Everybody has to start somewhere. For many of us that somewhere is the quest to earn a private pilot certificate. With the expansion of sport pilot privileges thanks to MOSAIC, it’s likely that certificate level will see an increase in participants too.
In order to scratch that aeronautical itch thousands of us will walk into flight schools each year to seek out the appropriate level of training. We enter with a level of ignorance that could choke a horse. Our hope is to exit after a successful checkride carrying a treasured sheet of white paper that reads, “Temporary Airman Certificate.”
Some responsible estimates suggest 70% to 80% of the folks who pursue that pilot certificate fail in the end. They quit. The process simply takes too long. It costs too much. The student finds confusion or frustration rather than the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment they dreamed would be theirs.
Having a drop-out rate that outrageously high is an indiciation of a poorly managed business. Too many providers sell unrealistic fantasies. They’re offering insufficient support and tools to their clients. No other business could withstand such failure while pretending they’ve been successful. If as many as eight out of ten customers are dissatisfied, something is terribly wrong.
Fortunately, there is a solution to this problem that is inexpensive, user friendly, has a rock-solid history of success, and doesn’t require hangar space or increased insurance premiums.
Could I interest you in using a syllabus? Whether you’re a flight school owner, operator, CFI, or student, the syllabus can and should be your best friend.
I recently asked a young CFI who is just starting out his career if the school he worked for used a syllabus when training students. He answered with confidence, “We’re Part 61 so we don’t have to.”
That response broke my heart. The idea that we should only be using a resource as powerful as a syllabus when we’re required to…well that’s just sad. It’s also an indication that CFI didn’t really learn how to teach. More likely they learned how to earn flight time and a few dollars by utilizing a student’s bank account as their own.
Consider the basics. To earn a private pilot certificate an individual is required to become conversant in 15 different areas of aeronautical knowledge. Each of those has a variety of specific subcategories that require study and understanding.
I don’t know about you, but I would have a very hard time keeping more than a dozen topics of interest straight without a guide of some sort. Federal Aviation Regulations, Airspace, Weather, Weather Services, Systems, Aerodynamics, Performance, Navigation, Flight Planning, Night Ops, Aeromedical Factors, Aircraft Control, Collision Avoidance, Runway Incursion Avoidance, and Security don’t exactly trip off the tongue. Each one deserves and requires individual attention to the nuances of the subject.
Once past that hurdle the applicant is expected to master 11 generic areas of operation, with each area including a variety of unique tasks. These include Preflight Prep, Preflight Procedures, Airport Ops, Takeoffs, Landings, and Go-Arounds, Performance Maneuvers, Ground Reference Maneuvers, Navigation, Slow Flight and Stalls, Basic Instrument Maneuvers, Emergency Ops, and Postflight Procedures.
I’ve been a CFI since 1991. That’s thirty-five years of teaching, learning, honing my skills, and demonstrating techniques to an untold number of folks who wanted to be pilots as well as pilots who wanted to become better pilots. In all that time I can honestly say I have never had the brain capacity to store all the variables required of even the private pilot certificate in my head with any acceptable degree of accuracy.
I feel absolutely no shame when I tell you that I have referenced a training syllabus for every student I’ve ever worked with. Whether preparing for a flight review with an experienced pilot, or taking on a new private pilot student, or transitioning a land plane pilot into seaplanes, or introducing taildraggers to a tricycle gear pilot, I’ve used a syllabus. Even when instructing under Part 61. Especially when instructing under Part 61.
Just because I’m not required to use the most effective training tool in my arsenal of options, I wouldn’t even consider committing to a training program without one.
Why? The simple answer is because having a written comprehensive break-down of every topic and skill my student will be responsible to show proficiency in makes my job easier. It also makes me more effective and efficient. By keeping a record of every lesson with each student I can note the areas where they excel and the areas where they need help.
The result is I can save my students time in the training program. Time is literally money in aviation. If I can train them more efficiently, they spend less money and become less frustrated. Their progress happens more quickly. Their understanding of where they are in the program and how far they have to go to complete their training can ease their worries about time, money, and being inadvertently unprepared on the day they take their practical test.
Knowing all that, and now you do, there is absolutely no reason anyone should begin flight training without the benefit of a flight training syllabus in hand. They are commercially available at very low prices. If cheap is still too much for you there are multiple outlets that offer them for free as downloadable PDFs. That includes Rod Machado, ASA, and some oddly familiar outfit called the FAA. Just Google it, download it, and you’re in business.
If you’re a flight school owner or operator, I’d strongly suggest you require your CFIs to use a syllabus with every client at any certification level. If you’re a CFI, especially a CFI working under Part 61, you would do well to adopt a syllabus to use and make it clear to your clients that you’re using it for their benefit.
And if you’re a student or prospective student you should insist that your CFI use and review the syllabus with you on a regular basis. You’ll be the big winner in the end. Believe me.
Imagine what general aviation could look like if we cut that 80% drop out rate in half simply by offering a higher quality of service. Especially considering that improvement comes at no cost to anyone involved.
Which leads me to the topic of using the Airman Certification Standards throughout training. But that’s another topic for another day.
Let’s start with every school, CFI, and student adopting the syllabus of their choice as a first step in the right direction.
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