“It was found that when the crepuscule arrived the children were quieter and when it was not present, they were much livelier.”
LET’S HANDLE THE STUDENT PILOT DROPOUT RATE
What does the student pilot dropout rate have to do with the pilot shortage?
Imagine carrying buckets of water from a faucet to people who need the water.
The buckets are leaking. By the time they arrive at the destination, only 20% of the water is left.
And then someone comes along and says: “We need more buckets!”
How about “Let’s fix these holes in these buckets!”
Imagine doing both.
The Student Pilot Dropout rate is shockingly high.
Not only do we not have enough pilots, but 80% of student pilots drop out.
If the world will need 602,000 civil aviation pilots in the next 20 years, (per the Boeing outlook) we would need to start with a number 5 times higher – 3 million – to account for the fact that 80% will drop out.
Think about how much wasted effort is lost in getting more young people interested in flying? (And there are many people doing very good work in this area. This is about supporting them and their students.)
We don’t have enough young people interested in becoming a pilot, and 8 out of 10 who decide to become a pilot, drop out. Eight out of ten.
It is typically brushed off as "some people just don't have what it takes to become a pilot".
Wait a minute!?
Most people who start flight training have been dreaming about becoming a pilot for years.
Could it really be true that 80% of those who have been dreaming about it "don't have what it takes"?
Or could there be some undiscovered reason behind why people fail?
INTRODUCTION TO STUDY TECHNOLOGY
L. Ron Hubbard – a humanitarian, pilot, master mariner, son of a U.S. Naval Officer, a student of engineering & molecular physics at George Washington University, writer and philosopher isolated three primary barriers to learning in the 1960’s.
The most important of the three barriers: The Misunderstood Word.
Mr. Hubbard’s work in the field of education has touched the lives of millions. Today, his Study Technology is licensed through Applied Scholastics International to various schools, as well as carefully selected and qualified institutions – entrusted to implement his technology exactly as developed by Mr. Hubbard throughout the world.
Keynomen is one such organization - licensed by Applied Scholastics (a Non-Profit Organization) as a sole source provider working in the aviation industry.
WORDS FOR PILOTS
So, what are those holes in those buckets?
Words.
Or more precisely – the nomenclature of the subject. The technical terms of the subject.
And there are many.
The dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, by Dale Crane, contains over 12,000 entries. (Including words for pilots, mechanics, and engineers.)
It’s crucially important to understand the words of a subject.
If you don’t know the words of a subject – how can you be expected to understand the subject, or get the desired result expected?
Imagine trying to bake a cake without knowing what the word “flour” means. Let’s say one “tries to figure it out within the context” (as they suggest in school). If you should substitute it with “some sort of white material” – say coconut powder, it’s fair to expect that the expected result will not be achieved. Moreover, the cook may decide “baking is not for me” - and drop out.
The solution to learning a new subject is making sure you understand the words of the subject.
A PROBLEM SO SIMPLE, IT’S EASY TO OVERLOOK
Sometimes the solution to a problem is so simple that it can be overlooked or dismissed.
For example, Dr Ignaz Semmelweis, a physician whose work in the 1840s demonstrated that handwashing could drastically reduce the number of women dying after childbirth.
He discovered a simple solution to a serious problem.
Dr. Semmelweis was rejected by his peers. This practice only gained acceptance 60 years later - after his death, when Louis Pasteur confirmed the germ theory, and this work was later extended by Robert Koch in the 1880s. It took until the 1900s for the hand washing theory to become fully accepted by the medical profession. Today, hand washing is practiced vigorously in the medical profession and well understood as important to good hygiene by the public.
Similarly, the importance of the misunderstood word is easily dismissed.
In today’s schooling students are still taught to “figure out the meaning of a word within the context of what you’re reading.”
Imagine learning a new subject - like flying - with that operating basis!
Within the first few pages of ground school, we come across words like “empennage”, “fuselage”, “monocoque”, “servo tab” – on and on! It’s enough to spin anyone in – let alone the young new student who did not grow up fixing cars with his or her mom or dad. The type of kid who has never seen a spark plug and has no idea why it’s called a “reciprocating” engine. (Note: Definitions are available here).
