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As some of you may remember, the last time I wrote a column I was in the process of obtaining my Grade III instructor’s rating. I was fortunate enough to pass my instructor’s written exams first time ‘round and have been instructing at a flight school at Grand Central airport for the past 4 months. I have just under 20 hours of instruction left to do and I can then do my Grade II up-grade (200 hours total instruction hours). Now that you’ve worked so hard to get your rating, I would like to share with you some of the ins and outs of what lies ahead!

It’s 04:30 and I wake up to my dreaded alarm clock. I thought being an instructor I wouldn’t have to wake up at these terrible hours – I thought wrong! Although our first bookings are only at 06:00, some people may forget the fact that I’m female – and yes, that means make-up, hair etc. including the fact that I live over half an hour away from the airport! I look outside my window to see if I can see the weather - it’s still pitch black outside and the mornings are starting to get colder. Dammit – I can see stars. That can only mean one thing… I can’t sleep in any longer!

I meet my first student at 06:00 – we will be doing circuits today. It may sound trivial, but the one great thing about being an instructor is that you can send your student out to do the pre-flight! Obviously you still double-check your student. The morning is crisp and clear. After sorting out a radio problem and then getting take-off information, the student adds full power and the little C152 hurtles with all its might down the runway. Circuit after circuit you are constantly correcting and advising the student. Do you get at all nervous when it comes down to those last few feet? Of course! It’s when a pilot has no fear when he becomes dangerous. But after a couple of hours you get a feel for instruction and only take over the controls when it is absolutely necessary. I’ve realised that this is so important because some of my students in the beginning thought landing was a cinch until I found out it was because I was practically doing the landings myself!

The next lesson starts at 08:00. It’s a new student. He has been on an Intro flight and I will now be giving him his first briefing – Introductory Aerodynamics and Effects of Controls. There is no time left of the slot to fly, so we will be flying in his next lesson. I have time to eat my breakfast…

10:00 comes and the next student arrives. In today’s air exercise he will be doing stalling. He has been briefed thoroughly on the principles involved a few days prior to this lesson. After discussing the air exercise, he goes out to pre-flight while I finish up my breakfast. The plane needed to be re-fuelled and we are now ready to go. He goes through his checks – this is where your patience gets tested. This is the one of the first places you can tell how keen and prepared the student is. Luckily for him he knows his checks! We take off and head for the area north if the Red and White radio mast near Hartebeespoort dam. Most of you will be familiar with this area as it is filled with aircraft doing training. It is for this reason that is absolutely essential to keep a good lookout and let other aircraft know your position at all times. So many planes coming bombing through without making radio contact. We begin with the lesson. The student is calm and he grasps the exercise well. After spending about an hour out there, I am satisfied that he can recover from stalls in various configurations and we head back for Grand Central. It is a lot different when you are pattering a real student compared to the way you are taught to patter for your instructor’s rating. You will realise this when you get there.

It is now 12:00 – lunchtime. It’s a good thing I don’t have a booking for this slot as I am now starved! I join a friend for lunch at a restaurant in town (yes – instructors have friends and lives too!).

14:00. It’s at this time that the weather starts building up in the summer and the flight sometimes needs to be cancelled. But, winter’s almost here, so the skies are still clear. I am going to be teaching my next student how to climb and descend. We go and fly after he has been given a briefing. You can see this student is keen – what a pleasure! When you have students like this it makes you want to walk that extra mile for them. He is well prepared for the briefing and asks lots of questions. It’s only his 3rd lesson and he knows all his checks perfectly. This guy will go far with his attitude!

It is now 16:00 and my last slot for the day. The student strolls in just after 16:00. He has recently gone solo and is now doing Dual/Solo circuits, which means that I will fly with him for 3 or 4 circuits (or as many as it takes) and if I’m happy, will get out the plane and he flies the rest of the slot solo. After drilling him on engine failures after take-off, flapless landings, normal landings and a glide approach, he drops me off at the fuel bay and I get out the plane. This is nerve wrecking. I stand at the fuel bay watching his first landing. It looks perfect!

After his last landing, the student comes inside and I do a de-briefing and he signs his progress report. It’s now home time and there is another full day of bookings to look forwards to tomorrow!

The above is only a glimpse into an instructor’s day. This column would be far too long if I went through everything! If you are planning on becoming an instructor, be prepared to work hard and have lots if patience. It can be so rewarding in the end!!!

If you have any questions/suggestions/comments, email me: ngarden