I became increasingly aware of the animosity between Russell Sherwood, our Chief Flight Instructor, and the other instructors, Denis and Kwan.
Russell would constantly bicker and bait Denis and Kwan, drawing them into petty arguments. Behind their backs, Russell would go to Edmond and tell him stuff that turned out not to be true.
I would find out about these things when Edmond would send out random BBMs (Blackberry messages) or would talk to us over Skype.
After asking the staff for basic things such as training standards and navigation logs, I quickly determined that Russell did not know the first thing about being a Chief Instructor. When I would approach him about creating a standard for basic maneuvers, such as circuits or turns, he would deflect the question and change the subject. These things were not important to him.
Concerned, I reviewed the videos of Russell giving instruction. What I saw was alarming. He would routinely raise the flaps on take-off as soon as he was off the ground, causing the aircraft to stall and lose altitude.
Other items I observed:
On start-up, he would introduce the student to the check-list, but then would take it from the student and perform the procedure himself. He would perform the checklist in random order (defeating the purpose of the checklist), talking quickly (the Indonesian students could not understand what he was saying), and tried to impress the students with his superior abilities.
He would routinely take-off from the middle of a 3000 foot runway. That would be enough runway as long as everything is OK, but it’s a bad habit to get into and should not be done during instruction.
Most of the first 10 hours of the student’s training would be with their heads in the cockpit, staring at the instruments. Primary students must be taught to use outside references and to constantly look for traffic, NOT flying solely by reference to instruments. A dangerous habit.
He would apply full throttle as quickly as turning on a light switch, not paying attention to engine reaction time, nor caring about extending engine life. This habit is totally unnecessary.
There were no videos on ground reference maneuvers or rudder work. In fact, these items were omitted from the training “missions” that he created. The net result was that students did not know how to use rudder and they did not develop the judgement needed to maneuver close to the ground.
He routinely made hard landings - enough to warrant maintenance inspection of the gear. The first time students experienced smooth landings was with Denis and Kwan.
I also heard many anecdotes about Russell’s teaching habits, none of which would be acceptable at any FAA-certified flight school. Various students reported they had entered spins while with Russell, none of which were reported, and in fact would void the factory warranty on the aircraft.
My conclusion was that Russell was an accident waiting to happen. It’s not any one thing, but an accumulation of many things, including his complete disinterest in teaching or lack of desire to become a knowledgable and proficient instructor. I became increasingly concerned and decided to warn Edmond. Other people (outside pilots, staff, and the instructors) told me they had already told Edmond about all of this and he did nothing about it. But I couldn’t believe Edmond would knowingly put his school at risk this way.
Russell would constantly bicker and bait Denis and Kwan, drawing them into petty arguments. Behind their backs, Russell would go to Edmond and tell him stuff that turned out not to be true.
I would find out about these things when Edmond would send out random BBMs (Blackberry messages) or would talk to us over Skype.
After asking the staff for basic things such as training standards and navigation logs, I quickly determined that Russell did not know the first thing about being a Chief Instructor. When I would approach him about creating a standard for basic maneuvers, such as circuits or turns, he would deflect the question and change the subject. These things were not important to him.
Concerned, I reviewed the videos of Russell giving instruction. What I saw was alarming. He would routinely raise the flaps on take-off as soon as he was off the ground, causing the aircraft to stall and lose altitude.
Other items I observed:
On start-up, he would introduce the student to the check-list, but then would take it from the student and perform the procedure himself. He would perform the checklist in random order (defeating the purpose of the checklist), talking quickly (the Indonesian students could not understand what he was saying), and tried to impress the students with his superior abilities.
He would routinely take-off from the middle of a 3000 foot runway. That would be enough runway as long as everything is OK, but it’s a bad habit to get into and should not be done during instruction.
Most of the first 10 hours of the student’s training would be with their heads in the cockpit, staring at the instruments. Primary students must be taught to use outside references and to constantly look for traffic, NOT flying solely by reference to instruments. A dangerous habit.
He would apply full throttle as quickly as turning on a light switch, not paying attention to engine reaction time, nor caring about extending engine life. This habit is totally unnecessary.
There were no videos on ground reference maneuvers or rudder work. In fact, these items were omitted from the training “missions” that he created. The net result was that students did not know how to use rudder and they did not develop the judgement needed to maneuver close to the ground.
He routinely made hard landings - enough to warrant maintenance inspection of the gear. The first time students experienced smooth landings was with Denis and Kwan.
I also heard many anecdotes about Russell’s teaching habits, none of which would be acceptable at any FAA-certified flight school. Various students reported they had entered spins while with Russell, none of which were reported, and in fact would void the factory warranty on the aircraft.
My conclusion was that Russell was an accident waiting to happen. It’s not any one thing, but an accumulation of many things, including his complete disinterest in teaching or lack of desire to become a knowledgable and proficient instructor. I became increasingly concerned and decided to warn Edmond. Other people (outside pilots, staff, and the instructors) told me they had already told Edmond about all of this and he did nothing about it. But I couldn’t believe Edmond would knowingly put his school at risk this way.
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