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When we talked about his upcom- ing training, the pilot told me he was confident in his ability to handle most emergencies, but he really wanted a “wringing out” on single-engine han- dling and performance so he would feel much more confident taking his wife and daughter on trips. So that’s what we did. Again it was the pilot, not the instructor, who designed the targeted goal of the training event. The instruc- tor’s role (mine) was to help the pilot achieve that goal. Something I am Afraid Of I’ve found it’s common for pilots in high-performance airplanes to avoid practicing stalls or approaches to stalls. They may have never practiced stalls in the airplane they now fly at all. One of my clients admitted he was concerned after reading several accounts of stalls in the traffic pattern and during a go- around. He’d also heard the term “ac- celerated stall” without really knowing what it means – only that it sounds even more frightening. Wise enough to realize it was fear of the unknown that was preventing him from feeling comfortable in his aircraft, he asked me to focus on stall recognition and recovery, especially accelerated stalls, in his recurrent training. After a thor- ough review of approved flight manual guidance on stall recognition, includ- ing indicating systems and warnings, we practiced some incipient stalls and recoveries in a simulated go-around done at a safe altitude. We followed up with a couple of go-arounds in landing condition from short final and even during the landing flare to remove the mystery. The pilot was able to design his flight training to cover something that, in this case, he was afraid of. Fo- cused training on the requested task removed his fears and reinforced good habits he now uses to recognize and prevent stall-inducing scenarios. Other Ways There are many ways to meet regu- latory and insurance training require- ments. No matter how or where you train, ask your instructor to include scenarios that cover some of the skills you’ve let atrophy, or that you never re- ally had command of in the first place. You are the pilot-in-command, even on a training flight. Work with your instructor to design targeted training that is relevant to the way you fly, but that is also designed to improve your skills and eliminate bad habits. Based on your post-flight debriefings, ask yourself what you’d like to know, what you’d like to improve, and what you are afraid of. Make those things the focus of your next instructional session. Luma Technologies LLC 1/3 Square 12 • TWIN & TURBINE / August 2019 Thomas P. Turner is an ATP CFII/MEI, holds a master's Degree in Aviation Safety, and was the 2010 National FAA Safety Team Repre- sentative of the Year.Subscribe to Tom’s free FLYING LESSONS Weekly e-newsletter at www.mastery-flight- training.com.