This post is the first of a series written by Jason, from www.m0a.com. He describes how the first lesson of a student looks like from the instructor point of view. I wrote one about the same thing seen from the student point of view for his blog.

I would call myself someone who is crazy about and dedicated to flying. As an instructor I am thrilled to take on a new student. Not for financial or flight time reasons but because of the joy of flying I get to share. Nothing is more exciting then talking with a student for the first time. Usually I’ll have students call me full of questions and excitement about flying.

You can always tell you’ve got a good student when they ask how they should prepare for their first flight. Most instructors will provide their students with the essentials for a while (headset, fuel sump, etc.) however these are things you will want to purchase down the line. All I ask is that my students bring a pen, notepad, and a camera.

After a solid preflight and our pre-takeoff briefings/checks, we proceed to takeoff. Usually I let my students takeoff all on their own. The best way to let students get a handle of the flight controls is to just let them do it !

Our flight is usually brief and mostly scenic, in Florida I’ll take students over the beach or venture out and find their house. You never want to overwhelm someone with too much information at once.

Usually for the landing I explain to students that I’ll take the flight controls, but want them to watch exactly what I’m doing. I’m by no means expecting them to become the worlds greatest lander by observing, but I don’t want a great flight to go bad by a student having a poor landing. Especially when we’ve never discussed landings before.

I always try to end my flights with a very positive debrief. At this stage in flight training talking about what a student “could have done better” has no need to even be mentioned. You want your student excited about your flight and longing for the next one.

The first flight from an instructors perspective might be more technical than one thought. A great amount of care and preperation goes in to giving a great first impression.

But what does a student think about his or her first flight ? Is it really all it’s made out to be?

Click here to view the student’s perspective… by Vincent, from PlasticPilot.net