What is “a good CFI”?
Lesson #2: Provide Quality Ground Instruction
If you want to be “a good CFI” you need to provide quality ground instruction. I knew one CFI who didn’t teach ground lessons at all. One day he finally got up to the whiteboard and it was clear why he never taught ground lessons. I knew another CFI who would stand in front of the classroom and read out of the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (PHAK). As a student, you’re sitting there thinking, “I have the book and I already read this chapter. Why am I paying you $75/hour to read it to me?”
Providing quality ground instruction is not an easy task. It requires a ton of self-study time to ensure that you’re prepared to teach. You need to be ready to address all kinds of questions and you need to be able to teach things more than one way because every student learns differently. It takes effort and patience, but it does get easier with practice.
The importance of having a strong ground game cannot be understated. I always tell my students or people thinking about starting flight training that the ground game is 75% of the battle. It’s disheartening for some to hear this because it’s not as exciting as flying, but if your ground game is strong, it really helps you be a safe and proficient pilot in the air.
One thing that I found to be helpful when I was focused on providing quality instruction was teaching the walls in my apartment. I noticed that when a lot of pilots, students and CFIs alike, read information from the book they say, “Ok, I understand this.” But when you ask them to explain a concept or answer an open-ended question, they are silent. Getting the information from their brains out through their mouths is the challenge, but with a little practice you will get better. So, when I said I taught the walls, I literally had a small whiteboard and dry erase markers in my apartment and pretended my walls were my students just so I could practice teaching verbally. Like chair flying, it sounds a little silly, but it works. I strongly suggest you do it.
Another item to focus on is being prepared to teach the challenging subject matter. It’s no secret that there are common areas that are challenging for most students to comprehend. Think about what you struggled with as a student pilot. What comes to my mind are things like: what’s happening inside the engine cowling when you test the magnetos during the run-up, how to use a VHF Omni-Directional Range (VOR) for navigation, and why Maneuvering Speed (Va) changes with weight. There are dozens more. I think sometimes people are reluctant to teach ground lessons because they’re afraid of being exposed for not fully understanding some of these concepts themselves. The best way to get over this is to take the time to fully understand them before you teach them. Figure out the best way to explain them beforehand so you can confidently teach your students and answer their questions.
It’s also important to remember that you are not going to know everything. And when a student inevitably asks you a question and you do not know the answer, do not make something up or lie to them. That’s an easy way to lose credibility fast. Admit that you don’t know the answer and use this as an opportunity to dive into the FAR/AIM, PHAK, and other official FAA sources. Based on my experience, I found some students were hesitant to open these books because they are very large and full of technical information. They can be intimidating. By reading through them with your students you’re helping them get more comfortable using them.
Lastly, and this goes without saying, having thorough lesson plans to provide structure and guidance during your ground lessons is very helpful.
So as this series progresses, continually ask yourself – what kind of CFI do you want to be?
I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I enjoy writing them. If you have any questions or feedback please send The Flight Attitude a message via our contact form: https://www.theflightattitude.com/contact-us/
