From improper preflight inspections to poor use of checklists... from selecting bad cruising altitudes to the infamous "more right rudder"... student pilots make mistakes of all different shapes and sizes. In this week's episode of BTP, the guys dig into some of the most common student pilot mistakes.
How better to learn than by studying other people's mistakes? Bobby and Wally lay out some common student pilot mistakes, how and why they happen, and most importantly how you can avoid them yourself!
Clear prop! Number two following twin traffic on 3 mile final. JB using runway 25 on a 4-mile final.
This is Behind the Prop with United Flight Systems owner and licensed pilot, Bobby Doss. and it's co-host: major airline captain Designated Pilot Examiner, Wally Mulhearn. Now let's go behind the prop!
What's up Wally, Hey bobby. How are you doing great another week. Another episode we love doing these shows for. Y'all hopefully. You're enjoying them are. We've got a number of new five-star reviews on iTunes and other platforms. If you're enjoying the show please take time to Write us a review and if we should be doing something different or better don't hesitate to reach out and let us know that as well lots of good questions and ideas for the show coming in also and someone said something about Us covering some of the top mistakes that student pilots make and lo and behold. We found an article. And we're going to we're going to borrow this article and talk about our thoughts on some of these things inflight magazine. Which is the Texaco flight. Training magazine from the AOPA. Still the one that I get imprint. I much enjoy it. has a lot of good things in it as a relates to flight training. So if you're not a member of the AOPA go register, you'll get the magazine for free either imprint of electronic but way back in January of two thousand eighteen There was an article written ten things ten mistakes. That student pilots do wrong. And we're going to talk about those Wally is the examiner. I know you see a lot of things that go wrong. let's jump right in. We've we've done some of these topics but we'll we'll go through all ten of them. What's number ten number ten pertains to checklists and lo and behold. We have done a An episode on the usage It is something that is required to be graded or or evaluated. Rather I should say on a check ride Pretty much on on all the landings. All all the takeoffs and everything down there in in One of the elements that I’m supposed to be looking at as proper use of checklists and You know it's pretty simple. If if you don't use a checklist, you're obviously not properly using it. So I see Occasionally on on check. Rides that that applicants. Are you know especially for our landing checklist. They're just using gump's and they're going through it and they're going through their mind. But there's not a checklist anywhere close And that's that's really a bad habit pattern I and I know Maybe a Cessna one seventy-two especially a fuel injected one where carburetor heat is not Introduced to the the scenario. There's really not a whole lot to do As far as landing. You know as far as Checklist items But it's it's a habit pattern it something that is required and it something expected When you get a job plan a big airplane especially at an airline. Checklists are are used. They're used every time You know. I fly big airplanes and some of our checklists. Only have three items on them. And I have a memorized. But I still pull out the checklist and I look at it and I read it and I I respond to it appropriately so it is a big item. You know you're not going to fly the same airplane all the time. You may fly. An airplane now has cowl flaps. You may be flying. Fuel injected one seventy-two. And you're used to that but today you're flying an N model and you've got carburetor so you got carburetor heat to be considered and that's all on the checklist Landing lights Just just everything. That's on the checklist is it's there for for a reason so you know it's something that that We we need to do better with you. And I think as a student pilot when I was training you, I did get lulled into this fact that I’m flying same planes. They don't the school when I was going here. Only had one seventy-two. So I was always flying a one. Seventy-two all tricycle fixed gear aircraft. You could get lulled into could get lulled into that. But I’ve flown a lot of different types of aircraft. Now and if I only thought of those items on one seventy-two n p models than if I did like you said flew anything else that I could get myself in trouble or hurt pretty quick right so number. Nine on. This list is poor weather. Planning I find that to be something that I find myself chasing people down talking about on a regular basis at the flight. School people learning how to fly. They want to go. They want to go And they just I don't. I don't think as much as we talk about it. I still don't think students understand. The dangers of what weather can do to us. And that weather as you’re a pilot and you fly weather is not necessarily the same three or four miles from here. We can see here. Might not be what. What's going on three or four miles away And it's it's shocking. I think I’ve told the story of trying to fly to Brenham to see my dad. Not that far away didn't do a weather briefing or really understand all about the weather. Pass this airport and get out there and be a wall of clouds just five or ten miles away and have to do you know quote unquote a holding pattern out there for for a thirty-minute time. They would burn off but they never burned off. And I wasted a lot of avgas in a lot of my time Trying to get somewhere. That I could have solved for that. If I would've just looked at the weather yeah at some point the weather changes you know at some point. There's the weather's good here and across the street it's bad there's a line somewhere and a lot of times. We do get lulled into the the fact of well. Jeez I’m only going fifty miles. The weather's got to be fine over there and And you know if there's that that front is somewhere if that front is halfway in between we may have southerly winds here and north winds over there or or you know at some point. The clouds moving Maybe clear here but it may be eight. Hundred overcast over there so It is something that that We can certainly do better with and and be aware of it and You know again says this is number nine poor weather breathing so You know get in the habit of of using different sources together. Get a weather briefing. You know on a check ride. I will always ask. The applicant