Page 58 - Volume 15 Number 7

ON FINAL by David MillerLearning DifferentWhat’s your optimal learning style? Is it fast paced, laid back, pressure packed, or with constant reinforcement? I thought about this recently as I attended a recurrent class at FlightSafety for my Citation Mustang. My simulator partner could not have been more different with his approach to both classroom and flying style. I took a half-page of notes over three days. His were copious and single-spaced.In the sim, I “pigeon holed” my questions for discussion in the debrief session. He was more inclined to want to discuss his “right now.” I was the class clown. He was all business. Yet we both did well in the course. I would be happy to fly with him anytime. Hopefully, he feels the same. But our vastly different learning styles had a strong influence in how we approached each task.A lot has changed since I first pushed the throttle forward in a Cherokee 140 in 1967. Back then, it was all paper learning and flying in a real airplane. No Internet (Al Gore was just a child) and no texting. A “distance learning” course was one about a mile away from where you were standing.My, how times have changed. We have seen an incredible advance in simulators, from tabletop models, to full-motion rigs with life- like visuals priced low enough that some pilots are getting them for Christmas. And with an iPad and Wikipedia, you can be an immediate expert on any facet of flight.Now, in the classroom, we use Cessna software calculators to figure performance, flight planning and weight and balance problems in seconds with impressive accuracy. But just to make us feel stupid, our instructor led us through a morning exercise using a ruler and bifocals to hunt for an answer in multiple manuals the old fashioned way. One wonders how we managed before the computer was invented. After finishing a two-week type-rating course in a fancy simulator, I have often wondered if I was reallyWith 5,000-plus hours in his logbook, David Miller has been flying for business and pleasure for more than 40 years. Having owned and flown a variety aircraft types, from turboprops to midsize jets, Miller, along with his wife Patty, now own and fly a Citation Mustang. You can contact David at davidmiller1@sbcglobal.net.safe to fly a jet that I had never actually flown before. But all in all, the process has worked well and I am a strong proponent of formal simulator training.Non-motion devices like the FTD (flight training device) can be a great way to learn aircraft systems without the stress of the full-motion simulator. Of course, there are few things in life more deflating than crashing after a v1 cut in the simulator. Actually breaking the simulator would be one, however, which I managed to do a few years back.Here’s my free advice for anyone attending his or her first type- rating class. Learn everything you can in advance, especially the avionics system. Check into the cost/benefit of a full service- training contract that will allow you to train several times per year. It’s amazing how much more confident I feel when I can practice demanding scenarios twice a year. This is especially helpful if you don’t fly lots of hours annually.Don’t plan on running your business while you train. A full day of classroom and four hours of simulator time will totally fill your schedule and your brain. Tell your wife and kids you love them but that you may not be the best mom or dad for a little while. And have fun!Fly safe.56 • TWIN & TURBINE JULY 2011