Failed Instructor Rating flight test. Any tips to do better?

[Workinprogress]

Sorry for the long post below*
As the title says, I had my flight instructor rating Class 4 initial flight test today. I got a good night sleep, felt good and ready to preform on the test. Before the test the examiner went through my paperwork, asked some questions, and I decided to teach illustration created by drift due to strong winds. Everything was going well to start, briefing room set up and the what, why, link, and tkt of the PGI all went well. When it came time to teaching the how, the issues start. My instructor taught me the following: if you encounter a headwind, slightly increase power and pitch down to speed up a bit; do opposite for tailwind. He also taught me to steepen angle of bank, to no more than 30 degrees when turning from upwind to downwind and to shallow the angle of bank when turning from downwind to upwind. The examiner stops me before I proceed to questions and says where does it say that in the FTM. I take a look and it doesn’t, I tell him this was how I was taught by my instructor and he says it’s wrong. Goes into detail about how you are not supposed to change power and bank angle to adjust for drift; opposite of what I was teaching. Failed the PGI portion because I taught something unsafe. I completely understand everything he’s saying and it makes sense. I just feel upset because I’ve gone through ex 20 at least 4 times with my instructor and he’s been adamant that I need to show the student how to correct for the illusions. I don’t know what to think, I know I taught something wrong and I take full responsibility that I should’ve done better PGI preparation, but I also feel upset because I thought I was teaching everything correctly. I thought my PGI was going well, I felt like it was almost exactly to how my instructor showed it to me, only to be blindsided and be told everything I taught was wrong. My instructor is leaving, so I’ll be getting a new class 1; also hoping to get back on the horse and retest within the next two weeks. Anyways, I’d really like some tips about how to move forward's and pass the flight test the next time around? Anything helps, and thank you in advance for your help.

[Conflicting Traffic]

My instructor taught me the following: if you encounter a headwind, slightly increase power and pitch down to speed up a bit; do opposite for tailwind.

I hope you misunderstood! The whole point of teaching illusions is to make sure pilots *DON'T* do that -- especially slowing down for a tailwind.

He also taught me to steepen angle of bank, to no more than 30 degrees when turning from upwind to downwind and to shallow the angle of bank when turning from downwind to upwind.

Not sure why you'd want to do this. If you're trying to fly a constant turn radius over the ground (e.g. - turns around a point), the opposite of this works (maybe you got the wording backward?). But if you're intention on the first introduction of this exercise is to teach the illusions and how to avoid falling for them, you might be better off keeping a fixed angle of bank and monitoring how the turn radius and ground track change around the turn.

I tell him this was how I was taught by my instructor and he says it’s wrong.

RULE # 1: "Because my instructor told me" is the wrong answer. Always. Especially when you yourself are an instructor. Have a rock-solid reference (the FTM is a good start, but certainly not the only option you have) or have rock-solid logic to support your claim.

I’ve gone through ex 20 at least 4 times with my instructor and he’s been adamant that I need to show the student how to correct for the illusions.

There is no correcting the illusions -- they're illusions. There's awareness/anticipation of the illusions and there's not falling for them -- which is the point of the exercise -- but the illusions never go away. If you're operating at low altitude in strong winds, the illusions will be present. "Correcting" them is not an option, so you manage them.

Awareness means understanding where they come from: looking out the window, we see groundspeed and drift angle (i.e. - heading v. track), but the aircraft experiences airspeed and slip angle (coordination). In strong winds, groundspeed doesn't match airspeed and drift angle doesn't match slip angle. Our task is to not confuse the visual cues with the aerodynamic conditions (that confusion is the illusion).

Not falling for the illusions means two things: anticipating wind effects (awareness) and cross-checking relevant instrumentation. The relevant instrumentation here are the ASI (to resolve speed illusions) and the inclinometer (to resolve coordination illusions).

I thought I was teaching everything correctly.

If your description provided here is accurate, you weren't. Best thing to do is take that information and build a better lesson for your future students.

I felt like it was almost exactly to how my instructor showed it to me, only to be blindsided and be told everything I taught was wrong.

Is it possible you misinterpreted what our instructor showed you? Did you teach it back to them? What kind of feedback did you get based on your instruction of the material?

Anyways, I’d really like some tips about how to move forward's and pass the flight test the next time around? Anything helps, and thank you in advance for your help.

For every exercise, start with the FTM, follow up with Part 2 of the FIG, and use the information you get as your jumping-off point to build your lesson plans. Don't rely on the words of another instructor ("because my instructor told me" is never the right answer). Make sure your lesson/explanations are supported by the relevant reference material and are logically consistent.

[Squaretail]

Moving forward, I would say you need to do a review of all your current PGIs and see if they deviate from the FTM. The question is here why wasn't your Class one using the FTM as part of these PGIs? What did your old class one say about this? What has your new one said?

[Bede]

Usually when I hear stories like this, "my instructor taught me wrong", I get suspicious. But I don't in this case. Your narrative strikes me as quite credible.

My worry is that there's a bunch of other exercises that have also been taught to you wrong- and you don't want to find this out one failed flight test at a time. Has this class 1 recommended many class 4's? Have any others had any issues?

[digits_]

My instructor taught me the following: if you encounter a headwind, slightly increase power and pitch down to speed up a bit; do opposite for tailwind.

I hope you misunderstood! The whole point of teaching illusions is to make sure pilots *DON'T* do that -- especially slowing down for a tailwind.

