Let me start by saying that I know generalisations are alwasy dangerous. I also know that things always seemed better back that.
However I seem to have heard / seen recently more examples of some truly horrendous practices, not by students, but by students with their instructors. I am not so much concerned with actual flying techniques (which doubtless is another topic) but the basic reality of looking after someone else’s aircraft.
Of course it seems to be the new hands – but is it an indication that you only learn to think of the aircraft after you have had to pay the bills that follow abuse?
Could you be more specific?
I don’t just think it’s just new instructors. Recently ive been pretty shocked at the standards of CPL holders. With the ones coming from world famous integrated course’s being particularly unsafe. I don’t remember it being such a problem under the old 700 hour route.
My local school has had issues in the past with instructors and will now only employ FI’s that have been trained at three schools.
Leaving cowl flaps closed after landing, fuel turned on, brakes on when the aircraft needs to be towed, low oil, as but a few examples.
As a syndicate member PPL, occasionally getting checked out to rent, the local flying school FIs seem consistently better than their predecessors, say 10+ years ago.
Fuji_Abound wrote:
fuel turned on,
You are supposed to turn off the fuel after flying? Why? It seems to only introduce an additional risk to me. (That there will be enough fuel in the downstream of the cock to get the aircraft off the ground and then…)
I’ve come across CPL holders that don’t know how to replenish the oil.
Airborne_Again wrote:
(That there will be enough fuel in the downstream of the cock to get the aircraft off the ground and then…)
That’s unlikely in most SEPs, the amount of fuel in the lines from the fuel selector to the carburettor/injectors is usually only enough to let you start up then taxi about 5 feet before it stops. I’m not sure there’s any light aircraft with so much fuel line downstream of the selector that you could start, taxi, do a power check, run at full power down the runway and get airborne.
From my days as a teacher, but seen a couple of times from younger FIs:
“That’s a very good question, but we’re doing that next lesson”
“That’s a very good question; let’s find out together”
I’m not sure there’s any light aircraft with so much fuel line downstream of the selector that you could start, taxi, do a power check, run at full power down the runway and get airborne.
Mine, if you were starting close to the start of the runway and were reasonably quick about things. I’ve not timed it, but it will idle for several minutes after cutting the fuel.
