The PERFECT TRAFFIC PATTERN | Airplane Checkout | Flying a Cessna | Learn to Fly

[@tedsaylor6016]

Worst checkout? Top this: I was a few hundred hour PPL looking to get checked out in a 172 at the Sebastian FL UNICOM airport (X26, home of Velocity Aircraft). We did the usual takeoff, then airwork (banks, stalls, ect) then back to X26. The brief was a full-stop short-field landing. Now the instructor was young (as was I) and the plane was an early model (40-deg flap) 172 in typical not-perfect shape. So we enter pattern and on final I add in the final 40deg (remember full stop short field landing). Right after this, the instructor changes mind and says change to a touch and go. (Note, my FAIL here was not refusing the last second change) We acceptably touch down and I hit the flaps and give it the gas. (FAIL#2 was not checking for flap retraction this model did not have the in-cockpit needle). About 2/3rds down the runway we liftoff sluggishly and I realize the flaps never retracted. The instructor basically vapor-locks and now I am alone and faced with an ugly abort which is almost sure to crinkle the plane or nurse it around. I choose flight and start thinking/chanting airspeed, airspeed, airspeed. If I has to brush the palm trees - so be it, the aircraft would at least be under control. We did clear the palms OK, and after getting a few hundred feet I calmly asked the instructor to "please reset the flaps breaker" and then the flaps retracted. We brought the plane around, landed, and he signed me off with only a few words. As fast as lightning you had better be prepared to take full controls/decisions and stick to the basics. To this day, I will ALWAYS turn my head on a touch and go with a Cessna to check for actual flap retraction. I've had other instructors scold me for this at which point I relate this story with basically a "go pound sand" message.

[@ronbuellwinkler4586]

Thanks for passing along your experience. We all learn from these moments people share.

[@TheAirplaneDriver]

I’m not a big fan of touch and goes and never use them when instructing. Yes….less time expended than a full stop taxi back but that is the only “advantage”. Stop and goes are safer if the runway is long enough and the air traffic situation allows. Otherwise, full stop taxi back.

[@tedsaylor6016]

@@TheAirplaneDriver That's a great point, because that taxi-back is great piece of time for a debrief of the landing just done and a bit of a "reset" for the student. It's harder to debrief 5 landings later because it kinda jumbles together. I have rented/trained in a few planes that went by tach time so taxiing was less expensive (tach time is proportional to RPM so taxiing is less than 1/2 the cost of flying).

[@peterellison2220]

@@tedsaylor6016 i didnt know this about tach time!

[@lonhaenel3030]

In my briefing I always add what I will do if I have engine failure below 1000' and above 1000'. However I like how you briefed 70% of Vrotate power by X. Great video!

[@legoman5010]

I always look for people raising the wing to check the downwind before turning crosswind.

[@TheFinerPoints]

Awesome! Thanks missed that one

[@Aeronotti]

Sorry me and my PA-28 would never

[@TimAyro]

Great video. The pattern has so many little details that tell you a lot about a pilot!

[@alk672]

The fact that you have to get checkouts in that kind of scenarios speaks volume about the state of general aviation. I was in the same situation as that student when I went to Hawaii and considered taking an airplane; but of course there is no way I'm doing a checkout and all the paperwork just to take it up once while I'm there on a 5-day vacation. Every flight school and every club around the country will want a checkout before they rent an aircraft to you. Doesn't matter if you have 300 hours in the last 6 months of flying that exact make and model in that exact area - they will still cost you a lot of time and money to get to fly that aircraft solo. What that means is that your license basically means nothing. That ultimately demonstrates what aviation community - both people flying and people underwriting insurance documents - think of the quality of pilot training and the quality of pilot testing. GA is already insanely expensive and completely impractical, but completely lack of uniformity of training and randomness of testing puts the last nail in that coffin for sure.

[@mtnairpilot]

Unfortunately there is a wide variation in pilot proficiency such that relying on the certificate and logbook alone won't work. The insurance companies have seen to that. However, if I were presented with a pilot who had plenty of recently logged time in type and those flights were similar to what they wanted to rent an aircraft for, I can make a checkout very brief -- probably under 30 minutes. On the other hand, I have had people show up who practically required a BFR and others who couldn't pass the checkout at all.

