ROLE OF THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR

The flight instructor is the cornerstone of aviation

safety. The FAA has adopted an operational training

concept that places the full responsibility for student

training on the authorized flight instructor. In this role,

the instructor assumes the total responsibility for training

the student pilot in all the knowledge areas and

skills necessary to operate safely and competently as a

certificated pilot in the National Airspace System. This

training will include airmanship skills, pilot judgment

and decision making, and accepted good operating

practices.

An FAA certificated flight instructor has to meet

broad flying experience requirements, pass rigid

knowledge and practical tests, and demonstrate the

ability to apply recommended teaching techniques

before being certificated. In addition, the flight

instructor's certificate must be renewed every 24

months by showing continued success in training

pilots, or by satisfactorily completing a flight instructor's

refresher course or a practical test designed to

upgrade aeronautical knowledge, pilot proficiency,

and teaching techniques.

A pilot training program is dependent on the quality of

the ground and flight instruction the student pilot

receives. A good flight instructor will have a thorough

understanding of the learning process, knowledge of

the fundamentals of teaching, and the ability to communicate

effectively with the student pilot.

A good flight instructor will use a syllabus and insist

on correct techniques and procedures from the

beginning of training so that the student will develop

proper habit patterns. The syllabus should embody

the "building block" method of instruction, in which

the student progresses from the known to the

unknown. The course of instruction should be laid

out so that each new maneuver embodies the principles

involved in the performance of those previously

undertaken. Consequently, through each new subject

introduced, the student not only learns a new principle

or technique, but broadens his/her application of

those previously learned and has his/her deficiencies

in the previous maneuvers emphasized and made

obvious.

The flying habits of the flight instructor, both during

flight instruction and as observed by students when

conducting other pilot operations, have a vital effect

on safety. Students consider their flight instructor to be

a paragon of flying proficiency whose flying habits

they, consciously or unconsciously, attempt to imitate.

For this reason, a good flight instructor will meticulously

observe the safety practices taught the students.

Additionally, a good flight instructor will carefully

observe all regulations and recognized safety practices

during all flight operations.

Generally, the student pilot who enrolls in a pilot training

program is prepared to commit considerable time,

effort, and expense in pursuit of a pilot certificate. The

student may tend to judge the effectiveness of the flight

instructor, and the overall success of the pilot training

program, solely in terms of being able to pass the

requisite FAA practical test. A good flight instructor,

however, will be able to communicate to the student

that evaluation through practical tests is a mere sampling

of pilot ability that is compressed into a short

period of time. The flight instructor's role, however, is

to train the "total" pilot.