okay. We're going from here to there How's the weather okay. And they they you know a lot of times. What is great and I will say okay. We'll tell me how you got your weather briefing. There are many different options. There's using your EFB There's there's actually calling the weather briefer and talking to somebody. And then there's there's lots of online options To a good weather briefing and more times than not. I would say. My applicants use Use more than one source and That's always a good thing because you especially if you talk to a real weather briefer you you sort of get a second opinion. Think that intimidates a lot of student pilots and even private pilots because they might not know what to say. Those people are very helpful. They're service oriented. I would not hesitate one bit to call for weather briefing Because I it's going it's going to provide more information than you seeing. What foreflights telling you. Are you seeing what the weather aviation weather. Dot gov is going to tell you. The person on the other end probably knows whether pretty good and probably will give you some ideas on whether they would go or not go in that current surge situation right and I don. I'll date myself a little bit. But there used to be a commercial for washing machines. Back in this is probably in the seventies I think goes a Maytag commercial and the the whole idea of the commercial is that the Maytag repairman doesn't have a whole lot to do because Maytag appliances never breakdown. And when I was CFI a long time ago or or actually actively teaching a lot, We used to refer to some of the guys at some flight service stations as the Maytag repairman because You could tell that they didn't have a whole lot to do. And when you when you call them up for a weather briefing. You could almost feel like they were excited to do it for you. And that's the way these guys are so They will I I have seen applicants. Say I’m going to call to get her weather briefing in thirty minutes later they come back and say wow. I'm worn out The guy gave me a whole lot of information so It's an it's a good thing to talk to somebody. Number eight on the list is not enough on takeoff. Now I’m part of the show. So I happen to know we're going to talk about left turning tendencies and upcoming episode but obviously this this is going to prevent some of those left turning tendencies on the go I can remember and I. I still see if you go look at people taking off out here. You probably won't want to own a flight school if you watch a bunch of landings at the airport but Not enough right rudder on takeoff. What are your thoughts. they're willing. Well we did an episode of few backs about Flight controls and I talked a lot about in that episode. Talk about crosswind landings and you talk about crosswind landings and you can use the same. The same verbiage that we used in that episode and talk about You know the proper amount of rudder on takeoff. what does it take. How much rudder does it take on takeoff and the answer are whatever it takes. Keep that airplane on the centerline. Obviously, a big high-power engine is going to. they're going to be more left turn tendencies. I I fly Saratoga piper Saratoga three hundred horsepower. Engine big airplane. And when I get in there with somebody who's not used to the airplane. They pushed the power up. And that's usually. The first comment is wow takes a lot of right rudder. You got three hundred horses out there trying to trying to get you off the runway and we've got a fight that so whatever it takes whatever it takes us. How much rudder you need to use on takeoff yeah to something that as a student and for the instructors listening you just got to keep keep practicing and keep telling to make sure that it's happening To to counteract those those forces number seven or poor use of airport diagrams This is one that. I'm definitely a was a victim of. I think I’ve changed my mind set on it as I got my commercial rating and I’ve flown to a lot of different places in a lot of new places again. I think it's a tendency of the way we teach nowadays. Wally that most private pilots students fly to the flat two or two one or two airports. They do the same cross country two times and then one long when they'd probably also includes the same airport. They've gone to so they they're passing their check rides and they've maybe been to five airports and they probably know those airports fairly well to maybe towered three probably not towered which means they've got a runway and taxiway not too big of a deal. But you go you go. Land twin engine plane at a professional big airport. Like Austin bergstrom. Where big jets are flying in all time. There are multiple taxiways. There are maniacs it's there's multiple runways you're going to have to use an airport diagram or you're going to look or sound stupid And need some progressive help. Yeah, but it. They're easy to get their online. If you're going to go print them out highlight what you think going to happen right. I'm going to exit midfield. If I’m in a single engine plane probably going to exit before midfield. Yeah, and then no. You're going to have to taxi. Have that have drawn out. Yeah, yeah and this this a little bit. Goes back to the checklist. The first element of use of of properly using an airport diagram is to have an airport diagram If you don't have it obviously, you're not using it. But I know it you know with my my airline job. We're are required to brief the exit. A taxiway that we expect to exit the runway on and our our taxi plan into the gate and and sometimes it's complex and sometimes it doesn't go as we expected but we do have a plan. We basically have a default plan. And I usually highlighted on my on my diagram on on the iPad. So I have an idea and You know a lotta times air. Traffic control will tell you what exit they want you to attempt to make off of the runway because a lot of times. It's not the first exit that you come to you. Know they may say Plan to exit. Charlie and bravo are before Charlie and you could make bravo but for whatever reason they need to go down to Charlie so You know again. The first the first way to properly use it is to. Obviously, you got to have it with you. So be ready for that. Number six rushing the preflight. Now I’m sure while he is a DPE. Your students are you. The people that are being examined aren't rushing. They're showing you their best day ever pre flighting an aircraft. But it's something that they can happen. External forces get us to where we're in a hurry. We have time to be somewhere. Something happened that held us up.
