Air Card Format and Organization

The creation of Air Cards by Flight Instructor Students is really the main focus of activity during the Flight Instructor Program training. When the training is completed, and the Flight Instructor student is ready for the qualifying flight test, they will take with them into the air a series of “cue cards” or “index cards” which summarize in brief format the teaching strategy to be used in the air for teaching each of the air exercises. The air exercises, in turn, are the working plans of action to effectively and practically apply the Lesson Plans published by Transport Canada.

Accordingly, in this stack of Air Cards, typically bound together by ring (so they don’t get scattered in the cockpit during the flight), there is a card for “Attitudes and Movements” (Lesson Plan 2A), a card for “Basic Maneuvers—Level I” (Lesson Plan 2B), “Basic Maneuvers—Level II” (Lesson Plan 3), “Range and Endurance” (Lesson Plan 4), “Spirals” (Lesson Plan 7), etc., to name only a few.

Air Cards commonly appear as summarizing flow chart, or simply a list of headings, that guide the instructor through the air presentation of the exercise, beginning, for example, with a perfect demonstration of the maneuver, and progressing though a series of drills or maneuvers that start, when possible, with simple elements, and progress through more complex and demanding sequences.

The creation and refinement of Air Cards is a critical learning and development process of the Flight Instructor Program.