How are new students supposed to know what these words mean?
What if they are not able to “figure it out within the context”?
Here is that example again:
“It was found that when the crepuscule arrived the children were quieter and when it was not present, they were much livelier.”
“What happens is you think you do not understand the whole idea.”
“The inability to understand comes entirely from the one word you could not define – crepuscule.”
“It means twilight or darkness”.
L. Ron Hubbard
NOMENCLATURE
From L. Ron Hubbard - a lecture called: Studying – Data Assimilation, 9 July 1964
“Now, the dependence of knowledge upon nomenclature is extraordinary and, as a matter of fact, almost never appreciated by teachers or students. They are trying to talk and use a language they don’t know. And this can get so bad that they think the subject is incomprehensible or that they are incapable of understanding it when, as a matter of fact, this is not what is wrong at all. It’s just that they haven’t grasped the meaning of some of these symbols that are being used to designate. And they haven’t got an instantaneous grasp of these meanings. They’ve got a “fumble grasp” of them. That is, if they thought for a while, they might possibly be able to remember what an [empennage] is, see? Now that’s the grasp of it.”
“And as they go on studying past these points of uncomprehend nomenclature, they begin to stack up an opinion that they ‘don’t know about it.’ And it isn’t ‘it’ that they don’t know about.”
“The lie is that it isn’t the subject they are having trouble with, it is simply the nomenclature they are having trouble with. They don’t know about the nomenclature, so they, however, wind up with an opinion that they don’t know the subject. No, it isn’t the subject at all, they just don’t know their nomenclature.”
“You see how important nomenclature is?”
“But a comprehension of the nomenclature which is used, is primary to the study of anything.”
“And a very, very smart thing – an extremely smart thing to do – is to take a page of material and look over it for words you don’t know, words that don’t instantly react to you. Circle each one of those words or make a list of each one of those words and look up and study their definitions or ask people and get the definitions for them.”
“Find out exactly what those words mean.”
“Don’t tackle the subject on the page. Just tackle the nomenclature on the page. Get that nomenclature slick as a whistle. Tackle the subject, you’ll find out the subject was very easy.”
There we have it – explained quite clearly by Mr. Hubbard.
DROPPING OUT
Imagine studying a subject like flying – with the unnerving suspicion that your life may depend on understanding the data and trying to struggle through - while not actually fully getting it.
Flying requires a confident attitude. Every time the student goes past a word not understood, that confidence is eroded. Little by little, with each misunderstood word, the student becomes less certain about his grip on the subject. It happens slowly, unknowingly.
We see students taking 30 – 40 hours to solo, when it should take 12 – 15 hours. Or 80 – 100 hours to get a private certificate, when the legal requirement is only 40 hours.
Follow Pilot Groups on Facebook and it’s not uncommon to see a post like this:
"I have 60 hours and my instructor says I'm doing well, but I just don't feel my confidence level is where it should be..."
The fact is, that many of those cases drop out well before they reach those hours. Then excuses such as “running out of money” or “poor instruction” are quoted as the reasons students drop out.
What really happened is they simply never got a grip on the subject. There were too many words they did not understand. Their confidence and certainty became compromised.
From L. Ron Hubbard - Lecture: Studying – Data Assimilation, 9 July 1964
“And as they go on studying past these points of uncomprehend nomenclature, they begin to stack up an opinion that they ‘don’t know about it.’ And it isn’t ‘it’ that they don’t know about.”
The typical dropout scenario is messy. The frustrated student (unaware of why they’re not winning), will become the “problem student”. Such students will become critical and blame others, the school, the instructors – and eventually they “blow” or depart, and it’s not pretty.
In recent years, we’ve seen several suicides by foreign students, where the pressure to make it is extremely high. The humiliation of not making it, is more than some can live with.
It’s understandable that the old guard may shrug it off and conclude “Some people are just not cut out to be pilots.” They don’t have the answers to these phenomena either.
Please - let’s not continue down that path.
