While reading the visualization article I learned that chair flying can be a valuable tool for students of any level. By chair flying I mean that the student sits in a chair in a quiet environment, and visualizes what they need to do for each maneuver. Although this is normally used for practicing instrument approaches, it can help visual maneuvers as well. If the student practices the inputs with their hands in the actual position they will be in during the flight, their muscles will start to build memory. And if the student pictures what the maneuver looks like in their head, they will be able to recognize the sight picture if they start to do the maneuver wrong. Before you start to have your students do this, it will be important to show them exactly how the maneuver should be done so they know where they should be putting the controls and how the visual references should look.
The most important thing that I learned from the Mastering the Landing article is that it is important for a student to be comfortable flying the airplane during the roundout and flare. The article did mention that a good approach makes a good landing, but I think that a student must be extremely comfortable close to the runway for the landing to be successful. This is because the roundout and flare are such important parts of the landing. The article suggested that the CFI fly a low approach over the runway so that the student gets the feel for how the airplane handles while near the runway. It also suggested getting the visual references right, so that the student can see what adjustments they need to make. If the student can do this then they will be more likely to have a good approach and landing.
Training Future Captains was all about teaching students with airline pilot aspirations skills they can start to develop that will help them in their future career. The article mentioned that the instructor should make every effort to teach the student how to interpret weather charts and understand weather theory. This hits close to home because I never learned weather theory until I started my instrument rating. As professional pilots we will be making long flights through different areas of weather, so it will be very important to understand the factors affecting weather. I hope that, as a CFI, I will pass on all of the knowledge that I have about weather information and theory.
