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Primary on Monday

jtmedli

Well-Known Member
pilot
Serious questions, how do those of you who have experienced both sides (CAI - traditional classroom setting) feel about the heavy use of CAI in the curriculum?

Yeah...they blow. We still used them in Helo Advanced, but there were also very thorough classes that covered the material. A class with a knowledgeable instructor is priceless.
 

parrothead08

KCCO
pilot
Haha, I'm kidding. I'm the most senior in the class. I'm getting promoted to 1stLt in 2 weeks, and all of the other Marines are some time after that. All the Navy guys are basically right out of College, so it definitely wouldn't be any of them. The only Coastie happened to be lucky enough to be sent here before getting tasked with some other tour.

What a wuss. Real Coastie flight students go to cutters...haha. (crying inside)
 

Erin M.

Well-Known Member
pilot
Get used to CAIs and SIMs. They are the wave of the future.

Oh, absolutely. Just wondered how people felt.

There aren't many things I like about the CAIs, but one thing I do like is that I am not stuck in a classroom for several hours for simple lectures. You can fly through CAIs as fast as you can read and comprehend them. No more spending ten minutes on a concept that shouldn't take more than one minute to grasp (unless you actually need the ten minutes.)

I think the sims are really awesome though. The OFTs are incredible.
 

Swanee

Cereal Killer
pilot
None
Contributor
Oh, absolutely. Just wondered how people felt.

There aren't many things I like about the CAIs, but one thing I do like is that I am not stuck in a classroom for several hours for simple lectures. You can fly through CAIs as fast as you can click through them. No more spending ten minutes on a concept that shouldn't take more than one minute to grasp (unless you actually need the ten minutes.)

I think the sims are really At this point Erin M has drank the money saving kool-aide

Fixed it for you.
 

CommodoreMid

Whateva! I do what I want!
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
I discovered in primary that if you clicked through the CAIs fast enough you didn't even have to do the little quiz questions that popped up throughout. If you didn't click fast enough however you would have to take the time to do them. I think my record for CAI completion was 7 seconds. Of course, the downside to this tactic is your instructors can go back and look and see how much time you spend in your CAIs. If you fail a flight and they discover you used this tactic, well, refer to my previous advice in this thread.
 

Erin M.

Well-Known Member
pilot
Fixed it for you.


I don't think they should be used in lieu of flights, I just think they are really awesome for practice.

I'm sure chair flying can be just as effective, but it is so much more fun to do something that essentially feels like a realistic video game.
 

scoober78

(HCDAW)
pilot
Contributor
Of course, the downside to this tactic is your instructors can go back and look and see how much time you spend in your CAIs. If you fail a flight and they discover you used this tactic, well, refer to my previous advice in this thread.

What instructor would ever do this?
 

CommodoreMid

Whateva! I do what I want!
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
What instructor would ever do this?

Not saying they necessarily would, but I'm sure in general if your squadron knew you were not paying attention in the CAIs and then failing flights, it would not end well for you.
 

squorch2

he will die without safety brief
pilot
I guess I could dig that deep to figure out "why" a student was failing, but odds are better that I would just continue on with my life and figure that the student either will or won't do the work required to pass flights. TRBs aren't gonna dig that far into TIMS, either.
 

scoober78

(HCDAW)
pilot
Contributor
I guess I could dig that deep to figure out "why" a student was failing, but odds are better that I would just continue on with my life and figure that the student either will or won't do the work required to pass flights. TRBs aren't gonna dig that far into TIMS, either.

This.

First, and I think most would agree here, I've never found the CAIs helpful so why would I give a shit if someone else went through them? If someone struggling asked me for help, am I going to refer them to the CAI's? No. Guess what, they aren't going to be there in he fleet so get in he books, learn your trash and suck less. CAI's are a FITREP bullet at best.
 

Gatordev

Well-Known Member
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
I guess I could dig that deep to figure out "why" a student was failing, but odds are better that I would just continue on with my life and figure that the student either will or won't do the work required to pass flights. TRBs aren't gonna dig that far into TIMS, either.

Funny story...

Before today, I would have agreed with you. I never saw anyone dig that deep in review boards at the TRACOM. Then today I learned that someone that belongs to me was struggling and they asked the person if they had been doing the CAIs. The person lied and said they had. Then they pulled out the logs and it was obvious the person hadn't. It was one symptom of a bigger problem which was identified and the issue will be overcome.

Not TRACOM related, but still, something that was actually noted and in a good way. I say that as someone who almost never logged into the CAIs as a CAT II and hated doing them as a SNA and as a IUT.
 

squorch2

he will die without safety brief
pilot
Sounds human factors-ish, which is its own special beast. I've yet to see the CAI that didn't just rehash NATOPS/TACMAN/FTI/what-have-you. Not saying that digging deep is wrong or anything, but "performance" on CAIs isn't a leading indicator of problems, it's a lagging one.
 
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