[@alk672]

@@mtnairpilot I think at the end of the day there is either the standard or no standard. If you create a system where every instructor is teaching differently and every DPE has the broadest discretion as to pass or fail an applicant - you get a system where half of the CFIs just advance the throttle and go, and the other half wear uniforms with stripes and spend 15 minutes briefing every departure. Then you end up with pilots who crash their airplanes for no reason because they basically stop flying after the checkride, and their license never expires. This can only be solved by having a rigid instructional and testing standard.

[@alk672]

I mean half of the standards don't even make sense. For instance, on the private checkride you must demonstrate a short field landing. If you're 1 foot short or 1 foot long you fail. If you're within the 200 feet you pass. You only do it once. How on Earth is this useful? If you really want to see if an applicant can do it - have them do it 10 times in a row, make the passing grade 7 out of 10 or 8 out of 10. Put some thought into this, don't just have them do random stuff once that doesn't make any sense to begin with. Like all that high air work that is completely impractical and unrelated to anything. You do it for the checkride and then the next time you do it is in 2 years for the flight review. Come on. At the same time, half the pilots who trained at a towered field can't enter an uncontrolled traffic pattern without getting scared 10 times, and the other half who trained at remote grass strips are scared out of their mind if they need to talk to a class D controller. Nobody checks that on a checkride, why would they.

[@ozelot250]

As always thanks for the review I had forgotten some of these points.

[@mtnairpilot]

The instrument corollary to this is the circling approach. If you can fly that well you are probably a proficient instrument pilot.

[@TheAirplaneDriver]

I would sign off an active and experienced pilot that was able to fly two or three pattern circuits and do so really well in an airplane they were familiar with. If the pilot was not familiar with the airplane…say if they flew Skyhawks but were checking out in a Cherokee, I would add slow flight, steep turns and stalls at the least. If someone hadn’t flown in long time and/or was a low time pilot I would definitely expand the scope beyond that.

[@mikevonbertouch]

Great video. Judging from the comments there is a wide range of views on the ‘right’ way to do things. In my teens I did about 100hrs of gliding which was awesome but then life/career etc made that impractical. In 2019 I got my Private license in a Stearman with 300hp engine and constant speed prop. Big aircraft, tailwheel, constant speed, lots of rudder, crosswinds/sealed runway combo for a bit more of a challenge, busy airport with 200,000 movements per year… and a phenomenally experienced instructor with also many thousands of hours flying low level survey. Good airmanship qualities was a constant theme throughout the training. The navs were done in an Archer which seemed incomprehensibly complex but the skills and approach to getting the basics right in the Stearman massively helped with the transition between the two. The next aircraft was a SR22 which I bought unairworthy and got going. On the surface light years away from the Stearman in how it’s flown. Recently I bought a 1/4 share in an Eagle 150 basic trainer/sport aircraft which has extraordinarily good flying qualities using the Cooper-Harper scale - I work in the aviation industry as the Australian equivalent of a DER so flight test engineering is an area of the professional knowledge. Finally my other ride is a Maule M5-235 which is a whole new level of sharpening skills. It also happens to be somewhat down the Cooper-Harper scale and the 40 hrs in it are nowhere near enough to claim I have that one mastered. Because none of this is enough of a challenge, I added on a rotary wing private license a year ago which challenged me in so many new ways. Now completing my Instrument rating. There are a lot of experiences there since commencing the PPL training in 2019: 150 hrs in the Stearman, 50 hrs in the Archer, 150 hrs in the Cirrus, 40 hrs in the Maule, 25 hrs in the Eagle 150, and 70 hrs in an R44 plus almost done with the IR and a formation endorsement for good measure. The ONE thing that defines my flying, initially because my instructor required it but now out of necessity, is always always focus on the basics. Taxi instrument tests were one thing that slipped by in the PPL training and now for the IR flying it’s much more of a challenge to make that the norm and a habit. Checklist use ALWAYS even when I ‘know’ the aircraft, and review speeds as a deliberate action out loud before the engine starts. Circuits (“Patterns”) as ‘correct’ as I can make them, acknowledging they will never be perfect but I will keep trying. Practice forced landings each aircraft every few months, because it is so easy to forget what to expect with each aircraft type and I don’t want to be cursing a lack of currency in an aircraft when I need it for a noiseless glide approach to a field one day. Steep turns because one day someone may cut you off in a circuit (as I’ve experienced) because they don’t have the discipline and diligence and a 2g turn at 800 ft for the unpracticed is just going to get you especially if you’re also trying to deconflict in the seconds you have available. Landings are always a conscious effort with me talking to myself almost as though I’m self instructing with focus on universal basic principles. That allows me to fly back-to-back a Cirrus, R44 and Stearman and the passengers give a big thumbs up after the wheels/skids touch the ground. This isn’t because I’m a great pilot, I just consciously look to the basics of landing an aircraft. It’s never perfect but always trying and learning. This (unintentionally!) long-winded comment is to highlight why, as a low time pilot with only 500ish hrs, it is essential I aim for consistency in approach to flying, focussing on proficiency at the basics of flying and those things that foster safety. I occasionally fly with other pilots who by their own admission are only comfortable in the 172 they have 400 hrs in but not really interested in something else because they might make a mess of it. Generally they are also the pilots with some less-than-fantastic approaches to, among other things, pattern flying 😊 For me, the things that develop skills and discipline are tailwheel, formation flying, multiple types and IR. Undisciplined patterns would make this journey more difficult and massively degrade safety of myself, passengers and others in the sky or on the ground.

