Big Pistons Forever wrote: ↑Sun Jul 29, 2018 10:54 am
As a general statement you should not be exposed to new information when flying the airplane as the airplane environment is not well suited to learning and understanding new material. That is why TC calls the ground briefing "Preparatory Ground Instruction" (PGI) because that ground briefing is for the What/Why/How to a do particular maneuver or exercise in the airplane plus teaching any related bits of essential knowledge and thus prepare the student for the flight ahead.
What unfortunately IMO too often happens is Instructors want to skip or rush through the PGI and get into the airplane because then they are logging hours.
As a rule of thumb a PGI to teach new knowledge should be around 20 minutes
if the student has done their homework.
Respectfully, you are mixing up Preparatory Ground Instruction (PGI) with the Pre Flight Briefing. Let's sort these out. In their Flight Instructor Guide, TC defines "Preparatory Ground Instruction" and the 'Pre Flight Briefing" as separate and distinct:
"Preparatory Ground Instruction
1. Classroom type instruction, normally on a one-to-one basis, but not excluding group instruction, covering the steps necessary to fly an air exercise. While basic theory of flight, where applicable, would previously have been covered in ground school, some theory may be necessary to explain a point related to the conduct of the air exercise. Essentially Preparatory Ground Instruction should cover the "how to do an air exercise".
2. This is a presentation given by the instructor when introducing a new exercise. Ideally it should be given within 24 hours prior to the related training flight."
"Pre-Flight Briefing
1. Discussion on a one-to-one basis just prior to the conduct of an air exercise to ensure that the student understands exactly what will take place. This is essentially a practical briefing on the Air Instruction in Part II of this guide, avoiding theory but including the important aspects:
What are we going to do;
How are we going to do it; and,
Safety Considerations.
2. This is separate from the ground presentations. It should precede all flights, whether or not there is a new exercise to be covered. It is also particularly important when sending a student solo. Points that should be covered include:
Meteorological and aerodrome conditions, and NOTAM;
The aeroplane to be used, its fuel state and other relevant information;
Where the exercises will be conducted;
Take-off time, duration of flight and time when the aeroplane will land back at base;
The sequence of exercises to be covered during the flight; and,
A review of relevant airmanship points and decision-making situations expected during the flight."
So a dual lesson will always be preceded with a pre-flight briefing, but not necessarily with a PGI briefing. I agree with you that 20 minutes is about right for a PGI briefing to a prepared student but if you add another 10 minutes for the typical pre flight briefing, then you are up to 0.5 time in briefings for a flight where a PGI briefing is used. As well, you must also include time for the post-flight briefing (TC definition below) which must be for every flight, dual and solo, which if we assume 10 minutes, now we can easily be say 0.7 in briefings on a 1.0 dual flight.
"Post-Flight Briefing (Debriefing)
1. Review with the student each exercise undertaken during the flight. In the case of a dual flight, the debriefing should include strengths and weaknesses and suggestions to improve performance. An outline of the next training session should be given along with study assignments.
2. This should follow all flights, dual and solo. Points should include:
The student's own assessment of the flight and performance.
Your assessment of the student's performance. This should include both the strong and weak points, and advice on how to correct any errors.
Answering any questions the student may have.
Assigning study subjects where appropriate."
So if an instructor diligently follows TC's system of PGI, pre-flight and post-flight briefings, as the instructor is required to do, there will be a substantial amount of ground time. This could help explain why the ground briefings provided by flight instructors can seem excessive. But it does not mean that flight instructors are attempting to "milk" their students.