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From NAFI HQ
Commit to the Highest Standards
I recently met with a high school age private pilot student and his mother. They were disillusioned with his current flight training and seeking to transfer. As we reviewed the previous 20 hours of training experience, several alarming practices came to light.
The student’s CFI was conducting training without a syllabus, neglecting ground instruction, and the critical briefs and debriefs that frame every flight. Such omissions are troubling enough, but the revelations didn’t stop there.
While reviewing the logbook, I discovered an entry that made my jaw drop. The student mentioned a flight to Martha’s Vineyard during which they did not land. Instead, they grazed the island’s western coast before promptly turning around. The distance: exactly 51 nautical miles from the flight’s point of origin. This raised an immediate red flag.
According to FAR 61.1(b)(vi), “cross-country” time for an airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate includes flights with a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles from the point of departure. An article by Boldmethod summarizes: “For the ATP certificate, you could, in theory, fly a straight line distance of 50 nm away from your point of departure, turn around, fly back, and log cross country time without even landing at a different airport.”
It appears the CFI used the flight to pad his own logbook. The student conducted no preflight planning and received no instruction in the art and science of cross-country flight. Instead, the logbook merely noted “steep turns” as the primary exercise for 1.6 hours. According to the tracklog, they did, in fact, do a single set of steep turns on the way back to the home airport.
Such practices are a disservice to the aviation community. It undermines the student's education and jeopardizes safety by producing inadequately trained pilots. I am reminded of a recent MentorLIVE presentation entitled “Do No Harm” given by colleague and fellow NAFI board member, Robert Meder, where he elegantly stated, “The decisions we make, the skills we teach, and examples we set touch an untold number of lives and affect our clients for a lifetime — for good or bad.”
In the spirit of aviation safety and integrity, let us commit to the highest standard of professional practice, ensuring that every student receives the comprehensive education and training they deserve. The sky, after all, is no place for shortcuts.
George Charles Allen,
NAFI Board Member
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