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This is as true for full-size instructors as it is for someone teaching the fine points of free flight. In addition, student pilots can learn much from knowing the problems and solutions of their instructors.

In this spirit, and in the hopes of making model flying better and easier for everyone, Sport Aviator offers this forum. If you are an instructor, or have been one, and had a difficult problem while teaching model flying, write and let us know how you solved it. Other instructors and pilots will benefit from your experience.

If you are having a problem and cannot as yet find the answer, write about it and send it in to the logbook. Someone “out there” will have the answer for us all.

If requested, we will withhold your name and location. All submissions must contain name, address and phone number for our records, but all such personal information, except name if requested, will always remain confidential. Your problems and solutions could help hundreds of student pilots and their instructors. You may never get to meet them all, but you will have done them a service nonetheless.

I've been flying R/C for quite awhile, and instructing for several years. I had one student, a teenager (my son, btw) who had trouble concentrating on the standard drills for very long. He'd quickly become resistant to both suggestions and corrections to his flying. So we worked out a compromise for the rest of his buddy-box instruction- and here it is. Before takeoff we'd discuss the objectives for the coming flight; perhaps same-altitude figure 8's in both directions, stall practices, and loops.

He'd then start the plane, take off, and perform the first objective. When we agreed that it was done right, he'd get to fly the plane on his own for a few minutes. Then we'd discuss the next item on our list and he'd do it to standard, then he'd return to flying the plane where / how he wanted to.

Over the course of 15 -or so minute flight we'd get all the 'teaching' done - and often more than planned, and he got lots of experience with 'just flying.'

Before trying this method we'd struggled for several weeks, with both of us getting more and more frustrated. -But after two weeks of this different method, he'd soloed. Now I try and use it to some extent with all of my students.

The other thing I try to do routinely is introduce basic aerobatics, loops rolls, and straight lines, in the course of normal instruction. All trainers I've used will do these to some level, and it helps the student both in 'seeing' the plane, and in getting used to the idea of doing 'fun stuff' with the plane.

Rick Wallace, NJ

This sounds like a good approach to resistant student pilots. It is not always easy for a student to understand why learning something is important since they are not really aware of all that they do need to know in the end. Taking it one step at a time, with clear goals per flight, solves this problem. Good Idea.

Editor

Let me start off by saying that I have been in R/C flying since 1985. After having my Trainer flown by an instructor so it would be properly trimmed I was told I would have to join their club, join the AMA, pay Initiation fees, and make an "arrangement" with some one to teach me to fly. Needless to say that was a turn off, so I found a big open field and taught my self the fine art of keeping a plane in the air.

When a new club opened in my area I checked them out and found their attitude to be friendlier and I joined. That was in 1992 and shortly there after I became one of the Instructor Pilots with Lafayette Escadrille.

Now, on to the subject at hand. When I teach a novice to land, I start by having them make slow passes over runway center at about 75 feet altitude. When I say slow I mean about 4 clicks of throttle above the plane's stall speed. I use a "Buddy Box " and have my throttle set between 1/4 and 1/3, keeping my right hand on the stick and follow the plane as if I were in control. When the novice can make consistent passes straight and level I have them drop altitude by about 10 feet and repeat the process.

In a short time they are making passes at about 10 feet off the runway and I tell them to cut the throttle, keep the wings level and hold the nose about 3 degrees above level. I softly remind them to concentrate on wings level and nose slightly up. Before they realize where the ground is, they have landed. At that point I have them taxi back to the pit and we discuss what went on and how they were "tricked" into a landing.

I find the biggest worry novices have in landing is "where is the ground!" and they forget to control the planes attitude. The slow passes at altitude gives them the feel of the sloppy control response a plane has during a landing and sets them up to forget about the ground. No matter how many times you tell them to "fly" the plane to the ground, it just doesn't click in their mind what you mean.

Landings are the second major "step" of training I teach the novice. The first is basic flight, including loops, rolls, stalls and spins. In basic flight I teach these maneuvers to help them learn to correct a mistake that puts them out of control. The last "step" I teach is taking off. I don't want them putting the plane in the air until they can fly it and put it back down safely.

