JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO - RANDOLPH, Texas –
Over the last several months, the 12th Operations Group Instruction and Training Division has been improving the quality of instruction for the student instructor pilots, or IPs, going through its programs.
The 12th OG trains basic IPs who will go on to teach at the undergraduate pilot training level and upgrading IPs who will remain at Randolph to teach pilot instructor training courses.
The new instruction initiative started with the implementation of the Perception, Decision, Execution construct in the Instructor Pilot Basic course. Here all IPs go through the basics of learning and teaching as they relate to flying.
The construct results in root cause analysis not just error identification, said Capt. Landon Phillips, 12th OG chief of training and instruction.
Using the construct, an IP breaks down the sequence of events to discover if the student perceived the error, if they made the correct decision based on that perception, and finally, if they executed the decision correctly.
"Think of it as if you're teaching your son or daughter to drive," said Phillips. "They pull out in front of an oncoming car, barely escaping an accident. You ask them if they saw the car, if they say no then they have a perception issue and you remind them to look both ways before entering traffic. If they say yes, that they thought they had enough room to make the turn safely, then they made the wrong decision. If they said yes, but that they didn't accelerate quickly enough, then it's an execution problem."
Once an IP knows the root cause of an error they're better equipped to develop a solution, he said.
The construct was adapted from a process used in fighter pilot training and is something instructors have usually unknowingly done but there's never been a formalized, defined concept, according to Col. Andrew Croft, 12th OG commander.
"Now that we're teaching the process to our IPs as a formal instruction method, rather than the IP eventually and unwittingly using it, the process will be more intentional, allowing us to provide better IPs, ultimately producing a better pilot or IP," said Croft.
The next phase of the instruction initiative will be the development of an advanced IP course which will focus on upgrading IPs, according to Phillips.
"The course will focus on the unique challenges of pretending to be a student pilot in the jet," he said. "At first glance, it doesn't seem like it would be difficult to simulate a student pilot making basic errors. But to make specific errors to force the upgrading IP to determine the root cause through the perception, decision or execution method requires thought and preparation. When to 'take the aircraft' from the student pilot is also an art form, the instructor must allow for error feedback while at the same time prevent an aircraft accident."