My hiatus in landing practice due to recent weather conditions really showed today. It had been two weeks since I did a landing which was plenty of time for the still being acquired skill to degrade.
In short, it was not one of my better landing days. I think I was just off due to lack of practice.
On the upside, I handled all 11 of the landings with only some light help, Sean never screamed nor grabbed the controls. With that being said, I definitely needed guidance on the approaches especially on final. On one of them in particular I would have done, and suggested doing, a go-round but Sean thought it was ok and I retrieved it and made the landing all right.
I need to work on the flare as I'm not doing enough of one, which is apparently opposite to the problem most student pilots have - let's hear it for being different!
On the upside, we did Runway 27R and 9L and both right and left patterns on each as the tower, wind, and other traffic willed it including extending the downwind until the tower called the base, or the Tower calling for an expedited tight base.
Lots of fun with the tower coordinating other aircraft to takeoff while I'm on final - "N-so-and-so Runway 27 R cleared to depart no delay Skyhawk on short final". -"Roger, no delay, departing now". And off they would go as we were coming in. KPTK tower has this down to an art, and the controllers are very good at what they do.
We also overheard a VFR pilot who had wandered into IFR conditions to the north outside of the airport's airspace and was temporarily navigationally impaired and was (smart enough to be) asking for help, which the tower immediately and gladly gave and got him straightened out and back into VFR.
So basically the landings were kinda sucky and not nearly as smooth as I want them to be. I did clean some of it up as I progressed with the last one being very nearly what I'd call very good.
In short, to do better at landings I need to be doing more landings more often. Expect lots more landings to follow.
That's 1.3 more hours logged and another completed logbook page.
1 comment:
Just get the plane down into ground effect with the power back and focus on flying it down the runway. It will land itself with no help from you. You just keep looking at the far end of the strip.
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