I have adopted an instructional style designed to exercise your decisionmaking muscle. (Other instructors may have different styles. Discuss it in advance with your instructor, to avoid misunderstandings.)
Please Act As PIC During Lessons
During introductory lessons, you start out with minimal responsibilities and gradually acquire more and more. Later, in non-introductory situations, I want you to act like pilot-in-command as much as possible.
Everything I say is merely a suggestion. My suggestions aren’t meant to relieve you of your responsibility as pilot-in-command. For instance, if I ask you to turn right, you remain responsible for clearing the area. Please clear the area just as you would if you were solo. Also think about whether the new heading will take us into restricted airspace or some such. If you don’t want to turn right, we can discuss it.
If we are in a situation that you ought to be able to handle on your own, I will generally let you handle it. If I need to contribute, I like to use a multi-stage “escalation” process:
Ideally, I don’t need to say anything. If we are facing an energy-management challenge, you can notice it (the sooner the better) and deal with it.
If you don’t deal with it on your own, I’ll start asking questions, such as: “How’s your energy? Are we high and fast, or low and slow?”
Then come more-explicit statements: “It looks like the angle from the horizon to the aim point is growing. If you don’t do something we’re going to overshoot the runway.”
Then it escalates to an instruction: “Go around.”
Then the instructions become more detailed: “Add power. Raise the nose. Start retracting the flaps.”
Finally: “I’ve got it.”
Remember, being a pilot means making decisions, even during lessons (except introductory lessons). During the escalation process, I’m gradually shifting more of the decisionmaking onto my shoulders. Your goal should be to take the hints at the earliest possible stage, so that further stages of escalation are not needed.
As another illustration of the same idea, I try to avoid giving an instruction such as “go around”. If I see a deer on the runway, I’ll say there’s a deer on the runway, and you can come to your own conclusion about going around. If we need to do some go-arounds just for practice, I might say there’s a hippopotamus on the runway. You know it’s not real, but I want you to pretend there’s an obstruction, and come to your own conclusions about how to deal with it. Most likely you will decide to go around.
At the other extreme, if you are struggling with an unfamiliar situation, I’ll just tell you how to deal with it. No hints, no escalation. There are lots of good but non-obvious techniques, and I don’t expect you to re-invent them on your own.
Also note that one element of good PIC decisionmaking is knowing when to ask for help. This includes asking for clarification of an overly-vague hint.
How’s Your Workload?
From time to time I will ask you “How’s your workload?” There are many possible answers, including:
Swamped. Could use some help.
Pretty busy right now.
Workload’s not too bad right now.
If you’re swamped, I’ll help. If you’re busy, I’ll leave you alone. If you’re not busy, I might strike up a conversation about strategy or tactics, or suggest an exercise.
I’ve Got ItIf I say “I’ve got it”, that means I am taking command of the airplane and I don’t want any delay or any question about it. (We will discuss it afterward.)
Notice the important distinction:
“How about I fly for a bit?” or “Would you like me to demonstrate that maneuver?” Those are simply questions, perhaps verging on suggestions. Those are negotiable.
“I’ve got it.” This is not a suggestion. This is absolutely not negotiable. This is necessary to preserve safety.
Hood Work
When you are under the hood, practicing flight by reference to instruments, you should start by telling your safety pilot (whether it’s me or somebody else) “I’m delegating the traffic-spotting to you”. The safety pilot should give you a readback on this, saying something like “I accept the delegation”. You should insist on this.
You remain pilot-in-command and you even retain a share of the responsibility for traffic separation. Before turning (except small shallow turns), ask “Clear right?” or “Clear left?”; don’t assume your safety-pilot has pre-cleared all turns.
When practicing an instrument approach, I will tell you if/when we break out of the simulated clouds. If in doubt, you can ask whether we have broken out. This is another decisionmaking exercise. If we reach the missed-approach point or decision height and haven’t broken out, do not expect me to say anything at this point. I want you to decide on your own when it’s time to begin the missed-approach procedure.
If I say “you’ve got the approach lights” it means you haven’t entirely broken out of the simulated clouds, but you have the option of continuing the approach in accordance with FAR 91.175(c)3(i).