[@chrisaviator2337]

I suggest adding aerobatics to your list on the way to a competent pilot 😊

[@mikevonbertouch]

@@chrisaviator2337 thinking I will one day sometime soon. Next is multi and I’ve got the opportunity to do some flying a C-47 next year :-)

[@31clint]

I'm planning on starting my private pilot training this upcoming spring and your videos are bringing things to my attention that I didn't even know were things to think about (this video in particular). I love your videos and I try to put your ideas into practice on the home simulator (the Microsoft type) whenever I get a chance. I'm hoping to step into training with an advanced working knowledge base in order to be the safest pilot I can be before the tires even leave the tarmac. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise.

[@Dan007UT]

you can dooooooooooooooooooooooooooo it. You found the right channel to watch for sure!

[@nsant]

You start?

[@31clint]

@@nsant Yep! I'll have my 3rd flight on Saturday.

[@nsant]

@@31clint Congrats! I just passed my checkride in April

[@31clint]

@@nsant Congrats!

[@spencerthompson6013]

I've had a check out similar to what you described in the first segment of the video... the CFI had me fly to another airport 10 miles away, land, fly back to the original airport, and that was it. No emergencies, steep turns, stalls, nothing. It was an odd experience.

[@reidbaldwin4555]

If I currently fly a very similar airplane somewhere else, then the checkout is just an evaluation of my knowledge and skills. I can see a couple trips around the pattern being sufficient in that situation. It doesn't need to be like a checkride for a new rating. If the aircraft is a different type or is different in some other way (e.g. glass panel v. six pack), then the checkout needs to include some instructing as well as evaluating.

[@TheFinerPoints]

I know that's probably true but for liability and thoroughness, most flight schools/flying clubs will want to see the basic maneuvers and a simulated engine failure as well.

[@slehar]

Steady ATTITUDE. No wavering up Dan l r hold it rock steady between controlled corrections Yes 2 patterns is sufficient to identify a good pilot.

[@jmitterii2]

At least he saved money on the check out. I could see someone checking a pilot out really quick like that if they shown a log book exact same aircraft flown last week or even sooner... and lots of recent flight time. And it always comes down to... are you as the pilot happy with the check out? Do YOU feel safe and ready to rent that plane? If you do... then money and time saved. IF you don't... then say... hey let's do some maneuvers with this plane.... just to make sure there's no quarks in my flying or in this particularly airplane handling characteristics.