And now we're running a little bit late. We rush lots of really bad things can happen. We've talked about some of them in previous episodes. But I think we should follow the checklist one. That's in the pOH hope louis copied it or using something that follows that and we check everything on the outside everything on the inside of make sure. We're really ready to go. Yeah, yeah and and as an examiner. I I tend almost see the opposite. I it's not unusual ac- thirty-minute pre flights and you know. I'll usually debrief the applicant. I you know say I. I know that's probably not really what you're doing. So you're putting on a little bit of a show for me and get that I get that but have you know don't don't skimp on the preflight a main you could be in an airplane. Maybe a a one eighty-two or a one seventy-two. Or you're going to a cardinal that doesn't have struts something that you need to Bring a ladder over to to check the get up there and check the fuel. Don't skimp on that where we we are last couple of episodes ago. We asked our mechanic guests. Ray if you could if you could only preflight one thing what would it be. And he said well no question it would be the fuel. Not and so yeah. Don't don't skimp on the preflight. Um you know get there thirty minutes early And take care of that number five selecting cruising altitude. Something we all learn but As we've mentioned before we started recording some pilots might not ever fly above three thousand feet before they the earned their license. You know they might have done their cross country with a three-thousand-foot ceiling and flew over wherever they're going two thousand and two thousand five hundred feet and maybe have never been above three thousand. I don't. I don't know that I ever bought was above three thousand before I passed my private check ride but if at a busy airport like this if you listen to radio long you'll hear people requesting the wrong attitudes on fly followings based on direction of travel the the controllers are quick to correct them In the might might hear them not requesting an attitude that they're requesting apply following and it's it's really one of those mechanisms that keeps us safe that you really need to understand and know I if I don't I fly IFR a lot now that I’m an IFR Pilot follow fly plan. And I told what to fly of course requests something but That's pretty easy. And when I’m feeling that fly plan for flight guides me because it knows where I’m going right. I fly via foreign request fly following. I have to take a deep breath before. I open my mouth because it's been a while since I’ve requested that number and I use Saying that I learned that is one that that helps me might help you. East is odd and west is even odder So you know that east is an odd altitude and west is even odder. So you know west is even out to to Just something that has helped me remember so that I don't ask for six thousand when I’m going to Austin Because it's an it's a. It's a well that would be right as a westerly heading. But I don't ask for the wrong thing. If you know what I’m saying right and I have I have inadvertently filed for the wrong altitude and air. Traffic droves very graciously. Says for five thousand. You're you're going northwest you want. You want four six and you kind of swallow your pride for a second. Say six thousand would be good. Yup look you give us four four three two one. While what's number four number four staring inside the cockpit. You know a lot of the airplanes that we have today have a lot of cool stuff inside the airplane. Lot of lot of information. But there's a lot of really nice stuff outside the airplane to One of my and there could be really bad stuff right outside the airplane exact. We would like to see before we make contact. Exactly I I think I mentioned this in a previous episode Back in the summer. I gave two consecutive days check rides in a brand new. Sr twenty-two cirrus and the next day. I gave a check ride right in one thousand nine hundred forty piper cub and you talk about the difference in airplanes And I just found myself in the piper cub Just having a great time just looking outside and because there wasn't a whole lot inside. I mean I was in the back seat. There weren't really any instruments that I could see very well anyway without really straining to look But you know especially looking for traffic and VFR far scenario or or or I offer. I mean there's other airplanes out there You know that that air traffic control may may not may tell you about and there's also you know now we're in a situation where we've got people. Flying drones and a lot of times drones are being flown where they shouldn't be flown. And you've got to be careful about that so yeah look outside the window and I one thing. I try to watch on On private and commercial check rides is When we do steep turns whereas their focus is, they outside the window. I we ought to be about eighty five percent outside and fifteen percent inside on steep turns. And you know you can have you can vary on that but You know put some those on the horizon and find that forty-five degrees bank or fifty whatever the case may be and and keep the keep the nose there and you're probably going to be okay and As an instructor. I used to just cover up the instrument panel and steep turns enforce the the student outside and They usually would do much better. That's a good tip to to cover it up completely because it does. unfortunately we tie we. We might get caught lured into teaching to pass a