Volume 32 No 1 Feb-Mar 1981.pdf - Lakes Gliding Club

INSTRUCTORS I H,AVE FLOWN -Advice for Ab-initiosPAUL R. JAYFirst ImpressionsI clearly remember taking up my firstgliding instructor. He was a very promisingcandidate and displayed such acomprehensive understanding of thetasks involved, that I felt safe in lettinghim perform the whole flight. I must confessto being a Ilittle apprehensive as helined up for his approach, bUI carefullyconcealed my anxiety lest it shouldundermine hIs confidence at this earlystage. On our second flight together, Iwas able to impart some of my ex,tensiveunderstanding of secondary effects ofcontrols, whilst .apparently demonstratingthe primary features of the same. I'mpleased to say that my protege copedwell with the artificial difficulties and hassince progressed! to the bigher echelonsof BGA instructors' instructors.ConversationEver since those early days, manyopportunities have allowed me to showoff my model "spot the hidden mistake"flying, and the responses of the varioussubjects have been interesting and attimes colourful. For example, an excellentway to promote lively conver-sationwith the pilot behind' you Is to set'ecl anaiming point some 50ft underground, butbe on your guard, for ifhe is wise to yourtechniques Ihis can develop Into a gameof "chicken" and seriously impair tliJerellalionship between studenl amiinstrwctor. Unfortunately tbe beauty andspontaneily ,of some of these "crisiscomments" are frequently lost to thesound of rushing wind, especially withopen canopy mach,ines such as the T-21.Parlicular hazards are associated withopen top gliders - the rapport that youdeve'lop with an inslructor is most importantand not assisted when you use hissoaring hal to mark the centre of yourfirst thermal. Whilst on the subject ofconversation, do rernember that yourcontr;ibution is very helpful to theinstructor; say what yoU' are doing just incase it's not obvious, but keep checkingthat someone is I'istening. It 'is mostannoying when y()U have carefully set upa difficult appF()ach for your partner toget out of to find he is asleep throughboredom induced by your hypnoticcommentary.UnderstandingPatience and restraint are valuablequalities in those sent to teach us, andthe extremes of these attributes may bemost conveniently tested in gQ.odthermic condilions. Few instructors willappreciate that il takes great skill andconcentration to dissipate a 6kt thermalmerely by uneconomic flying (use of airbrakesis nol allowed in this exercise),but it must be reaJi,sed that the limitedbudget of many a trail'lee pilot simplycannot support such frivolities as soaringfees when launches and landings stillrequire consolidation.It i,s important to read belween thelines of an instruct@r's comments to findcompliments, for example when yourcarefull.y planned launch and subsequentsearcb for a likdy thermal mave locatedrising air, l~en the rewarding "I havecontrol" is a sure commendation of yourskill, unless subsequently qualified by"I'et's see if we can find some acti,vityover lhelle ... ".Call My BruflFortunately examples of this type ofinstruction are rare, but wOIthy of mentionnonetheless. A recent example concernsa dual cross-countIy when P2 issuddenly presented with a map and thec,ha'llenging "bet you can', ten me wherewe are!". While the poor studenl franticallytr,ies to pinpoint Ihe situation andjustify himself, it becomes apparent thatthe instructor aClually is lost and j,s busyselecting a suitable fi:e'ld in which toabandon the exercise.DebriefingThis pari of the trammg cannot beover-emphasised and consists of findingout how muc·h the instructor rememberedabout your flight.s in particular. It,is best to bring the subject up in tme bar,offering a relaxed atmosphere in whicbto exchange views concerning whosefault it was that the two-seater is nowgrounded for want ofa new skid. In caseyoUi' mentor appears absent-minded atthe mention of your mUlual' flights andthe offer ef a logbook in which to recordhis witticisms, tllY suggesting that a drinkmight lubricate his memor): - this isinvariably successful and promotes aninventive instinct Ibat generates helpfulcomments from nowhere. Occasionaltly,however, your redoubtable efforts willremain clear in the tutor's memory f()rsome time after the event. I recall aninstance where our concentration on afruilless thermal left us some considerabledistance downwind of the airfieldwith sufficient height to try a noairbrake,minimum sink approach, and avery very careful final turn. The encouragementI received stays in my memoryto tl1is day - so eloquent and thoughtful,conveying the whole nature of thesituation in a concise epigrammati,c"Let's reaJl'y Iry and kill ourselves nexltime I",Going SoloThere comes a time in every abinitio'slife whelll il seems Ihat nobodywants to fly wilh you anymore. Theearly warning signs of this are not foolpmofbut certainly typical. Your instructorseems to progressively lose interestvn your flying and his will to participatedecays noticeably. Eventualtly, probablyafter you have scared him with a fewmysterious cable breaks and a harrowingspin recovery, he will abandon you. Sitlingalone ina T-21 in response to a curt"stay there" I watched as a huddle ofinstructors at the edge of the launchpoint obviously discussed my novelflying techniques. From the frequentglances and worried smil'es • received, •could only concl'ude Ihat they were castinglots as to who flext must fly with me.The effect of my company must liJavebeen devastating as eventuaf,)y one of thenumber emerged, and silently strapped abag of fertilizer into the seat next to me.Nilro somebody he was introduced as­I didn'l catch the surname, but flyingwith him was surprisingly similar 10 theimmediately preceding flights - no practicalcontribution to the proceedings andabsolutely zero l"eSpOnse to my continuouscommentary on the state of thelaunch, the view, my singing and thedownwind checks. Apparently Nitroenjoyed his flighl since he asked for afurther two before' getting out, but couldnot bring himself 10 make any entry inmy Ilittle greefl "autograph and jokes"book - perhaps he was foreign.Lady PilotsAll the foregoing comments belie thefact that so far I have been denied theoppmtunity of demonstrating my aerialtechniques to an instructor of the fairersex. 11 is however well, known that suchpeople do exisl, indeed they must, foralthough I am no chauviJlisl I havenoticed that female glider people seem torequire much more attention and trainingIlhan blokes. Judging from the detail'eddebriefings they receive in the corner ofỊrl20SAILPLANE & GLIDING