[@CapFreddy]

Another great tip i am about to get

[@jakew9887]

Great presentation. Thanks

[@Coops777]

Awesome video thanks Jason

[@goatflieg]

Interesting timing for me on this one. I've been planning my cross-country tour to the West Coast for next summer; I wish I could plan it around the Mountain Flying Adventure but I won't be able to devote that much time (and money) during this trip. But I've been hoping to contact you and perhaps go flying with you in my RV-8 if we get the chance. However, I want to be prepared because I'd want to get the kind of evaluation you summarized in this video. I learned what I suspected: although I'm gaining proficiency in my aircraft I still need to get some of the details down. Time to finally get the ground school app and start reviewing.

[@birds_eye_view]

Well, sometimes I fly full speed until half way down the final to the threshold … to make it a little easier to everybody else behind me. Because full speed in my case means around 60kts. 😜😜 Just kidding. I aim for landing speed of 52kts before turning into final. During checkrides I also serve beverages and sing for the on board entertainment. I experienced it helps a lot! 😎😁

[@SorenHume]

I would love to take supplemental instruction from you Jason. You speak my language.

[@troyhamon6666]

Runway reference from the opposite seat will be lower on the strut, not higher.

[@dsavage5773]

How about full power, pith for 55 and flaps 20, initially, per most POHs for balked landing? Keep em coming.

[@Kjp-hf7hp]

Good stuff Jason

[@michaelfagan2403]

I can usually tell in one trip around the pattern if I want to be riding with someone or not.

[@tstanley01]

LOL..that was my thought...you can basically tell if someone knows what they are doing before the plane even leaves the ground...if they taxi at 1500 rpm riding the brakes the whole time, doing a rolling mag check, the whole thing is going to be a dumpster fire....

[@merkster12]

Awesome perspective

[@TheFinerPoints]

Glad you liked it!

[@SUP33RMARIO]

I already passed my FAA test for ground school. Does your website offer training tip videos for flying and maneuvers

[@erich930]

Cool video. I'm hopefully about to go on my first checkout flight for an actual rental plane! It's a Piper Warrior II, while all my flight training has been in the Warrior III, so I think it'll be a similar enough airplane.🤞 Jason, if you see this, what's your opinion about extra practice flying with an unfamiliar panel in a familiar type?

[@rrad3926]

It's all about the little things. If you're getting them right you're probably going to get the bigger things correct.

[@ThePilotJosh]

Jason question from a CFI to a CFI. Why in this video when conducting the go around do you retract flaps so quick and also in a Cessna to 10? Would it not be more appropriate to wait till the airplane is stabilized in a climb before retracting flaps? Due to the short nature of the clip there may be stuff not shown which I understand.

[@mtnairpilot]

My two cents as a fellow CFI: The first 10 degrees of flap are lots of extra lift and a little extra drag. As you progress through each increment that changes progressively until the last notch is almost all extra drag and little if any extra lift. A go around from deep into the approach, especially with an underpowered aircraft near gross weight would result in mushing if at least the first notch of flaps isn't retracted. The airplane will climb better with flaps 10 and stalling as a result of going from 30 to 10 isn't much of a risk.

[@tstanley01]

The prescribed method in a 172 is "power, carb heat, flaps 20" in a smooth but quick motion then it is, pitch, positive rate of climb, flaps 10, maintain pitch, positive rate of climb, flaps up...do not leave the flaps at full until the airplane starts to climb...there is no added lift in the 30 and 40 degree flap settings in a 172. You want to dump to atleast 20 in a smooth calm motion. Some people dump all the way to 10 flaps but i cannot tell much if any difference in initial climb between 20 and 10, so I just do as the POH prescribes...In a 172 I teach them to smoothly go power, carb heat (if equipped), flaps 20, then release the flap control, sit back in a normal seat position and climb out at 60-65 knots, no faster, then when stable and positive rate, reach down and bring them to flaps 10, sit back in the seat and maintain that pitch attitude and a positive rate, then go flaps zero and slowly accelerate out to 75-80 kts. If they stay hunched over reaching for the flaps, they don't have a good site picture and typically drop the nose and accelerate with each flap adjustment, causing the plane to momentarily stop climbing or or even start descending. I tell them once you are at 20 degrees and climbing at 65 kts, you are in not hurry and just take your time and fly the airplane well. A piper is different if that is what you teach in. If you teach in a 172, looked at the balked landing (go around) procedure in section 4 of the POH. I use that same work flow when recovering from a power off stall as well...

