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Old 03-13-2018, 12:31 PM
  #28  
November Seven
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Joined APC: Feb 2018
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Originally Posted by Stoked27 View Post
I really respect the level of research that you're putting in since you're clearly willing to put in a lot of your own time and effort, but I am thinking you will learn so much more if you just go take a few lessons.
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[relocated to here] Time is money and you're spending a lot of unbalanced time on reading when you'll learn so much more by taking a few lessons. Loosen up/get some air about you (I mean this politely because I think it'll help you see the bigger picture) and train under Part 61 so you can repeat a lesson easily if little things like that cause only a 70% information retention rate when you wished you had 100%.
I really do appreciate your thoughts, opinions and points of view! In fact, I wish more non-Instructor pilots would post here as well, because I want opinions and viewpoints from across the board, so I can aggregate them and properly place them where they belong in the pantheon of expressed opinion. So, thanks.

Had 4-5 hours of instruction more than 20 years ago. Lost track of that Pilot many years ago. If I knew where he was, I would probably not be here, because he was able to get me doing meaningful things with the airplane almost instantly. He had a real knack for Training and Teaching.

I'm approaching things a bit different this time by lining up a number of Instructors and paying each one for Flight Lesson Number #1. I will then eliminate one or more Instructors and then pay for Flight Lesson Number #2. Go through the process of elimination again and pay for Flight Lesson Number #3. I don't mind repeating the early lessons in this way because it also gives me exposure to different teaching approaches, attitudes in the cockpit and it reinforces early lessons concretely.

In addition, that experience of rotating through multiple Instructors until I find the best Instructor for me at the time, will also give me experience in selecting a future Mentor Pilot (someone I can trust) for both the Time Building Conquest II and the VLJ itself. In other words, evaluating the pilot's skill, demeanor, willingness to engage, etc., won't be new to me because I will have gone through that process already. It may seem like a not so normal selection process. However, I understand that what I'm trying to accomplish is not so 'normal' either.

For me personally, I thought the first Instructor seems far more intellectually engaged in practical knowledge transfer and in getting the student engaged in learning while understanding how they arrived at new knowledge. I thought that Instructor had a more strategic focus for delivering new knowledge to the student and I felt that he arranged the dots such that the student would naturally connect them on his own with minimal "instruction" from the Instructor. That's a big part of the Model of Instruction I'll be looking for.

The Instructor's communication mode is one thing. Their strategic approach to actively leading the student's engagement in the learning process is a different thing. Arranging appropriate scenarios that help to build the student's knowledge and confidence one successfully learned task after another. Teaching Cause & Effect in a chain of events that share a common purpose. Only the most competent Teachers can do that.



Originally Posted by Stoked27 View Post
From your other post about the VLJ purchase, if you're not hurting on money, then the money spent will be more valuable than the amount of time you're spending reading.
For me right now, it is question of building out an approach plan. In other words, you are a Pilot and it is probably fair to say that you would never attempt a cross country flight without understanding the weather en route, filing a flight plan and then reviewing that flight plan at some point before you called it a "Go." Only then would you go out and execute. Well, that's kind of where I am right now. I already have the dream. I already have the means. What I'm building right now is the Flight Plan. This is going to be a two year to possibly four year long process for me, because I don't bring 20+ years of flight experience to the table already. So, I need to prepare outlines for everything I do along this journey, to prevent me from easily being subjected to flying-by-the-seat-of-pants and spinning my turbines going nowhere, or going in the wrong direction.

This is a Four (4) Phase mission. I've already completed Phases 1 and 2. Phase 3, is figuring out how to develop the Flight Training and Time Building plan that is tailored to my needs. Phase 4, is physically making a safe transition into the VLJ. Phase 1, was developing the means to live out the dream. Phase 2, was figuring out what type of aircraft made the most sense in the fulfillment of that dream. I had to study a lot of different aircraft to arrive at this point in the process. I also had to study and evaluate Fractional Ownership as fulfillment of the dream as well (at this time it is not). My being here on this forum is just one small part of a much larger process of getting myself prepared to be a safe and competent VLJ driver. I'm taking nothing for granted. No stone will be left un-covered, un-studied or un-evaluated. But, I have to ask questions first, to figure out where all the stones are located. I hope that makes sense.


Originally Posted by Stoked27 View Post
You'll need to learn how to deal with something breaking your attention constantly in flying.
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Human factors to the minute detail that you're pointing out will be something pilots will likely work under until the day flying is 100% automated.
Thank for the insight. I can tell you get it. Regaining focus when broken and knowing when to not allow focus to be broken in the first instance, are things I've had to learn in the development and execution of my business over the course of 17 years. I really do appreciate the need to get good at this in the cockpit - regardless of what I'm flying. I've been training on developing Mental Focus for 30 years. I hope this skill helps me in light of what you suggest.


Originally Posted by Stoked27 View Post
I really do wish you the best of luck in your training. Now just go do it.
That's the plan! Hey, thanks for the input - I truly do appreciate varying thoughts from all corners on this. I was hoping for a wide variety of input, so I could better aggregate what's being said and hopefully find trends among pilots on this subject.
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