SOP for assisting students afraid of getting near the ground (while setting up the landing)

9 Answers

1. Best Answer
   
   

   
   

   Gary Moore on Nov 29, 2010

   Well – opinions may vary – but I think ‘forcing’ a student pilot to do anything is probably not an efficent way to transfer knowledge.  And minimal direction and briefing will only prolong the pain.
   I’d spend alot of time on the ground talking through the specific fear to make sure you both really understand it.  The more they understand the landing process on the ground the better.  Practice alot of slow flight at altitude. Then you might try a series of low passes down a runway.  Time and patience…….
    

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   Wesley Beard on Nov 29, 2010

   I would not teach my student that way who is afraid of landing.  There is always a underlying cause as to why someone is afraid of something.  As kids growing up we were afraid of the dark and the terrible monster in the closet.  Boiled down, it is really a fear of the unknown.  It is times like this the Aviation Instructors Handbook calls the CFI a practical psychologist.
    
   This is what I would do.  I would sit down with the student to discuss the landing phase of flight and ask him in a very non threatening way why he is afraid of the landing.  Perhaps, he was dropped as a child and understands that terra firma is quite hard.  Once you figure out why he is afraid you can meticulously detail how this experience is going to be (1) played out and (2) different from that frightening experience.
    
   In my example above you can teach the student exactly what is being done in the landing phase emphasizing the vertical descent rate reaching zero as we come closer to the ground.  Compare that with their increasing descent rate when they were dropped as a child and you should have a breakthrough.
    
   One last thought, we all see the world through our experiences in our past.  Which really means our past experiences dictate what we believe in the present and future.  If you think, a friend is a thief you are more likely not going to lend them your vehicle for the day.
    
   If it is nonthing like this, perhaps it has to do with him sensing things different on each flight.  Researchers have stated that we learn about 80% of the world around us through our visual system.  It is quite possible for his visual system and his kinesthetic system to be out of sync all the time as the airplane is landing.  Let me explain, in most human factors books they will talk about perception and the need to install a “design eye” in the airplane.  This design eye will place the head of the pilot in the exact same position every single time they fly.  As a result, their perception of what is actually happenning is greatly improved.  The pilot knows the exact time to flare and pull off power for a smooth landing.  It is possible, your students seat is not positioned correctly each and every time they go flying.  This will cause the visual and kinesthetic senses to disagree somewhat.  My recommendation is to position the seat so that you can “sight” the top of the cowling with one finger; meaning to line up your head with the finger which is also in line with the top of the cowling.  The same principle when firing a gun.  This will allow the student to see and feel the same thing on every landing perhaps getting him over his fear.

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   Dave on Nov 29, 2010

   It can often be a problem of ‘spotting the deck’, or fixating on a point on the runway. Rushing toward that point can be like speeding down the interstate, seeing red tail lights and not hitting the break. Keep a scan going, transition from intended point of landing to the far end of the runway and scan the airpeed to insure you’re above stall speed. If the eyes keep moving you won’t have that sense of immanent impact.

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   Brian on Nov 29, 2010

   Hit him with a slab of concrete. When he wakes up say, “See that wasn’t so bad. Nothing to be scared of now let’s go flying.”
    
   Obviously I’m being sarcastic. On a serious not, I agree with Gary. In my tiny brain I can’t fathom helping someone overcome a fear they have if I don’t fully understand why they have that fear. That process I suspect takes a lot of time and patients. I haven’t had to deal with it myself though, so no experience to pull off of and help you out.
    
   Good luck.
    
   ~Brian

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   Matthew Waugh on Dec 02, 2010

   The teaching process outlined in the question doesn’t seem reasonable to me either.
   All pilots should have a healthy fear of hitting the ground, since as we all know it’s not the fall that kills you, its the stopping at the bottom.
   How does this fear manifest itself? If the student just flares too high there are ways of fixing that. If they really become paralyzed with fear on short final they might need therapy more than they need flight instruction.

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   2-33 on Dec 03, 2010

   Thanks to everyone for the comments and advice.To amswer Mr Waugh’s question in some detail:  Initial manifestation of a problem occurred mid-to-late downwind and consisted of increased respiration with some particularly loud exhalations into the mic and a strong tendency to make very shallow bank angles at the turn to each succeeding leg of the pattern, which was also flown quite wide and often required correction to/back to the runway after a too early turn to final or a very wide turn to final.This behavior continued through successive days’ flights, always manifesting on downwind and continuing until the wheels were on the pavement; the actual landings became progressively worse with each successive consecutive circuit for any flight (eg 1st landing touching down a bit hard quite far down the runway, 6th landing banging the plane down very hard slightly nearer the numbers). Corrective manuevering to runway allignment never elicits increased problems. The student makes the landings without physical help from the CFI, but usually with the flare too high or with the plane in too flat of an attitude. Flights at altitude are clearly enjoyed, produce the same tendency to keep bank angles shallow, and show no other similarities to the landing problems.  Such flights are made either essentially straight to a nearby airport also used for landing practice, or in a different direction to a point well clear of the airport environment prior to turning back to set up the initial of several consecutive landings.

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   Matthew Waugh on Dec 03, 2010

   I’m not a therapist, nor have I ever played one on TV.
   Have you done ground reference maneuvers yet with this student? I wonder if those maneuvers, without the association of performing an actual landing, might help resolve the problems in the pattern and then maybe the landing will sneak up on the student before they notice.
   CFI’s are often reluctant to fly the plane, they figure the student is paying they should fly, but I also wonder if a session where essentially you fly the pattern and landing a few times will help the student deal with the sensations of being in the pattern and approaching landing without the responsibility of being in control.
   And of course – have you asked them what the problem is? It maybe that some people aren’t born to be pilots, although if they enjoy the flying thats a shame, but every flight has to have one landing in one form or another.
   Good luck – sounds like a doozy!

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   Micah on Dec 03, 2010

   Of all of my students (less than 50), only one has been afraid of flying and none have been afraid of landing.  Many have fixation problems–staring at the aiming point–and several are afraid of stalls, but I know any fears that every student faces the same way.
   I don’t know any Standard Operating Procedures for this problem.  There are a sort of SOPs for instructors, but this is more like Wesley’s description than anything else.  That FBO’s “SOP” may be their practice, preference, or just what seems to work for a flight instructor.  
   I think this student (is it you?) needs to be honest and reflective and discuss these issues with the instructor.  Will this student sit in the back while another student lands?  Has this student observed other students land (from the ground)?  Does this student trust the flight instructor?
   Like Gary said, time and patience go a long way to solving this.  This problem is specific to the student.  The solution will also be specific to the student.

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   2-33 on Apr 24, 2011

   Came across this again today; here’s an update.  Student’s problem resolved.  Difficulty turned out to be lack of correct visual picture needed to perform standard pattern (good thinking, Mr. Beard) with associated perception of increased danger during the manuever –accurate regarding the safety of landing without a good idea of appropriate bank angles and altitudes.  CFI eventually complied with request for practice away from the airport environment; an hour of 360s at 30 and 45 degree bank right and left effectively took care of, so to speak, “how far can I do this without falling out of the sky?”  Unfortunately requests for altitude feedback were never similarly addressed. The student completed work last year at a nearby FBO with a different attitude on “SOP”s.

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