the airport/field and the tail-wheel small plane.

Colonel - I agree with you 100% - being a pianist and violinist I understand the value of practice.

However, the burning question is how much is 'good enough'? I'd love it if I had the time and money to be able to fly 2-3 times a day, but the oppressive reality of work, family and other commitments mean that is just not on right now. (I know, I made those choices!)

Which then leads to the path of "Well, I'm never going to achieve super excellence, so may as well quit and stop worrying"....

There has to be a medium somewhere, where I can build skill and experience - but sometimes these threads make me feel wholly inadequate! I'm striving to get better, to keep learning - but sometimes end up going backwards due to circumstances (weather hates me). I'm never going to be at the top of this game, but I want to be the best I can be - within my own personal set of limitations. And I really don't want to die trying.

[quote]how much is good enough for you to solo a student pilot?[/quote]

The first thing to realize is that despite
grandiose efforts at standardization,
everyone is different.  That's just the
way it is. 

People will learn at different rates and
eventually arrive at different levels of
skill, which as I have pointed out before,
has more to do with internal motivation
than genetic gifts.

To solo, a student has to be predictably
and consistently safe.  You must have a
high degree of confidence in their ability
to handle normal and emergency procedures
that they could encounter.  This is obviously
a function of aircraft type, airport and
time of year.

A solo student does not have to be perfect
(he never will) but he must be consistent,
and this is the biggie.  Some students get
into a rut where they will do 5 perfect landings,
and then blow one.  Rinse, lather, repeat.
You have to break that cycle.


[quote]What about to recommend a PPL? ... a CPL?[/quote]

That's a big question, but with respect
to the PPL and CPL written and flight
tests, they need to have consistently
mastered the required knowledge and
maneuvers.  It's that simple.

Hopefully somewhere along the way,
they were taught to more than just
the test!

[quote]What would a student pilot have to lack, in terms of knowledge or skill for a red flag to be raised and further dual time required before that first solo?
[/quote]

As I said previously, a lack of consistency at
normal procedures, or inability to adequately
handle emergency procedures, would indicate
further dual required to fix these deficiencies,
before they are alone in an airplane.

To go solo, a student has to be safe.  They
have to have just enough skill and knowledge
to not alter the appearance of the airplane. 
They need not be Bob Hoover.  That comes later.


[quote]What big errors do you see from licensed pilots, that really concerns you?
[/quote]

Gosh.  I think I wrote about 20,000 posts on
AvCan on that subject before I was shown
the door ...

What I like to see in PPL's and newly minted CPL's:

1) good stick & rudder skills
2) good aircraft systems knowledge

A PPL (or CPL) that is a poor stick, or
doesn't have a clue (or care) about how
his aircraft works, depresses me.  He's
not going to have a clue what to do when
it breaks.

I like to see interest in a pilot, and
internal motivation to improve his
skills and knowledge.  If those are
there, time will take care of things.

The other thing a pilot needs to develop
an interest in, is the weather.  A
tremendously important and complicated
subject, it is nearly always taught
really badly in groundschool, which
is a pity.

Any expert pilot is also going to be
a self-taught expert weatherman.
Comes with the territory, if you
want to stay alive.  An expert pilot
watches the wx systems, and knows
when a front is harmless and when
it's going to cause trouble.  He understands
dewpoint spread and air mass instability
and icing.


[quote]Are their some people that are naturally inept at flying?[/quote]

We've talked about this before.  With
enough training, probably 95% of the
people who can pass a medical, can
acquire the knowledge and skill to
safely fly an aircraft.  There is a spectrum
of skills, likely with a normal distribution.

There are perhaps 5% of people, for
whatever reason, simply can't be trusted
to push a lawn mower, let alone fly an
airplane by themselves.  I have had
students like that.  They are not bad
people, they are just not potential pilots.

I am not a potential world-class ballerina,
for example.  That's just something I will
have to live with.  Perhaps I could get
some government funding for interpretive
dancing?

[quote author=HuronPotentialConflict link=topic=545.msg2060#msg2060 date=1438106259]
[quote author=Dick link=topic=545.msg2029#msg2029 date=1438026481]
Which then I'm striving to get better, to keep learning - but sometimes end up going backwards due to circumstances (weather hates me).
[/quote]

I forgot to mention that weather is ussually a pain in the ass when your trying to accomplish something. For example in my experience with flight training if you really want to go flying you have to consider that everytime you have a booking there's like a 30% chance it will be canceled because the conditions just arn't suitable. If I make 3 bookings I expect one of the three to be canceled because of weather. It's a pain but you just have to keep an eye on the forecasts and the schedule. 

[/quote]

Absolutely! I did my primary training at Guelph - which although it has orthogonal runways due to trees off the end of one runway TC deemed it not available for training (curious, when it is a perfect approach over an obstruction - no making things up there!). This left the available runway as 32/14, with prevailing wind out of the west......  I started training mid summer, and reached the circuits stage late fall --- then suffered through I think 12 consecutive cancelled lessons due to  weather - mostly crosswinds. Gave me something else to learn through when trying to learn how to land. At the end of it, I was very comfortable with crosswinds on a 40' runway.

Hit the same issue with learning tailwheel -- conditions I can handle in a trike and now a no-go until my skill set (and confidence) goes up.

but - as the Colonel said, gave me a lot of time to get to study local weather patterns, and what causes what!
Looking forward to fall, which is usually some of the best flying weather around here.

[quote]I am not a potential world-class ballerina,
for example.  That's just something I will
have to live with.[/quote]

Even though you don't think you could be one could you post your picture dressed in a Tu Tu with nylon stockings and a garter belt?

I bet that would be interesting for some of our more kinky members here.

Remember in our new enlightened world it is O.K. to be different.  :) :) :)