This sort of makes sense in a different context though. When navigating increasing your airspeed in a headwind could theoretically result in burning less fuel, just as slowing down in a tailwind would.

Could it be you (OP) mixed this up with a lesson on a different subject?

Adjusting your bank angle/ turn radius is a technique you could use to compensate for crosswind/drifts, within reason. But if you compress that into short statements with up and downwind it often gets confusing if you don't fully understand it or oversimplify.

Good luck with your retest. Make sure you really fullly understand what you're teaching. Don't take anything at face value. Ask yourself 'why' after every sentence you speak while teaching. If you can't answer the 'why', either figure it out or drop the statement. Students deserve your understanding. If you can't offer that, they might as well just read a book instead of being billed for a worthless PGI

[Ficut1947]

Dedicate ample time to practice your teaching skills and become comfortable with presenting the correct information. Revisit the PGI portion and ensure you thoroughly understand and can clearly explain the correct procedures to adjust for drift.

[airway]

A few general thoughts about this issue:



From the CAR's:

405.14 Flight training that is conducted using an aeroplane or helicopter shall be conducted in accordance with the applicable flight instructor guide and flight training manual or equivalent document and the applicable training manual on human factors.

406.34 For the purpose of establishing safe aircraft operating procedures, a flight training unit that operates an aeroplane or a helicopter shall establish and make readily available to each flight crew member on board the aircraft the checklist referred to in section 602.60 for each aircraft type that it operates.

602.60 (1) No person shall conduct a take-off in a power-driven aircraft, other than an ultra-light aeroplane, unless the following operational and emergency equipment is carried on board:

(a) a checklist or placards that enable the aircraft to be operated in accordance with limitations specified in the aircraft flight manual, aircraft operating manual, pilot operating handbook or any equivalent document provided by the manufacturer;

(b) all of the necessary current aeronautical charts and publications covering the route of the proposed flight and any probable diversionary route, if the aircraft is operated in VFR OTT, night VFR flight or IFR flight;

(c) a current database, if the aircraft is operated in IFR flight, in VFR OTT flight or in night VFR flight under Subpart 4 of Part VI or Subpart 2, 3, 4 or 5 of Part VII and database-dependent navigation equipment is used;

(d) current data covering the route of the proposed flight and any probable diversionary route, if the aircraft is operated in VFR OTT flight other than VFR OTT flight referred to in paragraph (c) and database-dependent navigation equipment is used;

(e) a hand-held fire extinguisher in the cockpit that

(i) is of a type suitable for extinguishing fires that are likely to occur,

(ii) is designed to minimize the hazard of toxic gas concentrations, and

(iii) is readily available to each flight crew member;

(f) a timepiece that is readily available to each flight crew member and that displays the time in hours, minutes and seconds;

(g) a flashlight that is readily available to each crew member, if the aircraft is operated at night; and

(h) a first aid kit.

(2) A checklist or placards referred to in paragraph (1)(a) shall enable the aircraft to be operated in normal, abnormal and emergency conditions and shall include

(a) a pre-start check;

(b) a pre-take-off check;

(c) a post-take-off check;

(d) a pre-landing check; and

(e) emergency procedures.

(3) Emergency procedures referred to in paragraph (2)(e) shall include

(a) emergency operation of fuel, hydraulic, electrical and mechanical systems, where applicable;

(b) emergency operation of instruments and controls, where applicable;

(c) engine inoperative procedures; and

(d) any other procedure that is necessary for aviation safety.

(4) Checks and emergency procedures referred to in subsections (2) and (3) shall be performed and followed where they are applicable.


I've been out of flight instructing for many years but I was a former class I, CFI and Flight Test Examiner with 8 years of full time experience. These 3 CAR's I think are relevant, but there are probably more. For the sake of simplicity I am talking generally about what a Flight Instructor Candidate should do during the initial class 4 flight test and future PPL training as a Class 4.

In a nutshell, FOLLOW THE BOOK.

You are required by CAR's to conduct training in accordance with the CAR's, the FTM, the FIG, the limitations section of the POH and a Human Factors manual (there may be others). In the FTM there are a few sentences that say something like "configure the aircraft in accordance with the POH", so you need to comply with that as well. If you deviate too much from any of these during a flight test, it will be a failure. I suppose there might be an exception if you have very good evidence that something is very wrong in those publications (e.g. a typo).

You should also be very familiar with the Flight Test Guides. Ideally, you should not be training pilots to just pass the flight test, but this is the minimum.

I have seen instructors give students wrong information which they just accept because they assume the instructor is right about everything. More often though, I see instructors give students correct information which they didn't understand completely, or just plain forget. One defence for either of these problems is the student looking up the information for themselves in the appropriate publication. If the publication says something different from the advice they received, go back to that person and see if there a reason for the discrepancy.

The only section of the POH that you are required to follow is the Limitations section, but for training, it is best to just follow the whole POH, unless you have very good evidence that something is wrong in it. I would tell my students that until they have experience (total time and time on type), it is best to just follow the POH, even after they get their PPL.

There may be procedures in the POH that you have found through experience that are done a better/safer way. You need to make sure that you understand all the consequences of modifying a procedure. The regulator and your insurance company may have some questions if there is an accident. One example is for a short field T/O in a 172, the POH says use 10 degrees of flap, but some people have done there own testing and have determined that you can take off in a shorter distance with 20 degrees of flap. Should you do this? Maybe. Depends on many factors: your experience, engine performance, altitude, weight, temp, your rate of climb will probably be degraded, etc.