[@bobmckenzie6308]

This brings up two issues to me. First is why do I need a check out in the first place? I'm sure it's for the FBO's insurance and so the FBO can make some more money. As long as I legal (physical, Biannual excuse me the Flight Review, etc.), why all of this? Second is there is a difference in being perfect as he describes in the video and acceptable. The check ride is pass or fail so as long as you meet the standard, you pass.

[@erich930]

First, if you're renting from a new FBO, you need a checkout because they can't just trust what you tell them. You could tell them you have 600 hours in that exact model of airplane, but for all they know you could have 0! And if you're renting a new type of airplane from the same FBO, it's just a good idea to get an hour in it with a CFI to show you the ropes. If you were renting your airplane to someone, you'd wanna make sure you weren't not handing it over to some idiot who's gonna do stupid stuff with it! Second, I'd say there's not much difference between being perfect or satisfactory except how much extra practice you should do before pushing yourself further or taking passengers. If you're perfect, you can probably dive right in. But if you're just satisfactory, I'd recommend taking it up solo a few times in the local area before anything else.

[@peteralan5557]

I don't know? A grown man or woman shows up with his logbook, aircraft currency, hours, insurance, current medical, PPL, his iPad/Foreflight, headset, and comes across as a mature adult with many hours, and can "talk the talk" and walk the "basic walk" start to finish, ie; From the moment he walks in the door, pre-brief, paperwork, pre-flight, taxi, run-up, radio calls, knows the significant data points about the plane like Vx, Vfe, speeds, landing distance, pattern work, landings all excellent, I'm not sure that customer/pilot needs anything more? I wouldn't expect a guy like you, for instance, to have to do anything more than two laps, would you, or maybe a bit more like some slow flight? Customers might feel like they are getting gouged on extra rental time? I know at my flight school it's a virtual FBI interrogation before they get near a plane. One "off answer" and reluctance to rent sets in fast, as I'm sure it does at most places. In the end it's what you, as a legally certificated pilot, bring to the table when you walk in the door that should determine if it's two laps or a full check ride. By the way, due diligence is required by both parties. Are the planes well maintained and cared for? Did you really review the squawk logs? Do online reviews indicate a safe operation/reputation? Fantastic video as always thanks so much!

[@SoloRenegade]

some of this is an "Instrument Checkout" not an airplane checkout. you don't need a turn coordinator to fly VFR. No harm in checking it, but many pilots may not have ever used one before, or flew a plane with one equipped previously. I know lots of pilots in my area that learned on and still fly Champs, Cubs, Luscombes, etc. and never flew anything more sophisticated. Basics like tracking centerline, use of rudder, airspeed control (whatever approach profile is used), situational awareness, ground track, altitude control, appropriate use of flaps and slips, etc. are what truly are universal and matter. There are multiple correct ways to fly a traffic pattern and multiple correct ways to do the final approach.

[@Saml01]

Its not about needing it for VFR. If it's there it has to be working to be legal.

[@TheFinerPoints]

This is true, the "taxi turns" are only required for Instrument pilots but I spent so many years trying to "change" the primacy of private pilots that weren't taught this, I decided it's beneficial for everybody. Right? Why not? and since the procedures go with the pilot and not the airplane (in my training curriculum) - I teach it to everybody. It's only included here as something that would say to me ("wow, this pilot is well prepared for this checkout")

[@SoloRenegade]

@@TheFinerPoints I wont argue there. but from a checkout perspective, with pilots of varied backgrounds that you didn't train, who are only VFR, judging them on this doesn't seem fair when that's not the purpose of their checkout (unless perhaps they are instrument rated and plan to fly it in IFR).

[@SoloRenegade]

@@Saml01 you don't need a turn coordinator or heading indicator to fly VFR. Do you validate the GPS is working every time? How would you know if it was in error? Do you turn on and validate the VOR every time you fly? Do you check the ASI to make sure it's working properly? How do you verify the VSI during taxi? You can have an inop turn coordinator and still fly VFR.

