And then when something like this happens, it seems like a surprise althugh it should not be.

Thanks for you thoughts. Seems we fly in the same neighborhood. I’m out of PWK too.

I know my instructor showed great pride when I earned my license. But it must be something much more powerful knowing that a student acted based on training you provided in a way that might have saved their life, that must be a good feeling.

I have flown with CFIs that really care about safety and others that are more lax. I think you should be proud that your message got across to that young man.

talking of life rafts, I just want to share some tips my own teacher (guru ?) gave me. My initial naive view was just to carry the raft and throw it in water if needed.

In fact, it’s a bit more complex:

1) Get the raft’s rope and attach it somewhere while the plane still floats
2) Get the raft on the wing, and inflate it (remeber, a folded raft won’t float, hence the rope)
3) Board anything you need in the raft
4) Detach the rope from the plane, before it sinks (the plane, not the raft)

I must admitt that I did not imagined all of these steps as a frehsly rated PPL.

I haven’t taught anyone to fly since 1986, but I often wonder whatever happened to the many students I was (mostly) fortunate to allow me to be their airborne mentor. I know I always gave it my best, but also always wanted to be better at doing it.

Mal

I also recall that each students secret mission is to try to kill the instructor, and one must remain ever vigilent in order to prevent that. It doesn’t seem to matter if it’s a C-150 or a B-747.
:-)