check ride. And we're doing that as a student. We're trying to make sure we're holding that fifty or one hundred feet and we can't necessarily see that outside but I as I fly with a varying range of pilots. Now when I’m flying with some of these trying to learn how to fly if you just pick something out on the horizon in and point that you're probably going to fly straighter line than any other time right. Never going to hold a hearing by looking at the company the heading indicator not as well as a as a as a mountain or a building or a tower way off in the distance and then And at night you just pick a good light that you can hone. And that's the same thing. I think in maneuvers as well if you look aside and pick something and hold it. You're probably going to have more control. The aircraft than you would by looking at the instruments right right number three is poorer radio communication and we did an episode several episodes back on Proper atc Phraseology and communication The something that I the bottom line. Is we want effective communication and when all else fails just use plain English and talked. Atc I mean if you're up as a student pilot and you look over there and your instructor happens to to pass out get on the radio and say I’m a student pilot. My instructor passed out. I don't know where I am. I don't know what to do. Okay that's not you're going to get someone's attention they'll understand it you're going to get a lot of attention but You know proper communication. I I will ask a philosophical question to Applicants into to students really. I will say if something is not right. Is it wrong and For instance Houston center Cessna one to three level at eleven thousand. Okay is that the proper way to say no no the proper way to say it would be we're level at one thousand rather than eleven Does it effectively communicate. it probably does So is it wrong. Well I don't know. I don't know if it's wrong. It's not right. It's not the exact right way to do it so you know try. Try to try to say the exact correct thing to t. And I think Atc will will pick up on your your level of professionalism. And I’m not going to say they're going to treat you any differently. Because I never felt that way but it's just the right thing to do. It used to be Oatmeal commercial back in the day and the the the guy said the reason. You should eat quaker oats as it's the right thing to do well that that's that's kind of the way it is here and especially for pilots who are aspiring to have a professional. aviation career. You know at some point you're going to fly internationally. And that's that's where I believe it really becomes very important because you're going to be talking to controllers whose native language is not line in English and they have very they might have a very limited command of the English language so You want to use standard phraseology.
Yeah, I’d prefer everybody back that episode Lots of good stuff in there. We talked about some some tools from the faa. That are out there as well to help you. Learn and use that phraseology correctly and number two overshooting final approach We see this a lot especially as you would expect in crosswinds Let's say were on North south runway. I'll just use our runways here. One seven Basically north south runway. And let's say we have the winds at one twenty at twelve. And so we're on a downwind. Basically flying north The one thing that causes an overshoot on on final is you're not flying a rectangular pattern. You're not flying rectangular pattern because you don't adjust the heading on the downwind leg so if we are a imagine north south runway Where we're taking off and landing south and we're making left pattern and we have a wind coming. Easterly one twenty se Obviously if when we make that downwind turn if we fly exactly the reciprocal of the runway heading. Which in our case would be three fifty We're going to get blown toward the runway. And so we make the base turn All of a sudden, we look in wo we've already passed their own way so overshooting final. That's one because of it Another cause may be just Just you know a poor turn. So if you're in the pattern and you know you make the mistake one time. We'll make adjustments the next time so You know usually usually bad landings can be traced back to a bad approach. So no question. That I I do think that we we work on things like turns around a point and those sorts of things when we're private pilots to learn how to to to counteract what the winds doing, I think as I became a private pilot. You drive on a road. You don't have these acts these forces changing the way you drive a car but in a plane you definitely do. I need to think ahead and make sure that if the winds like that that you know when you're going faster because the winds bond you're when you're going slower and make sure the box looks the same because you're in control the aircraft the winds aren't in control of that aircraft And that I would say this is a very common problem because we we takes time to learn how to fly plane but don't ever tried to pull up and catch it right like if you're if you're going through final go ahead and just keep that shallow. Turn go around if you're not stabilized Don't don't I hate getting slow and steep in a traffic pattern and still scares me to death thinking about. If you do over shoot final disc- go round and try it again. It's it once you learn it. You learn it right absolutely and number one mistake. That student pilots make it says Ten things student pilots