If your student is beginning to experience a learning plateau with landings before a stage check, as an instructor you can do several things to help that student overcome the aviation challenge. The first thing that I would do is try to keep my student focused on the fun in flying and not to stress the landings. Enjoy the sights from the skies and the feeling of flying. They have grasped the basics and feel for the aircraft, now it might be time to let them take a break and let the student regroup. Be honest with the student about a learning plateau and motivate them. Encourage the student to be positive because they’re moving to the next step in their training. Now they understand the basics and just need to practice and gain the time. Let them know that they are still showing progression even though it may not be as noticeable. There are also some different techniques the instructor can do so the student can gain more experience in the critical phases of flare, landing, and rollout. Having the student fly several low approaches but not actually touching down could be one method improving the sight picture and feel of the aircraft configuration. Another would be during the flare, hold the airplane in ground effect above just above stall. This increases student experience during the last critical seconds of landing. Anticipate the float and brake down the landing into 3 steps. I wouldn’t tell my supervisor about the situation unless it was something that was continuing to take place after several flights and I had tried every different way of teaching that I know of and I had the student also fly with different instructors and received feedback from them as well. When having the aviation talk with a student, I don’t feel that there are a set number of hours needed for the student to have. Each case is different between instructor and student. I would start leaning toward this talk and considering it after no progress had been made after about 15 flights.
I agree with you for the most part on this. There is something to be said for emphasizing the positive aspects of flying, and breaking up the landing into three seperate sections. However, would you really let the student go for an additional 15 flights before you would give the talk? That just seems a little far out to be making absolutely no progress. 15 flights at roughly 200 bucks a flight at the very least, that's 3,000 bucks that the student will have spent without progress. I just feel like I would at least tell them my opinion before that point, and after that continuing would be their choice.
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