The Kings

[CitationCapt]

John and Martha King are interviewed by Lane Wallace in this month's Flying Magazine in an article titled "What Pilots Don't Know".

I see that the King's banner is now on the side of a Falcon 10. I am assuming that this is their new ride and the Citation was traded in. Any thoughts on this, AND the article?

My impression of the article is that risk assessment has been overlooked as a critical part of flight instruction. Further, I believe that cockpit technology will assist risk assessment, but only to the extent that it is operable when the situation arises.

Anyone else chime in.

 

[eriknorth]

I didn't find the article interesting enough to read all the way through, but they seemed very vague about the point they were trying to make. They kept saying that pilots aren't being taught right and better risk management needs to be taught, but they wouldn't go any deeper than that and explain. They just kept repeating themselves. Those people annoy me.

 

[sdpilot]

John and Martha now have a Falcon....it's based out of MYF...

 

[CitationCapt]

Annoyed?

ErikNorth wrote:

"I didn't find the article interesting enough to read all the way through, but they seemed very vague about the point they were trying to make. They kept saying that pilots aren't being taught right and better risk management needs to be taught, but they wouldn't go any deeper than that and explain. They just kept repeating themselves. Those people annoy me."


You say that you are annoyed at the Kings? Did you not pass the written the first time? From your data you are working on your private and you don't seem to understand the need for better risk management? Please explain your confusion with the King's explanation. Thank you.

 

[may]

You say that you are annoyed at the Kings? Did you not pass the written the first time? From your data you are working on your private and you don't seem to understand the need for better risk management?

There is no need for you to make that assumption. He has every right on this "open forum" to state his opinion.

 

[350DRIVER]

That is his opinion CC- No need to jump down his back..

3 5 0

side note- 7 for 7 (first attempt) lowest score 93% and have never/will never "donate" a single penny to the Kings....

 

[Obi-Wan]

I saw thw pics. The only problem I have is I dont know which one is Martha and which one is John.

 

[avbug]

I gotta say I don't care for their products, either. I find they seem more interested in being seen, than in presenting useful material for students. I recall getting their spin video as a useful presentation, when it came out.

I was looking forward to a good visual aid with the camera mounted on the vertical stab and in the cockpit, showing the spin. Only, every time it came to the actual spin entry, the footage stopped, and John King would jump in front of the camera to be seen and talk. So much more could have been learned by the viewer if he'd just stayed out of the way and talked while the airplane spun, but he had to be seen.

Their products seem to be a case of the teacher trying to be the star, rather than the student. That's completely backwards of the way it should be.

 

[Snakum]

And let's not forget Martha's nipples getting hard in that one segment of the PPL exam video. Anyone else catch that? No? Just me, huh? Oh ....... that's not good .....


Minh
(It really is there ... I think it's her first or second segment.)

 

[Bluto]

CitationCapt = Martha King!

...it could happen.

 

[eriknorth]

My comment had nothing to do with not understanding or appreciating the need for risk management. It came from the standpoint of a person reading the article and evaluating it. The thread was started by asking thoughts on the article. There they are. Simply stated, I do not find it entertaining to be distracted by Martha King laughing at herself quite frequently through the videos. It has nothing to do with me and my written. I just want to learn. The article simply seemed to not go into specifics about risk management. I would have liked it to teach me more about it. When people make themselves known to a large audience (such as the Kings do), and they do this primarily to make money for their services, it should be expected that they be criticized, both good and bad, for their work. No big deal.

 

[aero99]

Sounds like the same article that was in Flying last year.

Are there any pictures of the Kings NOT standing in front of their jet or a sim?

 

[CitationCapt]

Erik,

Thanks for your response. I agree with other posters that the Kings enjoy their time in front of the camera. And Bluto, good comeback.

CitationCapt.

 

[troy]

That one dude in the Cessna (King) CD-ROMs--Is it the same guy as "Who wants to marry a millionaire"?

They ALL need better acting classes. I got hit twice (Pvt. and inst.). Got smart on the third time and bought the Jepp (Comm.)

 

[ShawnC]

Haven't had a chance to read that article (I mostly read Flying for the I learned from that columns) but my immprission of the King DVDs are that they are overpirced and really do nothing for me in the way of learning.

In my expierence, I have found that the easiest way to learn was to get Rod Machado's book and the Gliem software and book. You really don't need much more than that for your private.

For the instrument, get Rod's book again, and the Jepp manual, with the normal Gliem software and book.

As for the commerical I am not really sure, haven't passed that test yet.

 

[Speedtree]

who wants to marry a millionare

That's the guy.

I reccommend Gleim for test prep. Don't think I've ever used the Kings stuff. I've seen a few videos and although they are presenting good information most of the time it's hard to get past the two and their corniness (?)

 

[sydeseet]

Those two toured/visited my flight school several years ago when I was a CFI. John is a heck of a nice guy - very good natured, funny, and talkative. She was okay too but he left a more robust impression. That being said I can't stand their videos. I can't believe people actually pay money to be that annoyed. Maybe I'm easily distracted but I could never get past their "mojo" and really learn anything from them.

 

[Timebuilder]

That guy frim the CD Roms is indeed the guy from the TV show. It's Martha's brother. His name is Rick Rockwell. If you look closely in one of the old tapes, Martha shows her pilot's certificate, and you can read her name as Martha Rockwell King. Rick was a stand up comic who auditioned for the millionaire job. That might explain his tendency to try and work a Groucho Marx impression into the flight training material.

In addition, Rod Machado (who is also a local guy) appears on the discs, along with two other women I didn't recognize. From their presentation, I think one is a teacher and the other comes from a TV news/weather background, perhaps at a local San Diego station.

I was only able to take the videos in small doses, and I counseled my students to run the tape on fast forward scan until they see words in gold letters appear next to John or Martha. That will happen every time they make a point you will need. The rest of the time, it's mostly chatter, and you can skip it. See the letters appear, hit play, listen, write down, scan some more. Easy.

For those thinking about the CD rom training system: 99% of the students I know love the system. They cite convenience, the lack of ground instructor charges, and the clarity of the instruction. The other folks mentioned above do most of the training, and John and Martha do the flying demos. The CD's have a better, more professional presentation than the video tapes, especially if you find the Kings themselves to be irritating.

Dr. Gleim is indeed a great source of test prep materials. He is constantly updating his books, and you can get a free update by going on the net and sending an email containing a special code found inside the front of each book. I'm using his ATP book and CD. His "Red Books" are VERY good. I recommend them.

 

[CitationCapt]

The Rick Rockwell connection

Timebuilder,

I read your post and split a gut. Couldn't believe the connection!
Hard to believe that the same Rick Rockwell is a relative of Martha's.

I took the King B727 FEX course years back and found that useful in passing the written. That was my only exposure to their coursework.

As for my original objective in this thread, it became side-tracked on the King's personality and reputation. My hope was to generate discussion about risk management in training, both on the ground and in the cockpit.

I wish that I had time to type and type and type my views on the subject, but I don't. The boss keeps me busy.

CitationCapt.

 

[Timebuilder]

Martha gave a TV interview during the whole "Who wants to marry a millionaire" flap. Apparently, some local TV type knew of the connection, and the interview found its way onto a network "news" show.

If you still have the 727 FEX tapes, I might buy them from you.

Send a private with info if you like.