During all phases of flight training, CFIs should remember they are role models for the student. The flight instructor should demonstrate good aviation sense at all times:
- Before the flight—discuss safety and the importance of a proper preflight and use of the checklist.
- During flight—prioritize the tasks of aviating, navigating, and communicating. Instill importance of “see and avoid” in the student.
- During landing—conduct stabilized approaches, maintain desired airspeed on final, demonstrate good judgment for go-arounds, wake turbulence, traffic, and terrain avoidance. Use ADM to correct faulty approaches and landing errors. Make power-off, stall-warning blaring, on centerline touchdowns in the first third of runway.
- Always—remember safety is paramount.
Flight instructors have the responsibility of producing the safest pilots possible. For that reason, CFIs should encourage each student to learn as much as he or she is capable of and keep raising the bar. When introducing lesson tasks, flight instructors should not introduce the minimum acceptable standards for passing the checkride. The Practical Test Standard (PTS) is not a teaching tool. It is a testing tool. The overall focus of flight training should be on education, learning, and understanding why the standards are there and how they were set. The minimum standards to pass the checkride should not be introduced until the 3 hours of preparation for the checkride.