Fundamental Aircraft Handling Question
As I study my Jeppesen, King Schools and Sporty's DVD for the private and instrument and read the various books on primary flight training, something stood out as being rather odd.
The DVD's say nothing about "how" to fundamentally handle your aircraft and almost all of the books that I have on the subject of primary training and primary flying, talk about "how" you get the aircraft into a particular "configuration" before you attempt certain kinds of flight maneuvers, or while engaged in the six (6) basic phases of flight: Take/Off, Climb, Cruise, Descent, Approach and Landing.
I initially thought that this was a rather bizarre omision on the part of the DVD makers, but the more I read different aviation authors, the more I realize how Instructors beliefs and attitudes vary on the subject.
So, my question is this (for CFIs):
After I go through the process of interviewing and selecting the Instructor who will guide me through my Private Pilot License, do you think it is a good idea to get the Pitch/Power/Trim settings for the aircraft that I will be training with, so that when my Instructor asks me to do something with the aircraft, I'm not wasting valuable time mentally hunting for the correct Pitch/Power/Trim setting that will enable me to fly the aircraft the way my Instructors wants me to, during the Take-Off, Climb, Cruise, Descent, Approach and Landing phases of flight [the basic six]?
Before you answer that question, please understand that I am able to visualize that fact that there might not be a one size fits all silver bullet setting that solves all of my problems. That's not what I'm talking about. What I'm trying to understand is whether or not there is a fairly reasonable range of Pitch/Power/Trim settings that a pilot can expect to be able to rely upon, to get the aircraft to behave a certain way under most conditions.
My theory is that as a "student pilot," if I have these settings right up front at the outset of my initial flight training phase, that I will be able to focus more on the more subtle, complex and difficult tasks and challenges that face all students who are just learning to fly.
Example
Instructor tells me to:
"...Using the fewest number of degrees, turn to a heading of 035, THEN descend down to 3,500 ft at 100 fpm and no greater than 110 kts, THEN fly straight and level at 035 degrees at no more than 95 kts. Let me know when you think you are done with this task." [or, words to this effect]
Aircraft handling skill is required throughout that entire maneuver from start to finish. If I stumble in my mind at any point in handling the aircraft, then I will not get the aircraft to perform this maneuver. For the skill pilot with plenty of experience in handling their aircraft, this would most likely seem like a very simple task.
Realizing that the Instructor would have already reviewed how to do this with his new student, the student might still be trying to process the request in their brain in
real-time, given the shear lack of flying time and experience.
I'm trying to find effective ways in which to increase my learning while at the same time, free my brain to focus on the task and not so much on the physical skills required to accomplish the task.
If that same student already knew the Pitch/Power/Trim settings for the particular aircraft that he/she is training with and knew in what order to execute control inputs for these same settings, would that student be able to handle the above task with more confidence, fluidity and better physical control of the aircraft? If not, why not?
Your help is greatly appreciated on this, thanks.
