Quick Start: What is this anyway?

wikiRFM is an online, community resource for helicopter flight instructors and students. The idea is to provide new instructors with training techniques beyond those that they learned during their training. Students can also use wikiRFM to improve the efficiency of their training by identifying techniques beyond what their instructor might be using. To make wikiRFM work, instructors and students have to contribute their experience to lesson plans. Anybody can contribute to or comment on lesson plans. Ultimately, any new instructor should be able to come to wikiRFM and draw on the experience of instructors who have–through trial-and-error, luck, or good mentoring–developed successful instructional techniques.

How It Works

WikiRFM is set up as a WordPress Wiki, which is unimportant except that you can not only come here to view and comment on posts and lesson plans, but you can add to and change them. All you have to do is register, find a topic that interests you or something that you have some insight to, and click “Edit this entry.” It’s easy, and you can’t really screw anything up. One note: the flight maneuvers are based on the R22, so please stick with that helicopter to avoid confusing students!

Why Do I Think This is Necessary?

The Least Experienced Pilots Train New Pilots

This was the biggest motivator. Probably 90% of my first 200 hours of flight training was with CFIs who had less than a year of teaching experience. If you’re new, there’s a good chance that your instructor will only have a few hundred hours more experience flying than you. But I’ve spent some time flying with and talking to high-time instructors and high-time pilots (many on the VerticalReference forums). Per hour with these guys, I’ve learned more than with any other instructor that I’ve flown with. This isn’t a criticism of anybody I’ve ever flown with, it’s the reality of learning to fly helicopters in the US. But for those of you trying to learn, wouldn’t you want access to the most knowledgeable instructors and their methods? For those of you who want to be great instructors, why not have a resource where you can learn from others’ experiences?

Known Unknowns and Unknown Unknowns

Think about it. By the time your training is finished, you will have been looking at the world from a pilot’s perspective for a whole year, maybe 2 at the most. Your instructor probably has only a few more months experience. I have no idea what I don’t know, and I can’t teach you what I don’t know.

There Is No Single Flight Training Resource For Helicopter Pilots

My lesson plans are a shambles, not because I just slapped them together, but because there’s so much information out there. I’d start writing up one section that I thought I really understood, and at the end of the day I wouldn’t have completed it (to my satisfaction anyway). And once I “finish” a lesson, I see something else that changes my way of thinking and I’m back to tweaking it. Part of the problem is that most of the resources available to CFIs are incomplete, outdated, too generic, or all three. To put together really good, really comprehensive lesson plan, I found myself going to a half-dozen books, reading the forums, and looking at notes from conversations that I’ve had with other instructors. This is a massive pain in the ass, and more effort than its worth for most instructors. It’s the same experience for students: the Rotorcraft Flying Handbook has its shortcomings and to truly learn some things you need to look elsewhere. Learning should be easier.

Flight Schools Hire Their Own

And there are good reasons for this…namely, that they then know who they’re dealing with. The downside is that a school’s method for teaching can quickly get homogenized. I won’t say much more about this except that there’s a reason our scientists, doctors, engineers, and other professionals are encouraged to mix it up when it comes to where they get their training. Experiencing different teaching styles and environments encourages their development as professionals, enriches their experience, and ultimately makes them better prepared to deal with the real world.

Exceptionally Boring Details

I haven’t figured them out yet. I think I’ll start by posting lesson plans for a couple of maneuvers, see how it gets marked up, and then decide. Part of the process will involve rating the lesson plan. At some point, I may close the plan for editing but leave it open for commenting. Or not. This is all just an experiment right now. Add a comment and let me know what you think. Please read the awful legal stuff for the terms of service.