Vintage Instructor THE
BY Steve Krog, CFI
A Proud Moment
T
oday was a great day for this old tailwheel flight instructor. One of my students took and passed her checkride and is now a bona fide pilot. Now, that isn’t a big deal nor different from most anyone else receiving a pilot’s license. But this one was special to me. About 18 months ago she and her husband came to me. He was already a pilot, and up until this day she was a very good navigator/ passenger. But on this day she wanted to begin taking flight lessons. I thought this wa sn ’t a ny t hi n g unu su a l ; over the years I’ve worked with a number of spouses who wanted to learn to fly. In this case, however, the situation was a bit more challenging. This couple had previously restored an airplane together, he doing the structural work and she doing the fabric. Together they flew it all around the area, proudly showing the plane. Then together they began another aircraft restoration. As it began nearing completion, she made a comment one evening that she might like to learn to fly, allowing them to each fly a plane to the area fly-ins. Her husband was quite taken aback by the comment. She had always been a good passenger but was near petrified whenever asked to take the controls. When they came to me that first day we discussed both her desire as well as her fear. Her husband, very supportive, didn’t want to push too hard for fear of dampening her enthusiasm. I explained that we would take it very slow, and if at any time she felt
uncomfortable with whatever we were doing, she was to tell me so. The first lesson began with a 30-minute session taxiing a tailwheel airplane around the ramp area and then out to the runway, learning the S-turn method of taxiing while doing so. Quite tentative at first, she soon acquired the feel for the airplane, at least on the ground, and relaxed somewhat. The first step of confidencebuilding now accomplished, we aligned the airplane with the turf runway in preparation for the takeoff. While explaining the control stick position and movement, I could feel her tension building. Her grip on the Cub’s control stick was like a vise. To break the tension I told her I could take her pulse simply by placing a finger on top of my control stick. She laughed and relaxed, but only just a bit. Throughout the late summer and early fall we flew weekly. Each new maneuver was a challenge, not because it was difficult for her to master but rather because of her anxiety. Each flight required constant reminders to relax and learn to feel the airplane. It was then that I came to realize part of her anxiety was brought on by her desire to be a perfectionist. She would strive to do everything perfectly, and when a maneuver was less than so, the anxiety would build. It has been said by “seasoned” pilots that flying is a constant learning experience. This thought really hit me between the eyes and caused me to change my teaching technique with her. Thereafter, we discussed every maneuver before flight, initially setting loose guidelines for each.
She had always been a good
passenger but
was near petrified
whenever asked to take the controls.
34 MARCH 2012