In short: Rod Machado argues that primary flight training drifted away from basic stick and rudder skills and toward higher-order, scenario-based methods borrowed from the airline and jet world. Drawing on the building block principle of learning, he makes the case that students should master turning, climbing, descending and landing before being loaded with advanced tasks.
Video: “In Defense of Stick & Rudder Flight Training” by Rod Machado, from his YouTube channel.
What you’ll learn
- How the decline of World War II era instructors changed general aviation training
- What scenario-based training is and where it originally came from
- Why Rod says the building block principle should guide primary instruction
- The comparison Rod draws between whole language reading and phonics
- Signs Rod points to that basic airmanship skills have eroded
Losing the World War II influence
Rod places the turning point in the early 1990s, as the influence of World War II era flight instructors and their students faded. Those pilots flew airplanes that demanded strong stick and rudder skills, and Rod relays one veteran instructor’s remark that a P-38 pilot could read a P-51 manual and safely check himself out in the airplane.
Without that anchor, Rod says, general aviation curricula came under the sway of the airline and jet community. Over the last 20 years or so, many flight schools and academic programs shifted toward scenario-based training, decision-making, risk assessment, autopilot use, GPS skills and workload management, sometimes taught at the same time a student is still learning straight and level flight. He also notes an FAA advisory circular encouraging instructors to blend pre-solo training with cross-country trips, which effectively skipped the traditional practice area.
Building blocks before scenarios
Rod is clear that scenarios are fine once the basics are in place. His objection is to adding them before then. He says no principle of psychology supports the idea that pre-solo students learn the basics better while juggling higher-order skills. To illustrate, he points to the whole language approach to reading, which he contrasts with phonics, and notes that California returned to phonics in 1995.
He observes that some students are now taught instrument approaches before they can land an airplane, and he connects weak fundamentals to later failures under stress, citing a commuter pilot who failed to lower the nose in a stall and a recommendation that airline pilots receive more manual flying skills training.
The case for going back to basics
Rod adds that the FAA has called for more angle of attack training for flight instructors, which he sees as a sign of how far basic airmanship has slipped. If higher-order training worked as promised, he argues, accident rates in personal flying should have dropped substantially, and he says they have not. His conclusion: teach higher-order skills, but never at the cost of fundamentals.
Go deeper with Rod Machado
Rod’s building block approach to airplane control, one fundamental at a time, is the heart of the How to Fly an Airplane eCourse. Learn more in How to Fly an Airplane eCourse.
Looking for a flight instructor or flight school near you? Browse instructors and training programs on Skyfarer.
Affiliate disclosure: Skyfarer may earn a commission from qualifying purchases via our links. This funds our content for pilots.
