10/09 - Developing Self-Confidence

10/09 - Developing Self-Confidence

By Steve Krog

“I love the idea of flying…but I don’t think I can do it!”

“I really feel uneasy when we do stalls. Do I really have to do them?”

“Flying close to the ground makes me uncomfortable.”

“I love to fly but anytime I get over a couple hundred feet I’m petrified!”

“I can do all the maneuvers as long as my instructor is in the airplane, but I scare myself just thinking about going solo.”

“I can make perfect landings repeatedly when I’m with an instructor, but the thought of doing them solo scares me.”

Current and prospective students have candidly shared these and many other comments with me over the years. Pilots already holding either a sport or private pilot certificates have also made some of these comments. Is it truly the fear of flying? The fear of the unknown? Fear from lack of self-confidence? Or more realistically, a combination of these fears?

I’ve had the opportunity to provide primary flight instruction for nearly four decades and have heard these comments and many more over and over again.

Years ago an instructor probably would have laughed at the prospective student expressing these fears, causing further discomfort and embarrassment. After all, flying and being a flight instructor was a “macho” thing. How better could a pilot, or an instructor, prove his prowess than by puffing up his chest and talking about how dangerous flying would be? It is unimaginable how many potential pilots missed out on the thrill and satisfaction of flight because they first approached it with trepidation and then had to deal with a macho instructor. Had their first encounter with a flight instructor been more positive, the general aviation world would likely have many more pilots/friends to discuss and share the pleasures and challenges of flight.

Fear of the unknown is perhaps the most common fear known to mankind. If one has never taken a flight in a small general aviation airplane, it is only natural to experience this fear. Humans, however, have the unique ability to rationalize and analyze. As a child you were probably afraid of the water, but then you began swimming lessons and overcame that fear. Remember the first time you stood at the end of a diving board looking down at the water’s surface? But then a parent or friend showed you how to dive off and with some additional coaxing you made your first jump. After surfacing, you thought, that wasn’t near as hard or scary as anticipated. In fact, it was quite fun and you wanted to do it again!

Learning to fly is really no different than learning to swim. When taken incrementally, each flight expands your experience and the unknown becomes known. Repetition builds your self-confidence. What was once the fear of the unknown is now nothing more than a flight maneuver that you can confidently perform.

“I’m afraid of stalls”

Fear of stalls in an aircraft is perhaps the most common fear among students and pilots alike. I don’t recall in all my years of instruction that I’ve ever encountered a student that candidly didn’t admit to having at least some apprehension about stalls.

When I first learned to fly four decades ago, my first instructor practiced the “old school” mindset of shouting and attempting to scare me. And scare me he did on my second lesson: I’ll never forget that flight as long as I live. I made a personal vow that day, in simple terms: I will never, ever do anything with a student on the ground or in the air that will scare them!

Flying is both challenging and fun. It is the flight instructor’s responsibility to provide both to and for each student.

When the time arrives in the flight curriculum to begin learning stalls, I practice the following:

I’m a firm believer in using analogies when I teach. If a student can identify with an experience and then transfer it to flight, it makes it much easier to learn the maneuver and then become comfortable with it.
During the preflight briefing I’ll explain what a stall is and then demonstrate it using a model airplane.
After the demonstration the student and I will discuss when and why we practice stalls.

Here’s the scenario I usually follow when teaching stalls.

When you were about to reach the age of earning your driver’s license, you were required to take driver’s ed. There you were taught hands-on driving skills like emergency stops and how to recover from a skid. Through practice you learned what to do almost instinctively should you ever encounter those emergency situations.

Stalls are like learning to recover from skids while driving and will most likely occur when the airplane is traveling slowly and usually fairly close to the ground, such as during takeoffs and landings. Why do they occur? Usually because the pilot is too abrupt handling the airplane controls or becomes distracted such as when a passenger instantly becomes air sick, or nearby air traffic causes the pilot to lose focus on what he or she is supposed to be doing.

Now we know why we practice stalls. It is time to demonstrate a stall so that the student learns to recognize the onset.

After climbing to a safe altitude of at least 2,500 feet above ground level (AGL) and making clearing turns to check for any nearby airborne traffic, I’ll get on the flight controls with the student. Carburetor heat is applied and the power is reduced to near idle. Then we’ll try to maintain our altitude by increasing backpressure on the control yoke or stick. Airspeed dissipates and soon approaches the aircraft’s published stall speed. For example, the stall published stall speed is 38 mph in a Piper J3 Cub.

From previous articles, remember that a stall begins at the root of the wing and progresses outward toward the wingtip as the angle of attack increases to the point where smooth airflow over the wing can no longer be maintained. At this point the aircraft is not yet in a complete stall, but one can easily feel the onset. The interrupted airflow causes buffeting that translates through the airplane. It will feel as if you are driving your car over a washboard type road. You can feel the buffeting in the seat of your pants. I will have the student tell me exactly when he or she begins feeling the buffet. Even after a student can sense and feel the buffeting recognizing the onset of a stall, we will practice this a half-dozen times or more.

A comfort level has now been achieved and the student can easily recognize the near stall situation.

Next, while together on the controls, we will take the stall one step further by increasing backpressure on the control yoke or stick. As the stall progresses the wing can no longer produce enough lift to maintain altitude and it dips or drops downward. The stall, as required for sport and private pilot ratings, has now occurred. The airplane is talking to us. It is trying to change or correct the nose attitude so that it once again is flying but while doing so, altitude is lost. Full recovery from the stall is initiated by relaxing the backpressure on the control yoke or stick and applying slight forward control pressure while simultaneously adding power. Once the airplane wings are generating enough lift to support the plane, we will level the plane to a straight and level flight configuration.

After performing a half-dozen power off stalls together on the controls, the student usually begins to relax. He or she begins to understand (and believe) the airplane will not fall out of the sky. We will continue practicing another half-dozen stalls, but with the student solely on the controls while talking him or her through the maneuver.

At this point I also reinforce the reason for practicing stalls at a safe altitude. It allows us to perform a stall and practice proper recovery techniques with a thousand or more feet altitude to spare. Should a mistake in the recovery procedure occur, have no fear; we have plenty of time and space to correct the mistake.

After performing the stall training in steps as explained above, I find the student relaxed and unafraid. The fear factor of the maneuver has been removed. Together we’ve added another self-confidence building block to the student’s flying skills.

Fear of stalls is not limited to student pilots. Throughout the year I perform a number of flight reviews, which are required of all pilots every two years. I am amazed at the number of pilots who are afraid of stalls and in most cases have not practiced a single stall in the two years since their last review.

To fly an airplane safely and confidently, it is a must to thoroughly know your airplane. Until the pilot has practiced some stalls, he or she really doesn’t know the airplane! When practiced, a stall is nothing more than another maneuver and no more difficult than a medium bank (30-degree) turn.

Learning and practice builds self-confidence, which in turn creates a safe and competent pilot.