There are four areas of training ever pilot should experience prior to obtaining their pilot license.
These areas include spin training, short and soft field takeoffs and landings, unpowered flight, and turn theory.
Turn Theory, why turn theory, ever pilot learns about turns but do they understand how the turn works.
Ask this question, what makes the airplane turn? Most students would say the ailerons make the plan turn, but this is not correct.
The ailerons make the airplane roll, the elevator is what is controlling the turn rate.
To initiate a turn the ailerons are used to bank the airplane, once the desired bank is established the ailerons a returned to the neutral position, if the ailerons controlled the turn why are they in the neutral position.
What happens next is if no other control inputs are made the nose of the airplane will drop, why because the bank has changed the lift to weight forces and lift no longer equals weight so the plane descends.
Thinking that pitch controls altitude back pressure is added to the controls and changes elevator position, in reality the pitch is changing the lift forces to which are causing the airplane to turn.
Pitch is also changing airspeed and as a result power is needed to maintain the correct speed profile.
Not understanding the proper use of the elevator in a turn can lead to disaster.
Take a situation in the traffic pattern, turning from base to final the current turn rate is going to result in overshooting the runway centerline, what options are available.
Many times pilots have been trained to never exceed a specific angle in the traffic pattern so the first thing they think of is ad rudder pressure to swing the nose around.
Here is the first problem, the nose will not react the way they expect, it will drop.
Why, because that is the direction of control being applied.
Think of it this way, in level flight pushing the rudder causes the nose to move left or right toward one of the wind tips, in a turn the rudder acts the same way it will cause the nose to move toward one of the wing tips, so if turning left the left wing in low and adding left rudder to try and increase the turn will cause the aircraft nose to drop toward the left wing which is toward the ground.
So what happens next, the pilot adds back pressure on the control yoke increasing elevator thinking this will increase or maintain the altitude, but it is actually increasing the angle of attack of the wing, increasing the lift, increasing the rate of turn and also decreasing the airflow over the wing and decreasing airspeed.
What happens next is the spin and ground contact.
This leads directly into the next area of additional training, spins.
Actual spin training use to be required, now only spin awareness is taught unless you are getting the Flight Instructor certificate, then spin training is required.
Take the traffic pattern example from above, get in a approved aircraft for spins with an experienced instructor and add a few thousand feet of altitude and do the same maneuver, experiencing what actually occurs in a controlled environment will provided life saving experience.
The only true method to understand and recognize conditions that will result in a spin is to actual experience those conditions.
On a similar note about experiencing actual conditions, the third area of training that every pilot should receive is in the short and soft field takeoffs and landings.
The practical test standard require the applicant demonstrate short and soft field techniques but there is no requirement for actually experiencing a real short or soft field runway.
Even many flight training centers and flight schools have minimum runway lengths they will allow for training, with most training for the short and soft fields being simulated on larger runways.
It is good to learn the maneuvers but without actually performing a landing or takeoff from a short runway or grass field the student is missing a number of important training scenarios' that will help in their risk management and cockpit planning.
One of the biggest lessons a pilot can learn from landing at a real short field airport is in the proper traffic pattern planning.
The pilot needs to be more precise in altitude, pitch and speed control, and they need to increase their approach planning skills in order to have a successful outcome.
Just the visual aspect of approaching and landing on a shorter runway will make all their landing more precise.
Going back to the traffic pattern example in the turn theory section, one of the areas where a pilot will get caught in that type of scenario is approaching a unfamiliar short runway airport, it may not even be a short runway but it may require a shorter approach path, having experienced, practiced, and trained in actual conditions adds to the knowledge base a pilot uses for risk analysis and planning.
The last area of training a pilot should look for that exceeds the standards is in unpowered flight, flight without an engine source; gliders.
What does this bring into the training? Every pilot should experience controlled flight without the aid of an engine pushing or pulling the aircraft through the air.
The training a pilot can get from a few lessons in a glider includes pitch control; pitch controls more than just altitude.
Traffic pattern planning, there is no go around option so advanced planning is a most.
Without the engine this is a true management of aerodynamic forces in order to maintain flight.
And finally weather patterns, a glider depends largely on weather conditions to stay in the air for large periods of time, a glider pilot is able to observe outside conditions and determine changing weather patterns.
Depending on the training program used, gaining the additional training may require searching for an additional instructor or training location.
Most training issues related to the turn theory is due to the lack of training the instructor received themselves.
Gaining the spin training will require finding a location and instructor willing to teach the maneuvers, most structured aviation program should have this type of training but typically do not train the spins until the student is in the advance certificate levels.
Ask about getting the training early or look for supplemental training outside the program.
Do to limits some training centers place on the runway length requirements a student may have to look for supplemental training to get actual short or short field experience.
A good place is to look for an experienced instructor that flies out of a short or short field airport, these airports are all over the country.
The only way to get the training in unpowered flight is to locate a glider training school, but there are many locations around the country and one can be found nearby with a little search.