Lesson Plans to Train Like You Fly: A flight instructor's reference for scenario-based training

By Arlynn McMahon

This guide for flight instructors presents lesson plans in the form of scenario-based “maneuver briefings.” A rich resource for active instructors, these lesson plans are also helpful to CFI applicants preparing their own materi­als. Lesson Plans can also be used as a companion book for flight instructors who are following the principles of scenario-based training taught in Arlynn McMahon’s first book, Train Like You Fly: A Flight Instructor’s Guide to Scenario-Based Training.



Lesson Plans is designed to work in complement with any syllabus and the FAA Airman Certification Standards (ACS). It explains how to teach each maneuver, making the flight instructor’s favorite syllabus curriculum even more effec­tive and enjoyable for flight students. Each maneuver briefing features a series of drawings instructors can discuss with their students or replicate in the classroom and an accompanying script to teach from, which includes a story or motivation on the why and how the maneuver is applied in actual flight. Common errors are discussed in the form of keys to success, to posi­tively inspire students to become sound aviation citizens.



In addition to the lesson plans, the book includes templates, checklists, and student assignments to build proper flight preparation habits and help determine the student’s readiness to act as pilot-in-command. These tools are especially helpful to the flight instructor ahead of the major flight training milestones, such as first solo, solo cross-country, and the checkride.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 31, 2017
• ISBN: 9781619544918

Book preview

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Congratulations on your decision to become an effective aviation instructor! As an effective instructor you will be expected to teach specific maneuvers and you will be asked to teach people who have never left the bounds of Mother Earth to make decisions while being totally outside of their natural environment. It’s a big job.

Watch an Olympic ice skater perform on television and you know they had to learn specific jumps and spins to demonstrate the mastery of their sport. The same is true of pilots. A handful of maneuvers and skills are required to demonstrate proficiency and to pass the test. Just as that Olympic ice skater blends the required jumps into a pleasing routine that flows with grace and elegance, a pilot must combine maneuvers on every routine flight. But whereas an ice skater performs in a confined area and in a controlled environment, pilots are free to fly anywhere, in an endless variety of environments. Most flights are not routine. Some contain the unexpected and pilots often find the need for something never before practiced.

Flying is a thinking sport. It doesn’t require great physical strength as other sports do. More like a game of chess, flying requires a pilot to understand how each decision and each move affects the successful outcome.

Most pilot training courses place little or no emphasis on attaining thinking skills. As a result, when a newly trained pilot flies into a new environment or experiences a flight outside of their normal routine, that pilot is sometimes unprepared to make smart decisions.

When all is said and done, flying and teaching flying have more to do with people than they have to do with airplanes.

Lesson Plans versus Maneuver Briefings

This book presents lesson plans for flight instructors in the form of scenario-based maneuver briefings.

A lesson plan is an organized outline for a single instructional period. It tells the instructor which teaching method is to be used for the lesson, what is to be taught, and in what sequence to present information. However, often the syllabus calls for a lesson plan to include more than one maneuver.

A maneuver briefing, then, is a kind of lesson plan for presenting an individual maneuver. Multiple maneuver briefings can be covered in a single syllabus lesson. Every CFI practical exam requires the applicant to demonstrate his or her ability to teach a preflight lesson on a selected maneuver as the lesson would be taught to a student. Many times the evaluator will ask for more than one maneuver briefing.

The term lesson plan is the traditional term used in industry; however, in this book I use the term Maneuver Briefing to convey the presentation of an individual maneuver as outlined in a Task in the Flight Instructor Practical Test Standards (PTS).

Holistic Flight Training

Does any student pilot dream of endless hours of touch and go’s? Does any new pilot expect to be corralled into a practice area to master steep turns? I don’t think so. Many student pilots transferring from other schools report how their excitement for flying was beaten out of them with boring, routine, and mindless training. What they expect and what they dream about is going someplace and spending fun and interesting hours as a pilot. This is what scenario-based training brings back to the industry. Think of it as holistic flight training. It is holistic because it encourages students to use all of their senses and to think. It persuades a student to stay excited about this marvelous sport through the completion of training and beyond.

By presenting maneuvers in a scenario format, the student is propelled into the understanding and application levels of learning while still in the classroom during the maneuver briefing. The use of scenario training fosters safe habits that a student will use long after he has become certificated. Students learn not only what to do but also how to think in the endless variety of situations that maneuvers may be used while flying in the real world. Scenario-based training is not boring. It is not routine and it is not mindless.

What’s In Store

Scenario-based training (SBT) has proven itself as a valuable aviation training methodology. But until now it hasn’t been described with clarity and in simple terms that a new instructor can feel comfortable using. In Section II you’ll find simple to use, scenario-based, maneuver briefings described in such a way that the student will get it because you used fun flying stories and scenarios to illustrate important concepts. You may have to role-play a bit…it will be worth it.

