On Friday, several boss-people asked me if I wanted to work. “No, but I will if you want me to,” I told them. It turns out that as of so far, Saturdays are optional since we won’t make much more money for it. They told me not to come in then. So I didn’t and did my best to rest this weekend.

But here it is, Monday, and I’m already feeling worn out. Part of it is the 10 hour days. Part of it is the exhausting reality of the constant possibility of screwing up and letting a student kill me. Or the possibility of getting in trouble for something silly.

I flew three times today and signed off two lieutenants for their final checkrides. I tend to think that I’m giving them good instruction, but I don’t really know if that’s the case. One of the students had everything down except simulated emergency landings. After the first one, we had quite a bit of time left over. So I explained what he did wrong, pulled his engine again and watched him make new mistakes. Finally, on the fourth try, he got it. During the debrief he thanked me for taking the time to make sure he understood it. Course, he came within about 10ish knots of stalling the airplane on his base to final turn. I didn’t yell, but spoke loudly, clearly, and displeasedly. Not so much because I was angry (though I was) but more to make a point. “Don’t you dare stall on approach! 65 knots! Full power! 51 knots is NOT 65 knots! Can’t you hear the stall warning horn?” It’s often best to just let the student make a mistake and let him learn from it. But there’s really know way to let him learn what happens when you screw up and bury a plane in the dirt, so I chastising is the next best thing. I thought about taking the airplane from him but figured he’d learn more if I made him fix it. It did wake him up. He’s got 25ish hours now. He shouldn’t be making that sort of mistake.

I talked to one of the other instructors about it, after he mentioned that his student did the same thing. How to instill a respect for airspeed? Is there a better way than simply yelling at them?

The Chief Flight Instructor at Airman (with thousands of hours of instruction experience) claimed that some of his most effective tools in flight instruction are fear and intimidation. Maybe he’s right.

My last student just wasn’t trying. His last flight before his checkride, and after he lost THREE HUNDRED feet during slow flight I asked him, “What the hell are you DOING?” “Uhh.. losing altitude?” “YOU’RE not doing anything! FLY! What good does it do if you just sit there and watch the altimeter unwind? Recover and do it again.” He did much better the next time after actually trying.

It’s hard for me to figure out just what tact I should take with these students. Unlike any other flight training situation, they’re being PAID to learn– not the other way around. It’s not my job to be nice to them, it’s my job to teach them. It’s not important that they like me. Still, I know from experience that being mean isn’t necessarily the most productive method. I suppose that with any luck, I’ve got a few hundred hours to figure out what works best.

Overall, I like the job. Admittedly, I haven’t even been doing it a month, but I’m happy with it. It’s rewarding, challenging, and I get to fly planes. Or at least ride around in them and look at the pretty mountains.

I think I’ve gotten used to being called sir. It’s about time that someone in my life treated me like the all-knowing deity that I am:)