First post in my instrument rating blog! This blog’s going to be a little different from my private pilot post, in that I won’t be training towards my instrument rating until I finish the private pilot course. Last semester I took, and passed, the private pilot ground course, while taking the private pilots flying lessons. However, I didn’t finish with the flying lessons and am continuing them this semester. Once I finish those lessons, and get my license, I’ll start flying lessons for my instrument rating. Farmingdale Aerospace allows students to take the next ground course, even if they haven’t yet passed the previous flying lessons; such as my situation. This means that for a few months or so, the posts in this blog will all be about the ground school course for an instrument rating.
The class is divided evenly between students like me (still working on private pilot certificate, but enrolled in the instrument ground course) and instrument students who are taking instrument flying lessons. This means that it’s going to be a little easier for those students because they’ll be able to apply lessons learned in the classroom to real situations.
Nevertheless, the first class today was easy for both types of students. The instructor went over the basics of being a pilot, such as physiological factors, psychological factors, safety, alcohol and drugs policies, situational awareness, and certification of airmen. All of todays class was a review of what I had already learned in private pilot school. However, it was good the professor went over everything he did because I realized that I needed to brush up on everything. An example of something we did today was going over the ‘DECIDE’ model. This acronym is helpful when talking about human factors while flying. D for detecting a problem, E for estimating the scope and severity of the situation, C for choose the best course of action, I for identify the solution, D for doing the chosen solution, and finally E for evaluate the result and situation. This sounds like a lot, but it happens within a second or two. People all over use this model, without even knowing it, to get past an obstacle, overcome a problem or even when deciding what to wear every morning.
Today was just the refresher, but tomorrow starts the more in depth lessons. Some of the classes will be straight review, and other will be entirely new material for instrument lessons. I’m excited to learn more than I already know about aviation.
The class is divided evenly between students like me (still working on private pilot certificate, but enrolled in the instrument ground course) and instrument students who are taking instrument flying lessons. This means that it’s going to be a little easier for those students because they’ll be able to apply lessons learned in the classroom to real situations.
Nevertheless, the first class today was easy for both types of students. The instructor went over the basics of being a pilot, such as physiological factors, psychological factors, safety, alcohol and drugs policies, situational awareness, and certification of airmen. All of todays class was a review of what I had already learned in private pilot school. However, it was good the professor went over everything he did because I realized that I needed to brush up on everything. An example of something we did today was going over the ‘DECIDE’ model. This acronym is helpful when talking about human factors while flying. D for detecting a problem, E for estimating the scope and severity of the situation, C for choose the best course of action, I for identify the solution, D for doing the chosen solution, and finally E for evaluate the result and situation. This sounds like a lot, but it happens within a second or two. People all over use this model, without even knowing it, to get past an obstacle, overcome a problem or even when deciding what to wear every morning.
Today was just the refresher, but tomorrow starts the more in depth lessons. Some of the classes will be straight review, and other will be entirely new material for instrument lessons. I’m excited to learn more than I already know about aviation.