[@kimberlywentworth9160]

But if you get an almost or unintentional spin and disoriented you can use the turn coordinator's symbolic airplane to tell you which way you are going so you can use opposite rudder. There is so much you need to know. It's like insurance. Hope to never have to use it in this manner. Never just go by the minimum knowledge. It

[@kimberlywentworth9160]

This is good. I am a student pilot and I have a few things I am working on to improve. This has got to be A++ for me before I go do a check ride. Not to just pass the check ride but to be a SAFE PILOT.

[@TheFinerPoints]

That's a great attitude Kimberly! If you have an iPad and haven't seen our app you should check out the free trial. It's everything you need to create a very solid foundation. www.learnthefinerpoints.com/ground-school

[@michaelzaug8750]

Just ask John Denver

[@TheFinerPoints]

Oh no! You had to go there? ;-)

[@tstanley01]

Airspeed control and situational awareness...those are the two big ones...and obviously, they have to be able to land an airplane...lol

[@andremarais2706]

It is time that Cessnas are the exception and to be condemned as trainers. Crappy aircraft that most of us do not want to train on, because it is 2023 and these are not the aircraft that most of us would never like to fly. The tech on modern LSA, even homebuilts is WAY better than these pterodactyls. No matter how many modern pieces of equipment you try to bolt onto them. The 1950's over., for about 70 years now

[@thatguy8005]

The perfect pattern doesn’t exist. The perfect pattern is where you don’t crash into or interfere with other traffic… all while arriving at the touch down point at a speed that permits a safe touch town… this could require any number of maneuvers. Flying a rectangle pattern with squared off turns might even be dangerous.

[@mattbasford6299]

I never look at the airspeed indicator in the pattern. I look out the window, fly and land the plane.

[@SoloRenegade]

there is NO one right way to fly a traffic pattern. It is terrain, DA, aircraft, and situation dependent. Basics like tracking centerline, use of rudder, airspeed control (whatever approach profile is used), situational awareness, ground track, altitude control, appropriate use of flaps and slips, etc. are what truly are universal and matter.

[@TheFinerPoints]

There is definitely a right way to fly and teach the traffic pattern and I believe it's foundational to many precision landing skills that follow. The first thing I have to review with commercial applicants is how to fly a "proper" pattern. Most folks start improvising after they get certificated and it makes it very difficult to then learn the precision skills required for more advanced techniques. You could argue that terrain, DA, aircraft, and situation might cause you to improvise and deviate from it, but it doesn't change the fact that there is an objectively perfect form that should be taught. This video is not directly about that though and more about what skills would some check pilot need to see to determine you were safe with two trips around the pattern. To be fair, that could take a lot of forms but I'm just saying if saw all of this ... I'd be inclined to think this was a passable pilot.

[@SoloRenegade]

@@TheFinerPoints there are foundational principles, and the basic pattern is the best way to start. "There is definitely a right way", this is not an objective statement. Yes, there is the "right way" in the present time according to the FAA (actually according to the FAA there are 2 right ways, not one), but that doesn't make it THE right way, or the Only right way. Also, airline pilots do Not fly patterns and approaches the same as light aircraft pilots, for example. Are airline pilots doing it wrong? But I've also flown/instructed at airports where you Cannot follow teh standard pattern, like it or not. and pilots need to know how to deal with that. "but it doesn't change the fact that there is an objectively perfect form that should be taught." I object to the notion of "perfection". There is no achieving perfection, and the standard form is not necessarily "perfect" either. How do you Objectively know it is the Best procedure there is? What if a better procedure comes along 10yrs from now? Is a pattern flown within plus or minus 10ft of altitude perfection? Wouldn't 0ft deviation be perfection? My point is that there are two types of perfection I can identify, one is beyond our control, the other does not exist and pursuing it has lead to some of the greatest crimes in human history. It is physically impossible to achieve the 2nd type of perfection. And claiming one way is perfect, also closes people off to finding still better ways of doing things. "Most folks start improvising after they get certificated and it makes it very difficult to then learn the precision skills required for more advanced techniques." I don't know that I entirely agree with this. Totally dependent upon the individual. I get wanting to have a foundation, but this statement is referring to certificated pilots, in which case the foundations you want to lay at private pilot no longer applies. I agree that 2 trips in a pattern alone is not enough for me to sign off a renter or a checkout either, I want to see more than pattern work.

