Ralph Hood to speak at February conference

Not sure yet if you are going to attend the Fifth Annual International

Flight School Operators Conference next month? Maybe the fact that
Ralph Hood will be speaking will convince you.

A member of the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame, Ralph Hood has sold, insured and flown airplanes from California to Miami and from Alaska

to Mexico. He has taught a college course in aviation management

and spent decades teaching people how to sell flight training. His

popular column, GROUND CLUTTER, has appeared in every issue of
Airport Business magazine. He was training director for the Learn to
Fly Promotional Team and marketing director of AOPA's Project Pilot.

FSANA PARTNERS  

FSANA welcomes newest Partners   

We are pleased to announce that MyFlightTrain™ and Phoenix Aviation Managers Inc. are on board in 2014 as FSANA Partners. "Partners" are annual supporters of FSANA's mission and the work of the association and its members.

MyFlightTrain is a modern, web-based suite of software that lets a flight school manage itself. MyFlightTrain is created by Flying Software Labs, software creators for aviation users and the aviation industry. Their products are released under the "MyFlight" family of products.  

Over the past thirty years, Phoenix Aviation Managers has grown to be a leading aviation insurance provider in the U.S. Phoenix has been serving the general aviation community by offering a wide range of insurance products through local independent agents and brokers.   

If you would like to become a FSANA partner, contact us via email a [email protected] or via phone at 610-791-4359.

FUTURE PILOTS  

Engaging all ages is key to GA rebound

General aviation can and will rebound, if we engage and get the right people involved. We believe the key to a rebound requires flight school owners and managers across the nation to engage in programs that attract people of all ages to come out -- particularly our youth.  

Lisa Campbell from Air-Mods Flight Center in Robbinsville, NJ, reported that the father of a young AeroCamper earned his private certificate a few months after the son went for his checkride. The young man had started in AeroCamp Basic, then enrolled in AeroCamp Advanced at Air-Mods. The son's interest transferred to his father.  

Flight schools have powerful magnets available to help attract new customers. The cross channel marketing concept is something that FSANA is now helping schools like Air-Mods explore and develop. When Air-Mods holds an AeroParty™, they includes brochures on other programs like AeroCamp in the goody bag that each guest receives. That's the cross-sell opportunity! We encourage any flight school to give it a try.  

NOTE: AeroCamp and AeroParty are programs created by FSANA for the exclusive use of its members. FSANA Aero programs are intended to excite and engage the public at their local flight schools.

THE BOTTOM LINE 

Flight training is not a virtual reality game

Not long ago a flight school from the Midwest called to discuss several topics. The focus was on how the younger generation tends to view flight training. They related a recent story from one of their CFIs. Here is how it went:

"A new young student arrives at the flight school for his first flight lesson. After some ground discussion, the CFI and student were off to preflight the machine. They get into  the aircraft, secure their belts and the student asks the CFI where the keyboard and mouse  were located. (No really. It happened.)

The CFI elected to exit the aircraft and proceed with some more ground education before re-entering the cockpit."

What does this mean for aviation training you may ask? It means that students from younger generations are more keyed in with computer based learning. It might also mean that your students have already been exposed to some digital (or virtual) "learning" before they come to your flight school through the use of flight simulators (which typically use keyboards and mice unlike our aircraft).

This isn't just something that happens in aviation. Many other activities also are played via games in a digital manner. Think about games that might include baseball, football, hockey, battle based games, and yes, learning to fly. In each of these, knowledge of the activity can be gained, but at some point really doing it is necessary to take the next step.

One major difference between simulated environments and the real thing is that even in full motion, highly realistic simulators, the pilot(s) know full well that no matter what happens in the simulator, the chances of injury and/or death are almost 100% non-existent.

Simulators are great and they have a place in training. They can help build skills and proficiencies, but at some point, there is no replacement for actually putting butts in seats and making those seats go in the air.

Actual stick and rudder skills are critical to aviation safety and they should not be marginalized. In recent aviation history we can point to two extreme examples of good and bad stick and rudder skills with very different outcomes. While final reports are not out yet, it certainly looks like some basic stick and rudder skills and aeronautical decision making could have made the Asiana crash avoidable. On the other end of the spectrum, and in two fantastic examples, the United 232 accident piloted by Captain Al Haynes and more recently the US Airways flight 1549 piloted by Captain "Sully" Sullenberger both represent examples of pilots who had fantastic stick and rudder skills making extremely bad situations work out better than anyone would have predicted. In these cases, we have to think that the stick-and-rudder-ingrained skills those pilots had, made a difference.

Primary training forms the core foundation for a pilots career and is centered on basic stick and rudder proficiency. Helping them develop a good cockpit scan (something that simulators can help build) but emphasize the need to spend most of the time outside the aircraft (a skill that simulators do not build well). The combination of actually flying an aircraft and manipulating the systems while operating in a real world environment builds situational awareness and an ability to manage tasks simultaneously. This will produce good habits which will remian with the pilot for a lifetime.