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fakeDecoy
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Joined: 03 Mar 2008
Posts: 950
Location: Fort Funston, CA
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 Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 11:20 am Post subject: locate instructor tool on USHPA site |
 #1 |
I sent this in an email to USHPA a week ago. What do you think? It's a small thing, but this oversight I think gives basic instructors an advertising advantage over advanced, when it should be the other way around if anything.
http://www.ushpa.org/locator?locatorzipcode=ZIPCODE&locatorsubmit.x=31&locatorsubmit.y=9
The Locate an Instructor tool at the link above is very helpful, but I have a suggestion. When you click on one of the instructors plotted on the map, it says Basic or Advanced, and Tandem if applicable. When a prospective student is searching for an instructor, he'll most likely choose a basic instructor, with the idea that the advanced instructors only do advanced instruction. I understand that an advanced instructor is also a basic instructor, but I don't think the way it's presented clearly suggests that to a prospective student. What if, instead of noting the instructors as "Advanced", it were noted as "Basic & Advanced"?
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jimrooney
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Joined: 23 Feb 2008
Posts: 1713
Location: Queenstown, New Zealand
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| Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 11:34 am Post subject: |
#2 |
Yeah, to an outsider, I'm sure the distinction isn't clear.
Jim |
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AIRTHUG
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Joined: 09 Aug 2007
Posts: 6162
Location: Point of the Mountain, Draper, UT
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mgforbes
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Joined: 28 Feb 2007
Posts: 458
Location: Corvallis, Oregon
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| Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 9:00 pm Post subject: |
#4 |
Bear in mind that when a prospect clicks on the inquiry page, an email goes out to all the instructors so they can respond. Unfortunately, anecdotal evidence is that many of them don't bother. Some do though, and I hope it's helping them to get new students. We can ask Steve Roti about tweaking the language, but I think this is a table-driven lookup off the database records so it might be more effort than it first appears. Steve's recovering from a back injury right now so I'm not inclined to bug him too much until he's better.
What we might do is to put a note on the page that says something like this:
All USHPA basic and advanced instructors are qualified to offer introductory training. Advanced instructors are also qualified to teach skills needed by experienced pilots in specialized areas. Tandem instructors may teach using two-place gliders, flying side-by-side with the student.
MGF |
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Andrew Vanis
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Joined: 01 Mar 2009
Posts: 484
Location: www.flysandia.org - Albuquerque, NM, USA
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| Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 9:00 am Post subject: |
#5 |
| fakeDecoy wrote: |
| When a prospective student is searching for an instructor, he'll most likely choose a basic instructor, with the idea that the advanced instructors only do advanced instruction |
I would disagree. I think the advantage goes to Advanced instructors with the thinking that advanced instructors have a higher chance of being chosen because they might “know more” or have some kind of better track record.
| mgforbes wrote: |
What we might do is to put a note on the page that says something like this:
All USHPA basic and advanced instructors are qualified to offer introductory training. Advanced instructors are also qualified to teach skills needed by experienced pilots in specialized areas. Tandem instructors may teach using two-place gliders, flying side-by-side with the student. |
That is a really good idea Mark. This way the reader is informed and does not have to make conclusions due to unknown information. |
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AIRTHUG
3 thumbs up
Joined: 09 Aug 2007
Posts: 6162
Location: Point of the Mountain, Draper, UT
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| Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 10:15 am Post subject: |
#6 |
| Andrew Vanis wrote: |
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| mgforbes wrote: |
What we might do is to put a note on the page that says something like this:
All USHPA basic and advanced instructors are qualified to offer introductory training. Advanced instructors are also qualified to teach skills needed by experienced pilots in specialized areas. Tandem instructors may teach using two-place gliders, flying side-by-side with the student. |
That is a really good idea Mark. This way the reader is informed and does not have to make conclusions due to unknown information. |
Ditto! Thanks for filling in some of the blanks Mark! I think a note is a great idea!
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jyoder111
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Joined: 17 Dec 2009
Posts: 251
Location: Virginia, USA
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| Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 3:21 pm Post subject: |
#7 |
| I used that tool to locate my instructor. Most important in my decision was proximity, but I do remember thinking that Advanced meant "not applicable" to me as a prospective student. |
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Andrew Vanis
3 thumbs up
Joined: 01 Mar 2009
Posts: 484
Location: www.flysandia.org - Albuquerque, NM, USA
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| Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 5:56 pm Post subject: |
#8 |
| jyoder111 wrote: |
| I do remember thinking that Advanced meant "not applicable" to me as a prospective student. |
SO what would you have thought if you saw MGFs description/definitions?
how might that have influenced your decision?
From a user's prospective, any changes to MGF's descriptions?
What kind of instructor did you end up with? Basic or Advanced? |
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mgforbes
3 thumbs up
Joined: 28 Feb 2007
Posts: 458
Location: Corvallis, Oregon
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| Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 10:53 am Post subject: |
#9 |
| Steve added the note I proposed to the instructor location pages. Thanks for the suggestion! MGF |
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fakeDecoy
2 thumbs up
Joined: 03 Mar 2008
Posts: 950
Location: Fort Funston, CA
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| Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 12:19 pm Post subject: |
#10 |
Looks good! That should help clear it up.
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H2 / Sport 2 155
There is no spoon.
Never trust internet pilots! |
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