The Plateau

On the Way to Forester Pass > 13,000'.
The pass seems a long, long way away

pla-teau (n)
1. an area of relatively high ground
2. a state of little or no change following a period of activity or progress

Learning Plateau “…in learning motor skills, a leveling-off process, or a plateau, is normal, and can be expected after an initial period of rapid improvement. ...  If the student is aware of this learning plateau, frustration may be lessened.”

Who'd-a-thunk-it?... Learning plateaus are not unique to aspiring private pilots, or instrument pilots or commercial pilots, even aspiring flight instructors can experience them. I've had my share of learning plateaus, especially in flight training. Is it any surprise I'd have one in my training to become a CFI?

The last month or so has been rough... my training progress has stalled. The new methods my CFI is using to help me remove the emotion from my errors have worked, so I'm not beating myself up so much for individual flying problems. I'm sure getting good at diagnosing what I'm doing wrong, but I am no closer to flying the way I need to than I was a month ago, in some respects I feel like I'm going backward. Motivation near an all time low, finding excuses to not write my lesson plans, not preparing for lessons and hoping flying lessons would get cancelled. Classic symptoms of a plateau, the worst I've experienced to date. Of course I didn't recognize them.

It took a chat with my CFI yesterday, sharing my frustration and some of the outlying, unrelated,  issues that have been bothering me to recognize it for what it is. Of course he says, "The lesson within the lesson.... You're experiencing a learning plateau." And, like you read in the magazines, blogs, and the Aviation Instructor's Handbook, knowing what I'm experiencing is normal and not some indication saying I'll never be a CFI is good. It helps reduce the angst and doubt. Remembering my past plateaus and that they all ended helps. It doesn't help that I have other unrelated issues bothering me... but talking about those helped too. One thing my CFI said that I like. He recognized my level of determination, even at this stage of frustration and disillusionment. He says I practically ooze determination.

I don't know if my plateau will end sooner or later. I sure hope its sooner! If it's not at least I know I have the determination, I call it stubbornness, to continue. As my brother said once, passionate people keep going when reasonable people would stop. I'm nothing if not passionate about aviation.

Changes

Leaving the flight club today I was finally able to pinpoint a change in my relationship with one of my favorite haunts, the flight club. Since I started flying in 2010 the "pilots lounge" in the club has been my informal hang out. Where I would go because I wanted to get away and spend time with other like minded pilots - or at least if they weren't like minded, at least they were usually pilots so we had something in common. I'd hang out in the club or park myself at one of the tables on the patio so I could watch planes take off over the hangar next to ours and observe the sights and sounds of an airport. The club was an escape to my happy, flying place.

Over a year ago now, the club's owner approached me to help with the club. He saw my passion for flying and love of the club and thought it would be good to leverage that to keep the club going and maybe even growing. The club was stagnant for a long time because he had little time or desire to do more than keep the lights on. So, I agreed to start helping out in a more formal fashion after I finished my commercial rating last year. I've been doing that and, I believe, making a small difference in the club.

A couple months ago a series of events got me to the point where I decided a more major change needed to be made for the good of the club and its members. We needed to get the CFI's at the club talking to each other, leveraging each other's skills for the benefits of their students (our club members) and following basic operating procedures (procedures many of them don't know because no one told them). So I lobbied the club owner and finally got permission to hold a mandatory CFI meeting.

I sent out the word last week about these meetings, the CFIs have to come, and now I'm formally a "club manager". Not that it means I get paid, but it gives me a certain level of power I suppose, and because I am who I am, a lot more responsibility. I noticed in the month that I've been working on the contents for the mandatory meeting, running it past all of the appropriate people, etc. that I'm not so happy to be at the club any more. It is no longer my escape. When I'm tired, which I have been a lot of the time recently, I want to leave there quickly rather than hang out, like I used to.

So it is sad for me... to have lost my happy place in exchange for the responsibility of making it a happier place for the club members. Maybe it doesn't have to be that way. Maybe I can eventually make real improvements that can make being there a joy for all. That's what I'm trying to do anyway.

This realization made me determined to spend a bit more deliberate "me" time running with my close friends. That will re-charge me for the time I spend at the club doing "club stuff". Not to mention I have found I need to do some non-training flights once in a while to remind myself what I'm doing all of the training I'm doing for.... to have a chance to introduce others to the magic of flight.

So much to do... so little time. But if I ask myself would I rather be doing something else, the answer is No. Yes, I wish it was easier and I wish I wasn't fighting so much inertia, but I am not at the point that I don't want to do it. I believe the effort can be worth it. I'm not 100% the effort will pay off, but I'm willing to keep working at it, and, if it doesn't work out here, it sure is great experience for later!

2014 to 2015 and Random Thoughts

It's been quite a while since I last posted. I've been very busy to say the least. At the moment I am resting after finishing another practice run of the CFI/AGI written test. Got 95% in practice and the ones I missed were stupid mistakes, not lack of knowledge, so easy to fix.  In any case, I wanted to share with you a brief recap of my flying accomplishments last year and plans for this year. 

2014 Accomplishments

• Earned my Commercial Pilots Certificate
• Logged 147.5 hours total time (including some B737 time!)
• Got to 600.5 hours total time logged before the end of the year
• Passed the Fundamentals of Instruction written test with "flying colors"

2015 Goals

• Earn Advanced Ground Instructor Certificate
• Earn Flight Instructor Certificate
• Fly to Utah and New Mexico for the big family reunion
• Meet my friend Alan's new Bonanza
• Meet my friend Rick's C172 with her new interior and paint job
• Fly to one airport I've never flown to before each month

Of the above goals I think visiting one airport I've not been to each month will be the hardest goal to achieve. I've just become so busy with my work, trying to be a good mom, training for CFI and helping out at the flying club. 

A brief note about my flight instructor training. As you know, I've been flying from the right seat now and working on getting up to commercial standards performing all of the long list of maneuvers that a CFI has to master. None of the maneuvers are new to me, so far, but the act of trying to perform them perfectly and analyze at the same time hasn't been working for me. It's been quite frustrating in fact. So, my instructor is trying a new tactic. I'm confident that if this doesn't work, something will. 

I gotta tell you, sometimes its hard to train with someone that makes the very difficult look so incredibly easy. Easy for him. Not easy for me. It reminded me of a quote from Isaac Asimov. 

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

When I went searching for that quote I stumbled across another one...

True delight is in the finding out rather than the knowing. 

I like that one, a lot. I'm definitely not in the knowing position right now, but I have the opportunity to find out.