[@kimberlywentworth9160]

@@TheFinerPoints Sometimes you have to extend upwind, or downwind. So you can not always fly a perfect pattern. I had an airplane on downwind on the other side of the freeway. What is this nutty plane doing, I got on the radio to find out his intentions. The airport is non-towered. Sometimes you just can not put in your first set of flaps abeam the runway number. It depends on situations. You can not act like a robot / computer program. Flaps, here, speed here, altitude here. I go up in pattern altitude if I have to extend my downwind much. About 50 percent of the time or more I have to make a change to the pattern due to traffic.

[@TheFinerPoints]

@@SoloRenegade the FAA does talk about two ways to "enter" the pattern. I'm talking about ways to "fly" the pattern. How far away you are, how you progressively control airspeed, how you control the yawing forces on liftoff and climb etc. I just don't see two ways to do this. I agree, you can improvise, but there is still a standard.

[@TheFinerPoints]

@@kimberlywentworth9160 It's true that you will have to improvise sometimes. The more you know the "form" and have engrained that in your foundation, the better you will be able to improvise as the situation(s) requires. When I have to improvise, for example, I often focus on the base leg (the key position). This is true when I fly in the mountains, during simulated engine failures, entered airspace I'm unfamiliar with etc. The idea is I know I want to be 75 knots on base and I try to visualize where that would be to intercept the final.

[@kimberlywentworth9160]

Wow, that is not acceptable. Yikes. But this is good.

[@yeagermcbipper9008]

Steep turns are a BS maneuver just like short /soft field landings. Its just a way to charge students for things they never do IRL. If you rent, 99.999% of the time grass fields are prohibited. Also, CHASE THE AIRSPEED. Your sight picture is useless unless you have the right airspeed.

[@flexairz]

BS.

[@kimberlywentworth9160]

It is a way to demonstrate all of the student's competency. It's not a way to over charge students.

[@krisztinaholly]

True, rentals don't usually allow soft field landings-except in the case of an emergency. I hope none of us ever have to do a forced landing, but we should all know how to put her down on any surface. I am still a low-time pilot but have used short field takeoffs often to buy myself room on shorter runways, especially on hot days and at high density altitudes. A good instructor will teach all of these skills in a way that helps prepare you for a lifetime of adventure and an understanding for how the airplane behaves. I think a sense of curiosity and eagerness to keep learning is essential to being a good pilot. Also, as for airspeed, it's the attitude that sets the airspeed and not the other way around. But you knew that (I hope)!

[@747-pilot]

@@kimberlywentworth9160 Totally disagree with you! Each time you go to rent a plane from a new place, you don’t need to be “checked out”, where the school makes you spend 2 or 3 hours of your hard earned money by doing the entire FAA private pilot checkride 🙄 That’s just a way to SCAM AND GOUGE the potential renter! As it is, GA has become PROHIBITIVELY expensive for the common person. Yeah, if they’re doing it for free, then I say GO FOR IT! 🙄 When I initially saw this video, I did not read the title or listen carefully, and thought he was talking about a *_FLIGHT REVIEW,_* which needs to take place every 24 months. Now, for a flight review, yes, that need to be very THOROUGH! Mind you, I hold Jason of the finer points in very high regard, and think he is an awesome instructor. I just think it is overkill, and many schools use it as a money-making SCAM to unnecessarily “check” someone who has just flown a 100 hours in the last 3 months, possibly even having completed a checkride recently! 🙄 And just for the record, after I got my private pilot certificate, I wanted to rent from another nearby flying club to build my 50 hours of XC in preparation for my instrument rating, because my original school/flying club was very “unfriendly” towards renters. They highly prioritized STUDENTS who were training for a certificate, which made it nearly impossible for a renter to book their aircraft. The chief instructor at the new club (an Air Force veteran with 20,000+ flying hours), who conducted my checkout, just had me do the following: 1) Fly the aircraft to nearby airport and demonstrate some patternwork (including radio work etc.) 2) One power off and power on stall with recovery 3) Power off emergency landing and 4) a go around. And that’s it! And those items, IMO, were EXACTLY the right procedures need to evaluate my competency, without gouging me!! The whole thing took about 30 to 35 minutes of hobbs time!