Yes, it takes courage, determination, and persistence to become a pilot. And if we want to keep that courage, determination, and persistence alive - we can do so by clearing up the words of the subject for student pilots.
Coming from years of schooling where it was suggested they “figure out the meaning of a word within the context” – the use of dictionaries is not common practice today. In fact, some schools have stooped so low, they maintain doing so is cheating.
Look where that got us!
LOOK IT UP
In today’s world, would the suggestion to “look it up in a dictionary” suffice?
Probably not.
It’s not a well-established habit.
“Google it” is the default action - and that’s fine. But we can do better, much better.
THE SOLUTION
Words for Pilots – as a free App – providing both Text and Video definitions.
But there’s more.
An App can provide additional functionality to users that can engage them and keep them coming back for more.
An App can function like a game – where a student can move up in levels. Go from “Standing at the fence” to “Sweeping the hanger floor” to “First flight” on and on to “Fighter Pilot”, “Astronaut” and more.
The App can keep track of progress and cleared word count. It can have a word a day functionality.
The App can help to track a word chain. This happens when you look up a word within a definition you are looking up – i.e. the App can make it easy to navigate back up the chain.
In short, it can be fun to use and seamlessly integrate into the student’s studies.
What we want is a cultural shift. One where students passionately pursue the meanings of words. One where they truly remain interested in the subject and able to accomplish the results expected.
From L. Ron Hubbard - Lecture: Studying – Data Assimilation, 9 July 1964
“And a very, very smart thing – an extremely smart thing to do – is to take a page of material and look over it for words you don’t know, words that don’t instantly react to you. Circle each one of those words or make a list of each one of those words and look up and study their definitions or ask people and get the definitions for them.”
“Find out exactly what those words mean.”
“Don’t tackle the subject on the page. Just tackle the nomenclature on the page. Get that nomenclature slick as a whistle. Tackle the subject, you’ll find out the subject was very easy.”
STUDY TECHNOLOGY & FULL UNDERSTANDING
L. Ron Hubbard’s Study Technology comprises a large body of work – and it includes this:
A word can be misunderstood in various ways.
- No definition,
- Wrong definition,
- Incomplete definition, – and several more.
Here’s an example of an Incomplete definition: “Empennage”.
Every aeronautical dictionary defines it roughly as follows: “The stabilizer tail section at the back of the airplane…”
However, it’s not called the stabilizer, it’s called the empennage.
Defining it as a “stabilizer” or “tail assembly” and leaving it at that, is an Incomplete definition and the student will not gain a full understanding.
The word “Empennage” comes from Latin “Penna” and French “Penne” which means “feather”. And “Empenner” in French, means “to feather an arrow”.
Now we are getting somewhere…
Now we can go a step further and apply more of the remedies Mr. Hubbard’s Study Technology advises. It’s called “providing the Mass” of the subject. It has to do with seeing the thing being studied.
Although the Misunderstood Word may be a new concept to many, at least the concept of “Visual Learning” is well known and accepted.
Imagine having a video, that shows an arrow without feathers – being shot and then tumbling out of control. Then showing one with feathers – flying stably. Then holding that arrow up next to the tail sections of planes – explaining that there are different types of empennage designs like T-tails, V-Tails and so on.
The connection between the word “Empennage” from “Penne” (French for Feather) and “Empenner” (meaning to feather an arrow) and the images of the feather, the arrow getting feathered, the non-feathered arrow tumbling, and the feathered arrow flying - will all come together to provide the student with a full conceptual understanding of what the word means.
From L. Ron Hubbard - Lecture: Studying – Data Assimilation, 9 July 1964
“Don’t tackle the subject on the page. Just tackle the nomenclature on the page. Get that nomenclature slick as a whistle, tackle the subject, you’ll find out the subject was very easy.”
A MOST COMMON EXPERIENCE
Ask anyone: “Have you ever read through a page and found yourself not knowing what you just read?”
Most people would admit – “Yes.”
And when you ask: “Why do you think that happens?”, the reply is typically “I became distracted” or “I started thinking of something else” – or some version of that.
