Familiarization "Pinch-Hitter" Training

"The Pilot's Incapacitated — Now What?"

Many of us regularly fly with another non-pilot. Most often it is our spouse or SO (significant other — not second officer) Others regularly fly with business associates or other family members or friends. Some fly with you because they enjoy it, but many are uncomfortable with flying to some degree or another. One important benefit of a Pinch-Hitter course is that it nearly always allays non-pilot's fears, spoken or unspoken, about flying. It is probably worth it just for that alone.

Your flying companion can be a tremendous asset. With training they can make your flying safer, easier and more enjoyable. The Pinch-Hitter course includes basic instruction in aircraft control, navigation and radio usage. It's great to have some knowledgeable assistance when you need it. With a little effort on your part, your companion can take over some of your routine jobs and you can better concentrate on flying. It's also great to have someone able to understand and double check what you're doing. In the event of an emergency, wouldn't it be nice to have someone in the right seat who can help rather than panic?

First the Ground School

Ground school leads off by covering the basics of flight and navigation. Before beginning, the instructor, an experienced CFII, will first encouraged students to ask questions, not only about the technical side of flying, but also about those things which bother them, their fears and anything else on their mind. Once the instructor puts the students at ease, answering their most personal questions about flying and their fears, it is time to get into the course.

The skills required to safely pilot a plane are distilled down to only the basic necessities. The instructor explains how to control the aircraft. Control inputs and results are often related to driving a car and riding a bicycle. Every effort is made to keep it as simple as possible.

In this session pilotage is emphasized and students learn how to read a sectional and how to keep track of where they are so they will know where they need to go to find an airport in an emergency.

The second half of the ground school deals with radio navigation and emergency communications and airport arrival. Amazing as it sounds, they manage to make GPS navigation understandable and practical in one short session. The emergency frequencies are planted firmly and permanently into the heads of the Pinch-Hitters. Practical communications are stressed. For these pilots, "HELP!" works as well, maybe better, than "Mayday."

Now on to the Flying

When it comes to the flying portion of the course, instructors follow a prepared syllabus, modifying it as necessary to fit the student's needs. After a comprehensive walk-around, reviewing what was covered in the ground school, it's time for the first flight. Students fly from the right seat, just as they normally would. The first hour of flying emphasizes aircraft control. Simple power setting rules are demonstrated. Students are generally taught what a good cruise power setting might be.

The student learns how to control altitude and direction of flight. Turns are limited to no more than 15 degrees bank. The importance of trim is taught. Stalls are avoided, students are simply taught to never get closer than 15 mph/kts to the bottom of the white arc until ready to touch down. Every effort is made to ensure the student has a successful first flight and acquires the basic skills to fly the aircraft safely, maintaining control at all times. Pattern entry and landing is demonstrated with the instructor emphasizing the visual clues, power and trim settings. Once in a position to set down, the student pulls back the power and the instructor allows the aircraft to settle onto the runway and roll out to a stop.

After a break, the second flight begins with the student performing the takeoff and then pilotage is introduced. The student learns to transfer the basic piloting skills from the first lesson into purposefully flying to where they want to go. The student also starts to handle more of the communications, easing into that necessary skill. This time the student follows the instructor through on the landing.

The third flying session is spent mostly practicing GPS navigation and communications. Students gain control experience while navigating and complying with ATC instructions. The session finishes with additional practice approaches, emphasizing positioning the aircraft over the runway and setting up the landing.

The final hour in the air pulls everything together. Students practice emergency procedures; assuming control, contacting ATC and navigating to a strange airport and landing. By the conclusion of the day the student will have made a number of landings entirely on their own. Students returning from their final lesson emerge from the cockpit with wide grins and that same self-satisfied expression as do regular student pilots who have just completed their first solo.

For the flying portion, the choice of an instructor is key to successful completion of the course. Experience counts for a lot, this isn't the place for a young CFI just starting out or building time. Making the student, who may well be very nervous and who may well not really want to be there, feel comfortable is vital.

Our familiarization course costs $599 (includes 4 hours flight time, 4 hours of instruction, and 2 hours of one-on-one ground school)