Re: My 'Performance' On teaching Aircraft Performance..... the CFI training saga, continues..... :)

That is concise, simple and excellent!!! I'll put that in my 'tool box'.
Thanks Bob! :)

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Good Flights!

Cecil E. Chapman
CP-ASEL-IA

Student - C.F.I.

Check out my personal flying adventures from my first flight to the
checkride AND the continuing adventures beyond!
Complete with pictures and text at: www.bayareapilot.com

"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery -

"We who fly, do so for the love of flying. We are alive in the air with
this miracle that lies in our hands and beneath our feet"
- Cecil Day Lewis -
"Bob Gardner" <bobmrg@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:mrCdnZUpBJothQfeRVn-jQ@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> The way I heard it at a CFI refresher was "If moist air is heavier than
> dry air, what keeps the clouds up there?" Always, always, start from
> simple and work up from there.
>
> Bob Gardner
>
>
> Bob Gardner
>
> "Cecil Chapman" <bayareapilot@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:Gwomf.35318$Zv5.24561@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> The week before was tough. I managed to finally catch the nuisance cold
>> that my wife had the previous week. I tried to make good use of the time
>> and study when I felt up to it.
>>
>> My morning started with me going to my surgeon for an annual checkup for
>> a male breast exam of all things because of my surgery for male breast
>> cancer May 2004 (I described it in the middle of my Instrument Rating
>> training 'diary' if you're interested).
>>
>> All worked out well as expected with the exam... I was doing fine with
>> nothing to worry about. So, I'm due for my next exam in a year which
>> promises to be just as uneventful (still feels kinda 'spooky' walking
>> into that office recalling the memory of the news for the first time).
>> All is well,, as I tell friends who keep tabs on my status; I smile and
>> tell them that "all is well and nothing new is falling-off!" <G>
>>
>> After my exam (a couple of hours later) I had the ground session with my
>> instructor scheduled to 'teach' him about aircraft performance - off to
>> San Jose, CA I drove! :)
>>
>> Those of you that may know are well-aware I was really 'punishing' myself
>> over concern about getting all the right information in the right
>> proportion with the proper scope into my presentation. I toiled and
>> fraught over the details until a day or so before I was to give the
>> presentation an 'epiphany' washed over me <g>. I was making this process
>> into something big, complex and involved when all I was really being
>> asked to do was just explain some of the basic aspects of aircraft
>> performance to someone who wanted to know about it. I've always liked
>> helping people figure stuff out and that is all I really needed to do.
>>
>> I know the latter may seem like a realization that should have seemed
>> 'obvious'; but I guess I was just getting so intimidated by the notion of
>> some sort of 'official teacher' role I was to fulfill that I overlooked
>> what was a much simpler task: I was a human being with some knowledge
>> that a fellow human being was trying to understand. I've been explaining
>> things all of my life (in my I.T. work I've had to describe some of the
>> most seemingly mundane aspects of computers and networks to clients all
>> the way up to the most complex concepts). I've taught music (theory,
>> guitar and basic piano) in college to make pocket money to pay for dates
>> back in my college dorm days. So, I had done this 'teaching', already.
>> I suddenly felt myself relax, recognizing that I would do fine, because I
>> understood the concepts I was to teach and in my own learning of them had
>> learned various approaches that helped me assimilate the knowledge.
>>
>> Suddenly, I didn't feel the (self-imposed) 'ominous' weight of providing
>> the instruction. I was going to have a 'talk' with someone to help them
>> learn more about a subject and in the process I'd be getting to share
>> something that I've loved all my life; flying. How cool is that! I
>> wasn't expected to be some scholarly professor with a tightly-pressed
>> suit, stepping up to some chalkboard to present a lecture in some very
>> staid manner. Not at all; I was just helping someone understand
>> something that I've come to learn and all I needed for that was a clear
>> idea of what I wanted to share and a good ear to make sure my student was
>> grasping what I was communicating. That was all I needed to teach! :)
>>
>> The session went well, not without a hitch, but no major 'bumps'. My CFI
>> seemed very pleased that at one point after discussing the performance
>> charts in the Cessna 172 POH that I was using as an example, that I went
>> on to stress that these figures represented values that were achieved
>> with a spanking-brand-new aircraft with a 'test pilot' on-board; whose
>> sole duty was to produce the best possible results for his employer (the
>> aircraft manufacturer).
>>
>> I fielded most of my student's questions quite well (IMHO) although I did
>> get a little out of step when I was talking about why humidity affects
>> aircraft performance (that is after a discussion on how temperature and
>> altitude affect aircraft). Rather than beginning with the explanation
>> that water vapor molecules displace the air molecules, somewhat; creating
>> spaces between the air molecules making the air less dense with air
>> molecules - I first started in on how molecular water was 'lighter' than
>> molecular air. The original reason I had planned to even get into that
>> aspect of the discussion was that I (thought) it would help address any
>> thoughts the student may have about molecules of water being 'heavier'
>> than molecules of air. A better way of doing it (my CFI later pointed
>> out to me) was to present the fact that the presence of water vapor takes
>> up some space that would have been occupied my air molecules -
>> effectively making the air less dense and THEN if the student asked the
>> question; "Doesn't water weigh more than air?",, go on with the
>> discussion about molecular water versus molecules of air.
>>
>> Wasn't the worst thing I could have done but I did see how I might be
>> needlessly complicating things for the student.
>>
>> For the most part I felt REALLY good about my presentation; wasn't
>> perfect, but then again the whole purpose of these presentations is for
>> me to learn and I'm bound to make some mistakes along the way.
>>
>> Well, next Tuesday I 'teach' an in-flight session to my 'student' (played
>> as always by my ever intrepid CFII <g>. It will consist of teaching a
>> short-field takeoff and landing to a primary student followed by teaching
>> some of the Commercial Maneuvers to a Commercial student. Then later
>> that week I'll teach a ground session on airspace, charts and airport
>> signage, etc.
>>
>> My work is cut out for me, but at least now with my 'revelation' I can
>> approach it with less trepidation! :)
>>
>>
>> --
>> --
>> =-----
>> Good Flights!
>>
>> Cecil E. Chapman
>> CP-ASEL-IA
>>
>> Student - C.F.I.
>>
>> Check out my personal flying adventures from my first flight to the
>> checkride AND the continuing adventures beyond!
>> Complete with pictures and text at: www.bayareapilot.com
>>
>> "I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things."
>> - Antoine de Saint-Exupery -
>>
>> "We who fly, do so for the love of flying. We are alive in the air with
>> this miracle that lies in our hands and beneath our feet"
>> - Cecil Day Lewis -
>>
>
>


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