Now, when you ask: “Why do you think you got distracted or started thinking of something else?” The answers will be things like “my mind just wanders”, “I have a short attention span”, “I got hungry” and so on.
The real reason is this: The person went past a word they did not understand – and then their mind started wandering.
Here’s a more precise description of the phenomenon.
L. Ron Hubbard lecture: Study and Education, 13 August 1964
“And the bypassed definition gives you distinctly a blank feeling, a washed-out feeling, a not-there feeling and a sort of a nervous sort of a hysteria will follow in, in back of that. Those are some of the physiological-mental reactions that follow this definition.”
Having an incomplete definition, a wrong definition or no definition are all just flavors of the same thing – a Misunderstood Word.
We can’t simply rely on the existing aviation dictionaries. Their definitions are often incomplete as shown in the example of Empennage (calling it a “stabilizer”, without also clearing up the origin of the word).
In clearing up a word, Mr. Hubbard’s technology also requires the word to be used in multiple sentences. Again, something that can become a part of the App and part of the student’s habit in clearing a word.
To get this right, the full application of the Licensed Study Technology is required.
KEYNOMEN
Our organization name, KEYNOMEN was developed as follows.
From the word Key: “A thing that provides a means of gaining access to or understanding something.”
From the word Nomenclature: “The body or system of names in a particular field”.
From Latin Nomen (Name) and Latin Clatura (Calling, Summoning).
Key Words, or Key Names (Nomen), are therefore words that provide access to understanding.
WHAT WILL IT TAKE?
The target is to have an App, with both text and video definitions.
The text version would be launched first. Roughly estimated the creation of the App with 2,000 words can be produced with a grant of $2,500,000.
Video definitions would come in different flavors. Some showing graphical animations, while others would consist of an industry professional explaining what the word means while showing the thing it refers to.
The initial target would consist of producing 1,000 video definitions.
This list would be compiled by going through the basic pilot ground school handbook such as the FAA’s Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge and marking off the first 2,000 words, most likely to be misunderstood and a list of 1,000 words that will be best explained by having a video.
With production costs averaging $6,000 per video, licensing costs of $1,200 per video, and management, training and administrative costs at $6,000 per video, we are looking at an average cost of $13,200 per video coming to $13,200,000 (production, licensing, and management costs) for 1,000 videos.
It will take a team of producers, videographers, editors, and a well-organized management team to pull off this much production in a short period of time.
Such video producers would have to be trained in the basics of L. Ron Hubbard study technology to understand the key elements of success and what pitfalls to avoid. There are well-established training facilities available from Applied Scholastics to assist with this – both at brick-and-mortar locations and online tools.
Keynomen surveyed several well know Youtubers to check their interest level on being involved – and interest is very high, especially if fair production costs can be paid.
So, an early version of the app can be rolled out in a year, with the expanded video version being created over a couple of years.
Daniel Bezden (middle) with several famous aviation YouTube creators.
GOOD DEEDS MADE KNOWN
Imagine a definition video starting with “Sponsored by Boeing” banner.
What would that do for Boeing goodwill?
Can we get the new generation of pilots saying “If It Ain't Boeing, I Ain't Going” because of the contribution the company made to get them trained as pilots?
What about building loyalty and purpose from companies like United, Delta or American Airlines?
Even the US Air Force suffers from a pilot shortage and may want to promote to young students.
There are many companies with a vested interest in helping to build a strong pilot population for the future. Many of these companies are already investing in this activity. Textron just announced a $1M gift to the AOPA for their highly successful You can fly program. United launched their own flight training school. The list goes on.
With so many videos that need to be produced, companies can be recognized and acknowledged for their contributions, based on the number of videos their contribution will sponsor.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Is a strong supply of competent pilots important to your company goals?
Does this project align with your company’s purpose?
If so, let’s talk.
Get in touch with Daniel Bezden to discuss your pledge and donations to this project.
Are you looking at this with some ideas on who should be approached?
Can you help to make an introduction?
If so, please let us know your thoughts.
CONTACT DANIEL BEZDEN
