John Erickson, CFI, has just over 8000 hours of flight training time and over 16,000 hours of varied types of flying and aircraft, including time accumulated on power line and pipeline patrol. He's been running his company (Sunrise Aviation in Saskatchewan) for 22 years. John's website proclaims "the most dangerous part of flight training is the drive to the airport". We talked to John recently about how driving can interfere with flight training, and how he -- as a flight instructor -- deals with some of the quirks of thos who drive and want to learn to fly.
OFTM: John, your website jokes about the drive to the airport, but I know you feel strongly about how driving can interfere with learning to fly an airplane. Tell us more about that.
JESA: I've found that the biggest challenge in flight training is with rudder pedals on take off and landing, and students using the yoke like a steering wheel. People that we train have been driving for many years and they have a difficult time steering with their feet when they have a steering wheel in their hands. That's usually why they have problems in a cross wind. It's much easier teaching in an airplane with a stick.
OFTM: How do you help students understand the effect of crosswind on landings?
JESA: I've found that the biggest challenge in flight training is with rudder pedals on take off and landing, and students using the yoke like a steering wheel. People that we train have been driving for many years and they have a difficult time steering with their feet when they have a steering wheel in their hands. That's usually why they have problems in a cross wind. It's much easier teaching in an airplane with a stick.
OFTM: How do you help students understand the effect of crosswind on landings?