I wrote to Rod Machado, and he echoed doing whatever it was possible to physically overcome the student if need be. I hate to sound like a whiner, but at 150 pounds, I am out-sized by almost every student of mine. Sometimes by nearly twice my weight. (Especially the sport applicants, whose especially large girth makes going in for a medical look like a losing proposition.)

I know this sounds bad, but sometimes I feel like my only physical option is to punch my student in the head to stun them into letting go (only when things get dire of course). Is that too extreme? In the instance I wrote about, I tried to out-stomp the student on the controls, but I couldn't. Plus it happened lightning quick.

I've had several years of martial arts training, and I can tell you that there are weak spots on the human body regardless of its size. Wrists are a prime example. I have heard of instructors carrying a Mag-Lite (D-cells) because it can be used for leverage. That might be a little extreme, but I would recommend you get some training in joint manipulation until you feel comfortable.

I would say even a smack to the headset would be enough to snap someone out of a freeze. Chances are they are holding their breath too. I would be prepared to smack someone after I said "MY PLANE" once and they didn't respond.

Whatever happened to the student who froze and balled up the plane?

The student came out a few more times, and he flew very well, as he always had, but I haven't seen him in a long time now. He called and left what I knew to be a BS excuse as to why he wasn't going to make what turned out to be his last scheduled lesson.

Unfortunately I wasn't the one taking the call, or I would have tried to finesse the situation. I tried to make him feel as comfortable and welcome as possible during the lessons he did come back for. I do, however, feel torn about actively pursuing this person to get them to come back. I'm not sure if giving them a call would open a sore spot for them or if it would make them feel "wanted" or "missed".

One of the reasons many students quit is their instructors doesn't express an interest in them continuing.

Make the call. "Haven't seen you around here lately, when would you like to schedule your next lesson?" If the student is not interested, you can always offer to meet for lunch, coffee, or even a breath mint (this broke the ice for one student). Don't worry about the sale of CFI services, try to save the relationship. Students feel really bad when they make a simple mistake, they feel much, much worse if they ding an airplane.

Now if the school is going after the student for damages, the student has a really good reason for not being interested in further lessons. You might not be able to do anything with that situation.

Good luck!

Karate chop to the throat. Makes them release the controls and grab their throat.

First, thank you for your input. I do feel concerned about chopping to the throat-would that possibly kill someone? My other concern is that in my instance, the gentlemen was violently stomping with his legs.

Maybe a strike to the throat would startle the student exascerbate the stomping action? But then again what would a punch to the head do? I never expected to be seriously considering using blows against a student. :eek:

Honestly, and this came from an old school instructor who was an old man and kind of fragile. The issue is that even if you were to strike a student in the headset they might keep thier leg locked on the rudder. What you need is something that draws attention to thier legs AND causes them to release the controls. This old timers method was a slightly longer then normal push thumb tack. If you push it into the thigh of the student not only will the let go of the controls but thier leg will jerk and move based on simple reflexes. The man said he had only used it twice in close to 22,000 hours of dual given but he truly felt it saved his students and his own life both times.

P.S. He kept it attached to his clip board tied with a break away knot. Ask a boyscout how to tie one because I have no clue.

A thumb tack or some kind of pointy object? Hmmm very interesting. Yes, I agree with you, smacking the student might cause further panic and keep their leg locked on the pedal. This pin idea is worth exploring. That just might do the trick. I wear a knee board all the time, so maybe I could put it on my kneeboard. Thanks for that idea, great information! :D

The hard part is how do I prepare students for this event? I used to go by the FAA's way from the FOI book by emphasizing the positive when prepping a student. For example, saying that 'easy on the controls makes better airplane response' instead of saying that 'easy on the controls prevents the airplane from getting away from you.'

But now I tell students to be nice and gentle and give up the controls when I say "I got it" or else I will

1. shout "I GOT IT!"
...and failing that...
2. do whatever I physically have to do (but a little more eloquently).

Granted prevention is the best medicine, so I reiterate that the student communicates honestly and openly about comfort levels which I feel reduces risk.
Alright, how should I be selling this to my students? :confused: I don't want to scare folks off and lose money, but I do like being upfront and honest about how training will go from day one.

Once again, thanks to all

Unless you are a trained martial artist or EXTEMELY strong, you will not be able to kill someone with a blow to the throat from that angle.

But I'd recommend a blow to the side of the neck with your forearm or the side of your fist, this will get their attention and maybe incapacitate them with almost no chance of serious injury. If you hit the front of the throat you might possibly damage the trachea (medical emergency).

Actually the thumbtack idea is the best one I've heard so far.