Then later in the book, scenario-based training is added to your favorite syllabus (Section III). There is no need to change syllabi in order to add scenario-based training to your current training methodologies.

In addition to being effective tools for active instructors, these lesson plans are helpful to CFI applicants as learning tools and templates for preparing their own materials. Nearly all CFI applicants must provide at least 2 complete lesson plans as part of the initial CFI practical exam.

The maneuver briefings in this book are appropriate for a new instructor-applicant to use during an FAA initial flight instructor practical exam. They are also appropriate for any instructor looking for tools to refresh his teaching technique or to incorporate scenarios into teaching. Each maneuver briefing includes the following elements.

Whiteboard Drawing

According to the Aviation Instructor’s Handbook (FAA-H-8083-9), students remember only 13% of what they hear, such as in an instructor’s lecture. Students remember 88% of what they hear and see. Therefore, it is important to draw concepts and to illustrate elements of the maneuver, as well as the relationships of those elements. For that reason, this book provides a whiteboard, or chalkboard drawing for each maneuver as an example of how an effective instructor might draw for the student the important elements to be remembered.

Another suggestion would be to make the drawing on paper, and after the postflight briefing, present the drawing as a handout to the student. For a student who may have several days between flight lessons, a drawing can help to recall the lesson during couch flying sessions and promote review before meeting with the instructor. With the instructor’s name and phone number noted in the corner of the handout, the student will never forget his favorite instructor.

Suggested Materials

The well-equipped flight instructor uses training aids to conduct effective training. This section suggests materials and resources that should be organized before the presentation begins.

Note: Since the first edition of this book, the FAA changed the longstanding title of the Airport/Facility Directory (A/FD) to the Chart Supplement U.S. However, here I will continue to refer to this as the A/FD in order to ease recognition.

Lesson Introduction

A student pilot snaps to attention when the instructor shares a personal story; it’s a powerful way to start a lesson. Each introduction includes a motivation section that features a story or a scenario to illustrate how the maneuver might be used in real life, and an objective section that briefly describes the goal for learning the maneuver.

Components of the Maneuver

Each maneuver is presented with elements that flow seamlessly from one to the next so the presentation is organized. This allows the student to understand the relationships between elements. The material is organized in its most logical sequence for a coherent presentation that students (as well as evaluators) will appreciate.

Understanding the components of a maneuver is fundamental to a scenario-based lesson plan. It is only after the student understands the individual elements of the maneuver that he is able to make smart decisions that are safe and within the limitations of his aircraft and his qualifications.

According to the Flight Instructor PTS, flight instructor applicants are required to demonstrate instructional knowledge. This refers to the applicant’s ability to show the application or correlative level of knowledge of a maneuver. Maneuver briefings contained in this book support instructional knowledge by providing the what to do, how to do it and why it’s important for each maneuver.

Common Errors versus Keys to Success

The Flight Instructor PTS requires that a flight instructor applicant present and discuss common errors. The purpose is to assist the evaluator in determining whether the applicant can recognize, analyze, and correct errors.

This is a case where the method of testing is contrary to the method of instructing. Experienced instructors know that it can be detrimental to introduce a laundry list of what not to do to a student. Simply introducing the idea of something not-to-do can manifest it. Therefore in this book, the negative not-to-do list of common errors is presented in the positive as Keys to Success. Presenting these as Keys to Success allows the evaluator to determine that an applicant is knowledgeable in common errors. Yet at the same time, the instructor is able to present the material in a positive manner that reinforces desired student habits.

The 10-20-30 Rule

The 10-20-30 rule is a teaching device used in the lesson plan to remind students how to properly divide their attention. It helps them to maintain their situational awareness inside and outside of the cockpit.

According to the 10-20-30 rule, ten seconds of every minute should be focused inside the cockpit, performing tasks such as scanning flight instruments to verify airspeed, heading and altitude, scanning the engine gauges and updating the GPS map with airspace considerations, as appropriate. Twenty seconds of every minute should focus on outside ground references—use this time to survey terrain features, update your position near obstacles or to help keep the runway parallel to your flight path. Remain aware of what you are flying over… or near. Thirty seconds of every minute is focused on scanning for traffic—in front of the plane, to each side, above, below, and all around.

This is not to say that 10 consecutive seconds must be spent focusing on things in the cockpit followed by 20 consecutive seconds strictly looking at ground references. Instead, this is simply a way to communicate what proportion of every minute should be used to achieve these tasks.

Minimum Acceptable Tolerances During FAA Practical Exams

In this book, tolerances in altitude, heading or airspeed are not introduced to the student. While the instructor is required to know what the minimum standard is, that might not be the completion standard for the lesson. Experienced instructors encourage students to do their best with words such as, the goal is to hold altitude.

