I would think that by time someone is 50 they (me) would know how to handle just about everything/anything. I would think someone like me (me again) would be able to communicate with grace and poise at all times. I would think that I would be able to see things ... clearly. So far - not so much, but I am showing up to work on it. I am trying to see what God whats me to see when I look at what he wants me to look at. I'm trying to set my own ego aside and do what I think I hear God nudging me towards. Working with people on stuff that is important to them is more than just teaching them how to fly a piece of equiptment for example...it's more than knowledge and skill and it reaches further in to them...they let you in to help shape them into who they want to become. The evolving product is a stronger aviator - you measure that in what you see them demonstrate...but there's stuff that we don't see. It's a huge responsibility to flight instruct...you get in people's heads. I can still hear the instruction of some of them...when I'm flying...when I'm getting ready to do something not quite as lovely as they called me towards.

"...what are you aiming for... the 500ft markers ... no you're not, liar...(smiling)I am now...it's primacy - habits are difficult to overcome...stay on it...teach better than you were taught..."

I am reading the material in the FOI and it has gotten me thinking about all the flight instructors I have flown with. Some of them have been really great instructors - a few have had their minds elsewhere.

I'll put the FOI stuff that I am specifically thinking about in quotation marks. Aviation Instructors Handbook FAA h 8083 9A.

"Human behavior is also defined as the result of attempts to satisfy certain needs." 1-2

"Helping a student acheive his or her potential in aviation training offers the greatest challenge as well as reward to the instructor."1-4

"Since it is human nature to be motivated, the responsibility for discovering how to realize the potential of the student lies with the instructor. How to mold a solid, healthy, productive relationship with a student depends on the instructor's knowledge of human behavior and needs. Being able to recognize factors that inhibit the learning process also helps the instructor in this process." 1-6

Human needs/ Maslow's hierarchy:

Physiological - if hungry/tired student may not be able to perform as expected

Security - instructor who stresses flight safety during training mitigates feelings of insecurity

Belonging - people seek to overcome feelings of loneliness and alienation...make every effort to set student at ease.

Esteem - a big one - "Esteem needs not only have a strong influence on the instructor-student relationship, but also may be the main reason for a student's interest in aviation training." 2-6

Cognitive and Aesthetic - need to know and understand what is going on around them - rush of dopamine whenever something is learned. Alsoabout subtle feeling/emotion of "liking" or not liking who you're working with...which affects learning.

Self-Actualization - be all you can be - when all above needs are satisfied needs for self-actualization are activated. Self actualized people are-> problem focused, appreciative of life, concerned about personal growth, have the ability to have peak experiences.

"learning is not just a change in behavior; it is a change in the way a person thinks,understands, or feels.2-3

I have noticed that a type of bond forms between students and instructors...sometimes it does. It's a little confusing for me because I personally don't always bond with the people I've spent time in the airplane with, but in general they are important to me ... and I have become very particular about who I want to be instructed by. I'm thinking about those qualities that I value as a student and may want to express as an instructor.

I am thinking about the few top instructors I have flown with...I'm going to be thinking about that some as I do the work to become the type instructor I want to be. BTW - instructing is what I actually want to do ... this is noteworthy because a lot of instructors are passing through this job on the way to their "real life" as airline pilots or freight pilots or charter pilots ... instructor pilot is seen as an entry level job for commercial pilots - a stepping stone. I don't discount that idea, or choice - I get it - but for me this is where I want to be for the foreseeable future.

Top instructor experiences for me - what I perceive, not necessarily exactly how it is/was -

For one thing,I want to feel inter personally safe with the instructor - when you are learning you have to be able to expose areas of yourself that are not what you hope they can become through effort -

You have to be able to say, for example...this is my crosswind landing technique...I crab all the way down then at the last minute I straighten it out before touch down...that's how I was taught. Then they say - I can see that that is working for you, but it is not the simplest way to land this plane in a crosswind situation...and this is why....and this is the potential problem with that (potentially exceed rudder authority) (possible cross loads on the gear) (more steps = more potential for error)(etc)...and when you are instructing students I would like for you to be able to give them this technique...wing low...keep it in keep it in and remember to hold crosswind correction on the runway...as we roll.

New - brand new students don't always get in the plane ready to learn. Student's who have acquired some skill may not wanna learn for reasons - their own reasons - too.

I have had a lot of fun rolling down the runway after a crosswind landing with one of the mains up off the ground - it made me a little nervous because it didn't feel normal but the instructor said - hey what are you doing (setting the wheel down) ...this is the fun part...and I said I don't want to flip over...he said there's no way you can bc the wind is coming from over there...just hold it off as long as possible and it will settle itself down to the runway as the energy dissipates. Two different instructors helped me put this skill into my flightbagoftricks. Pretty cool. Flying is a lot of fun. It's a lot of work too.