do wrong. I should say At says flaring too early or too late I don't know how many landings I’ve made in my career but Ah bunch a whole lot. And I still I still as I am coming into. Land says to myself. Look at the far end of the runway. Okay and I think Usually if I find myself in a landing slump and you know at at the airline. That's tough tough thing. Because I may only get three or four landings in a month. Maybe maybe even less so you don't you don't have the next time around the pattern to redeem yourself. But I am always telling myself shift. My aim point to the far end of the runway usually if If you're fixated on where you're going to down You know you're probably going to probably going to flare too late so You know finding that. That sweet spot-on when to flare is you know. It's the key to a nice landing and just keep in mind up. Probably a textbook landing is not always what we would call a greaser landing. you know. We don't want to bang these airplanes in obviously we might hurt them or or even worse. do do some hurt ourselves but you know flaring Too early you're probably going to get to slow and if you don't make proper adjustments, You're going to hit really hard Flaring too late obviously You're you're going to hit hard as well. So it's just something that will take practice and But just keep in mind A firm landing is not necessarily a bad landing. Yeah, I think there was one podcast one one video or one article that taught people how to land and not struggle with his flair. I I would. I would rent a lot less aircraft. I mean it is not something. That's just picked up by every pilot when they're learning how to fly many many tips looking further down the runway. I would. I would seek to if you're if you're in trouble now. Ask your flight structure to do more work with you in ground. Effect whether that's taking off and staying ground effect whether that's a on approach getting in ground effect in ground effect down the runway and go round again. Once I think once I realized what ground effect was doing and how that that cushion of air was was helping me and what that looked like to to be looking down the runway while I was in ground effect. It really made me change my thought process on the flair and the flares. Really that point where I am. I am transitioning from flight. Too graphic to the ground And it it just changed my whole aspect. I share that with people in your instructors should be able to fly the link of your runway and ground effect and you should be able to feel that in the seat of your pants of what that feels like. But I promise to all the students that I’ve ever talked to who are struggling with landing. Once you get it, you'll get it Yeah and you'll struggle with it again and you'll have issues and as you go from rating the rating the rating, You'll have different things that you'll run into. I go from private to commercial new power off and you got to hit a certain spot and you've maybe got a little lazy in the last year so you'll you'll you'll. You'll really learn how to do some of those things that you were doing really well on the day of private pilot. Check right absolutely great article great magazine and One of those things that we have been doing together. Wally and bobby's released behind the prop. We've also been doing some free courses here. United flight systems. Wally is Been gracious enough to offer himself to do another event at united flight systems and online. So wherever you're at in the world you can participate in Wally’s next seminar here. At united systems called overcoming check ride anxiety. We did a once it was a we had a huge group of people show up for that event a challenge you all to go to unitedflight.com/courses and register for Wally’s course on February twenty seventh two thousand and twenty-one. I know if you're listening this after that date you won't be able to see it but we'll we'll do more courses in the future. Go out register for Wally’s. Course it is one hundred percent free and we decided whoever's the farthest away maybe people from other countries we're going to ship outs a mug afterwards to All those the you attend from around global locations right currently the podcast is listened to on six continents every week. Now Wally We hope to send some mugs around the world and hopefully get pictures back of you guys taking selfies with our mugs but that's February twenty seventh two thousand twenty-one at ten. Am you can you can participate remotely via zoom so. Please go register for that anything to wrap with as we close today. Yeah, and there will be a question-and-answer Session with that with that Course on the twenty-seven so if you've got some questions You can actually if you want to email them ahead of time. That would be fine. Either myself or bobby Wally or bobby at behind. The dot com We'll we'll be sure to answer those in the in the course because whatever. Whatever you're thinking somebody else's probably think as well no doubt no doubt so with that. We'll wrap up turn out to be a long episode. Thanks for listening to everybody until next time please stay behind the prop fly say
Thanks for listening. Thanks for checking out the Behind The Prop podcast. be sure to click subscribe and check us out online at BehindTheProp.com behind the prop is recorded in Houston, Texas. Show creator and host is Bobby Doss. Co-host is Wally Mulhearn. This show is for entertainment purposes Only. and not meant to replace actual flight instruction. Thanks for listening and remember: fly safe!