Testing standards are provided for the instructor’s reference in sections called Minimum Acceptable Tolerances During FAA Practical Exams. This solidifies the notion that the requirements to pass the exam represent the minimum requirements rather than those desirable in a good pilot. Each instructor must decide if training students to meet the minimum acceptable standard is his or her objective. Therefore, rather than being introduced during training, it is recommended that practical exam tolerances be introduced to a student during the hours designated as preparation for the practical exam.

References to FAA practical test tolerances in this book use the editions that were current at the time of publication. Use the most current testing tolerances when creating your own briefings and lesson plans.

FAA-S-8081-6, Flight Instructor PTS for Airplane

FAA-S-ACS-6, Private Pilot Airplane – Airman Certification Standards

FAA-S-8081-12, Commercial Pilot PTS for Airplane

Additional Teaching Tips and/or Scenarios

This section includes information that may make the maneuver easier for the instructor to teach or easier for the student to understand. Additional scenarios provide variety during review lessons of the same maneuver.

Fill-in-the-Blanks Template for Your Airplane

This section is designed to encourage instructors to research the aircraft configuration, V-speeds, and specific procedures needed for the training airplane and your local area. Use this section to customize the maneuver briefing you’ve prepared for your aircraft. Present the maneuver to your student with information relative to your training aircraft, your airport and flight school, and local airspace.

Main Points

In order to get the most out of this book, use the following methods and tips to help you incorporate the ideas presented here into your own lesson plans.

1. Quickly read through the maneuver briefing to familiarize yourself with its overall flow. Study each step of the presentation and be thoroughly familiar with as much information related to the elements as possible.

2. Study the photo of the whiteboard drawing and notice how the drawn presentation supports the discussion.

3. Using the Fill-in-the-Blanks Template, refer to the Pilot’s Operating Handbook for the airplane used during flight training, your school standard operating procedures, and local charts to research the specific procedures and limitations that are appropriate.

4. Using the maneuver briefing as a script, rehearse presenting the maneuver, incorporating procedures for your specific airplane, while simultaneously reproducing the whiteboard drawing. Rehearse until you don’t need the complete script anymore, and you are using only your own illustration.

Further Notes on Briefings

Using a digital recorder to rehearse is more effective than practicing your teaching on another person. The recorder will allow you to play-back and listen to your own presentation. You are more likely to pick up on opportunities for improvements than would another person who doesn’t understand what your intentions are for the presentation.

The maneuver briefing is a script that assumes the reader is an instructor, teaching a student. Thus scripts use we to define when the student and instructor will perform a task together. I is used to define when the instructor will perform a task and you defines the student as performing the task.

Adapt the maneuver briefing to the student. Flight instructors are often called upon to teach students with varying backgrounds and experience. Maneuver briefings in this book have been written to present material to a student without prior knowledge of the maneuver. During the Flight Instructor FAA practical exam, the evaluator will act as a student during portions of the exam and will indicate if the student’s background warrants revision.

Don’t use the same scenario every time the maneuver is reviewed. Pilot error or improper decisions made by the pilot are still the primary cause of accidents. In lessons that review the maneuver, present a different scenario; challenge the student with a variety of real-life situations. This allows supervised practice in developing decision-making skills. In this book, a scenario is included in the motivation portion of the maneuver briefing and ideas for additional scenarios follow at the end of the maneuver briefing. The Fill-in-the-Blanks Template encourages you to think of a scenario that is appropriate for your individual student and training environment.

Revise the maneuver briefing periodically. With experience, you will find opportunities to tweak the presentation, finding ways to make it more concise or clear. In addition to experience, this is also the case due to availability of new instructional aids, changes in regulations, or revisions to textbooks.

This chapter contains maneuver briefings on the subject of traffic patterns.

AREA OF OPERATION:

Preflight Lesson on a Maneuver to be Performed in Flight

Note: Evaluator shall select at least one maneuver and ask the applicant to present a preflight lesson on the selected maneuver as the lesson would be taught to a student.

OBJECTIVE:

To determine that the applicant exhibits instructional knowledge of the selected maneuver by:

1. Stating the purpose.

2. Giving an accurate, comprehensive oral description, including the elements and common errors.

3. Using instructional aids, as appropriate.

4. Describing the recognition, analysis, and correction of common errors.

Traffic Patterns

Suggested Materials: Whiteboard and markers, POH, A/FD, and AC 90-66.

INTRODUCTION

Spend at least three minutes introducing the maneuver to the student. Describe the situations that are motivation for learning it, as well as the objectives to strive for.

Motivation

The traffic pattern is a standardized rectangle around the runway. It provides an orderly flow