FAA Fundamentals of Instructing (FOI)Planning Instructional Activity and Instructor ResponsibilitiesMedium
Before a student pilot's first flight lesson, a flight instructor plans to brief a specific procedure for transferring control of the aircraft: the instructor will state a verbal command, the student will respond with a verbal acknowledgment, and the instructor will visually confirm the student has taken control before releasing the controls. This procedure is known as the:
- ADemonstration-performance method
- BIntegrated flight instruction technique
- CPositive exchange of flight controls
- DBuilding block technique
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. Positive exchange of flight controls
The positive exchange of flight controls is a standardized three-step procedure (verbal statement, verbal acknowledgment, visual confirmation) that flight instructors must brief before every flight to eliminate confusion about who is flying the aircraft. This is distinct from teaching methods like demonstration-performance or integrated flight instruction, which concern how skills are taught, not control transfer.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Demonstration-performance is a teaching method for skill acquisition, not control transfer.
- B. Integrated flight instruction combines simulated instrument and visual references, unrelated here.
- D. Building block technique sequences simple-to-complex tasks, not control handoffs.
Positive Exchange of Flight Controls
A three-step verbal and visual procedure used to unmistakably establish who is manipulating the flight controls at any given moment during dual instruction.
- Instructor says, 'You have the flight controls.'
- Student immediately acknowledges, 'I have the flight controls.'
- Instructor visually confirms before releasing the controls.
Memory trick: Say it, hear it, see it — the three-step control handoff.