Four Fundamentals

 

The four fundamentals of flight are: straight and level, turns, climbs and descents. It is vital that a pilot grasp these basics since all subsequent maneuvers are merely combinations and variations on a theme.

This is one of the first flight lessons and should be FUN. At the beginning of the training process people are generally overwhelmed and will only retain a portion of the information presented to them. A good briefing helps and if you can get the student to read ahead it can greatly increase performance. On the other side of the equation the student is chomping at the bit to get down to business and may not be receptive to a long drawn out explanation.

I tell the pilot “the recurring theme is pitch + power = performance.” There are other procedures we are introducing/reinforcing that will, if all goes as planned, become habitual.

Collision avoidance techniques and verbalizing “Clear left” “Clear right” prior to turning will increase the chance of seeing and avoiding other traffic and birds. I teach pilots to lower the nose and check for traffic at 500 AGL and then the top and bottom of the altimeter. After I observe that they are aware of their altitude and are indeed looking for traffic I will advise them to “try to do it in a straight line” as we discuss the need for rudder to compensate for p-factor and other left turning tendencies.

We will continue to practice the three-way positive exchange of flight controls. I make it a point to state that someone should be flying the aircraft the entire flight and the person who thinks they are flying should be the one flying. There are modifications of this concept such as “follow me through on the controls” when introducing or elaborating on a maneuver. Or “I am on the controls with you” when minor last minute corrections are needed such as a gusty crosswind approach. It is important that as much as possible you let the pilot make inputs without interference. This does not mean that you should not guard the controls. Keeping your hand staged behind the control yoke making it impossible to rapidly increase the angle of attack when doing so would be disastrous.