I’m beginning to think you just can’t trust us sneaky instructors. Students never know when we will trick them into landing. But honestly, this educational has proved effective so many times, I wonder if it is not the best way to teach model aircraft landings. I wonder if full-size instructors wish they could sneak landings upon their unsuspecting students as we do? But then, they would have to blindfold their students since they can see the runway coming up. Probably a bad idea for them, but a good idea for us. Ed.

I have been an instructor for 25 years or so and this is the approach I use to teach my students how to land. It removes the apprehension about the first landing for better results.

Many student pilots have trouble with diving the aircraft into a landing. They may do very well in the approach and basic landing technique, but when it gets near the ground they "want to get it on the ground now".

There seems to be two reasons for this. One is to get this stressful first landing operation over with as soon as possible and the other is they are afraid to slow the aircraft down as much as is needed for a smooth landing. Over the years, I have used this approach with students for a number of years and it works well for all of them.

First the student must be comfortable with approaches and be able to put the aircraft where he wants it, not just "herd it around". I accomplish this by flying numerous approaches at a high altitude until the student can place the aircraft in the proper position.

Then, approaches are gradually lowered as I monitor the student's progress. All the time I coach the student to keep slowing the aircraft down. As they get lower and lower on the final approach and are using less power, I use the term "hold it off, don't let it land".

Then I have the student add power and go around saying something like “go around” or normally just “power". At some time the student will be low enough and have the perfect setup. At that time only, I just keep having him hold it off until the aircraft settles into their first landing. They are on the ground before they are aware of what is happening, thereby avoiding the "put it down" syndrome. The stress associated with the first landing is missing since they didn't even know they were landing this time! After this exercise they are well aware of what it takes for a good landing, know they can do it, and progress rapidly afterwards.

The Editor Responds...

For some reason, even the best student pilots, who have no problem putting their aircraft wherever they want in the sky, seem to forget everything about model flying as soon as their aircraft and the ground appear in the same “sight picture.” Speed and attitude control disappear as the ground approaches ever closer. Finally, even directional control becomes a Herculean task and the model starts to head in strange directions. This all happens, of course, because the new pilot KNOWS he has to land and sees the ground only 30 feet from his aircraft. Because the student thinks everything must now be perfect to avoid disaster, nothing is. Mr. Roales’ method avoids these complications because it removes the panic response that everything must be perfect or else. The gradually descending approach practice also instills more confidence in the new pilot as each lower approach becomes easier to accomplish. Ed.

This note is from a very experienced instructor with 20 years RC flying experience:

A student of mine just wasn’t getting it. He would keep asking the instructor to take over. He was flying well, but just couldn’t get the landing – kept opting out of the problem. I thought it was a case of not being able to keep his mind on the problem for a long enough time. I was partially right. I just kept on flying with him. I thought he would develop the single mindedness necessary to conquer a landing. This went on and on. He just kept on handing the transmitter back to his instructor (he had several). Again this just went on and on.

I remember when I was competing in pylon just how much concentration it took just to get around the pylons ten times in less than two minutes. For the first year in racing, I couldn’t land! Too worn out! Eventually my times got to 1:30 or so, but then I had to stop for health reasons. My flying didn’t get better flying pylon, but my concentration sure improved.

Flying Pattern (Ed note: Precision Aerobatics see http://www.nsrca.org/) this last year, well I reinvented the wheel. Concentration is the key in Pattern. After each flight I would ask the judges for comments on the flight. And they sure gave them! While unfailingly polite about it, their comments gave me something to work on in practice sessions. The constant coaching and resulting practice flying increased my concentration ability. Finally, I was able to concentrate enough to fly an entire round with full concentration. This new ability enabled me to fly quite well this last competition year.

Being forced to concentrate hard in racing and Pattern increased my ability to concentrate while flying, just because I was “exercising” it. So how did the student get past his problems? One of his instructors finally told him to go fly alone. All of us knew he would be able to; he just needed that extra push. The rest of us were warned and sat back to watch. Flying alone, with no one to hand the controls to, forced him to concentrate and fly the entire flight. He had no back up; no way to “rest” his mind. So he flew, and he flew well. Now he can complete long, good flights and is enjoying himself. He still has problems (who doesn’t), but now he is working on them himself. He concentrates on the problem, practices his way out of it and flies on.