new student

a new private student is an exciting thing to be a part of.  as a flight instructor, it is important to determine the goals that the student has and the time and opportunity of the student.  this will help determine how the student's training will play out.  also, it is important to get to know the student as an individual and make sure that you will be able to effectively and efficiently mold them into safe and professional pilots.

obviously, a student training at westminster will usually have the goal of becoming a professional pilot.  this is an important first step in determining how the student values their training and how important it will be to them to get it done.  i would ask the student what kind of pilot they would like to be such as a corporate or airline pilot.  also, i would ask the student how much time and effort they can devote to their training and how quickly they would like to get it done.  it would not be good to rush a student who does not mind taking some time, especially if they have to deal with other classes and responsibilities. getting to know the student on a personal level is also an effective tool when first becoming acquainted with a student.  knowing their personality and background can help determine what their learning style is and how the communicate.  also, it will help them to become comfortable with you, and you become comfortable with them.  if the student were at an FBO, the story may be slightly different.  generally, because the average age of a student pilot is over thirty years old, i would expect a student of that age to choose to fly as a hobby or for their business.  this training may be much more relaxed and at a slower pace.  it would still be important to stress safety and professionalism, as well as to get to know the students goals, time, opportunity and personal traits in order to give them the best training that they can receive.

getting to know a student and meeting for the first time is a critical part of flight training.  it is important to give the student a realistic time frame for their completion goals, and give them general knowledge of how their training will take place and what to expect.  also, it offers a great opportunity to answer any questions that a person who is new to flying may have.

gaining a student from a previous flight instructor

if i were to gain a new student from a previous flight instructor, i would be sure to get to know the student very well before i would begin their training

as far as their ground knowledge is concerned, i would be sure to know how much the student knows in terms of what level of knowledge they have and what they should know.  i will ask them basic to difficult questions, depending on what level of their training they are on.  for example, i would make sure to cover basic principles even if the student was on a commercial level just to know the knowledge was there.  this would come through quizzing and just plain conversation to gauge how well their knowledge was. i would also talk to the previous flight instructor and see what they said about the student.

for the flight and skill aspect, i would talk to the previous flight instructor and the student to learn their strong points and weak points.  i would then see how the student performs in flight and make sure they have all of the skills that they should have down.

it is important to know your student and be sure of what levels they are at before commencing training.