Tailwind Tuesday: Failing is Good?
Welcome back to this week’s issue of Tailwind Tuesday. This week, we are taking a break from learning plateaus to discuss an event from the flight line. I won’t go into detail for all parties involved, but I think I learned as much as my student did. Failing in a safe environment is the best thing to happen to you. So, buckle up and fold those seat trays as we depart into another Tailwind Tuesday.
Becoming a private pilot includes flying several solo cross-country flights (more than 50 nautical miles). I recently started flying with a student, and today, I sent them off for one of those solo flights. We usually fly out of a non-towered airport; this student doesn’t have much experience working with Air Traffic Control or Towered airports. My student made it to their destination without issue but got overwhelmed by the tower’s instructions. Nothing serious happened, and the airport wasn’t too busy, but the tower called to let me know what had happened. My student landed, and I went out to the plane. That’s when I switched from teacher to coach. As a flight instructor, you often switch between these two roles. By the end of the debrief, my student’s emotions softened, and they left by saying, “Well, thanks for making me feel a bit better.” It wasn’t my job to make them feel better, but it was my job to ensure they didn’t form a plateau or regress from this negative experience.
This scenario reminded me, "You aren’t as good as you think.” I realized I must add more radio lessons for my students' training at a non-towered airport. Many students struggle with radio communication because they often overthink it. Even if the student made the mistake, I must adjust my training to ensure others don’t repeat it.
Now, what does this have to do with failing? I might sound crazy here, but I think people should fail as much as possible in a safe environment. Failing helps people identify problems and knowledge gaps and plan to fix them. There are many parts to becoming a pilot, and it’s impossible to master them in only 40 or 50 hours. That’s why I believe my students generally find long-term success. I teach them to create an environment where they learn how they learn. Every student is different, but they all must overcome challenges. A teacher will help you with a knowledge deficiency, a coach will help you find the answer for yourself, but an instructor will teach you to identify and solve your problems. Everyone learns differently, and you can’t solve everyone’s problems the same way. Some people need a gentler touch, while others honestly need to get hit with a tree. Over time, you will learn what works for someone, and then you can help them learn that about themselves.
Just like sending a student off on a solo flight. An instructor won’t always be there to help correct an issue. The point of training isn’t to pass a test and get a certificate. The point is to learn to recognize an issue and fix it. Sometimes, experience is the best teacher. Not every experience makes us feel good, but solving the problem does. So, fail fast, fail safe, and learn from them, it does no one any good to fail at something and not know how to learn from it.
Until next week.
CFI, out.