Lesson 11 (long)
Sean Franklin
I've been inspired by the recent postings of new students to journal my
lessons as they go along.
Tuesday AM - 0800 local. This has been a strange winter in terms of
weather. We haven't had much snow, and have had a LOT of rain. Today, it
was just cold. The line guys brushed the frost off the Warrior, and I got
through pre-flight as quickly as safely possible. Went in and found Eric
(my CFI), and we discussed the pattern work we will be doing today in
preparation for an eventual solo. Eric went over emergency procedures for
use while in the pattern, and we went out to the airplane. The Ethylene
Glycol had taken the last of the frost off the wings, but the windscreen was
starting to glaze over with frost again.
I started the engine, and let it idle a little higher than usual to give the
heater a boost. We taxied out to the run-up area, went through our checks,
and waited a couple extra minutes for the fog to clear from the windscreen.
Early meetings at work are on my mind - I need to reconsider whether flying
before work is a good idea, since I sometimes have trouble concentrating on
the tasks at hand.
A hole in the traffic clears, and we get off the ground behind a departing
charter twin. I prepare for a bunch of left turns.
I am having the same problem that a lot of students are talking about here -
the same that (apparently) every student has at one time or another - I
can't land! Not smoothly, or properly, that is. I'm remembering as many of
the hints I've read on this group as I can - 'trim to airspeed, power to
numbers' - 'wait for the runway to come up to you' - 'patience, patience,
patience'... I'm thinking I ought be in the Navy, the way I'm slamming down
onto the runway. Those landings that are smooth are too fast - and that's
not a habit I want to form.
It's not all bad - we had a decent crosswind, and my pattern improved
markedly over the course of the lesson. My transition from crab to slip on
final looks good (to me, anyway). But, still can't figure out when and how
much to level off and flare. I full-stopped on the seventh landing, and
taxied back to the ramp - I have a 10:00 meeting, and I'm thinking too much
about that.
I talked to the instructor back in the building, and told him that I would
like to have him demonstrate at least one landing for me next week. Also,
told him that I would like to stop & go on at least some of the landings so
that we can discuss "what happened" on the taxi back to the takeoff end of
the runway. Eric normally doesn't demonstrate maneuvers - he talks me
through them, and this was a key quality that led me to choose him as my
instructor. But, after 4 lessons (23 landings) in the pattern, not only am
I still landing poorly... but I still am not sure exactly what I'm supposed
to be doing differently! I think I just need to be able to watch exactly
what the instructor and the airplane are doing on one or two landings, and
that might help me immensely.
I'm going to drop by one evening next week for the pre-solo written, and
Eric assures me that I will "Get It" all at once in terms of landing. I'm
sure that's true - the sooner the better, of course.
I'll be back in the saddle same time next week, weather permitting.
Wendy B G
>I'm remembering as many of
>the hints I've read on this group as I can - 'trim to airspeed, power to
>numbers' - 'wait for the runway to come up to you' - 'patience, patience,
>patience'... I'm thinking I ought be in the Navy, the way I'm slamming down
>onto the runway. Those landings that are smooth are too fast - and that's
>not a habit I want to form.
>
I fly a Cessna 150, not a Warrior. However... the difference between being 65
mph on final and 70 mph on final is amazing. At the slightly faster airspeed, I
come down with a thump. At the lower, I just glide down without so much as a
squeak.
Look in the POH for the recommended speed on final, and trim to that exactly,
no faster. Pull out *all* power over the threshold, and fly straight down the
runway. Remember, if you have too much energy (from being too fast or having
power still in), you will either land hard or float.
Recite "Patience, patience, patience" and settle down onto the runway in the
same attitude.
Hope this helps!
Happy flying,
Wendy
Sean Franklin
Wendy B G wrote in message
<19980206205...@ladder03.news.aol.com>...
>>I'm remembering as many of
>>the hints I've read on this group as I can - 'trim to airspeed, power to
>>numbers' - 'wait for the runway to come up to you' - 'patience, patience,
>>patience'... I'm thinking I ought be in the Navy, the way I'm slamming
down
>>onto the runway. Those landings that are smooth are too fast - and that's
>>not a habit I want to form.
>>
>Are you sure you have the right airspeed to trim to on final?
>Look in the POH for the recommended speed on final, and trim to that
exactly,
>no faster. Pull out *all* power over the threshold, and fly straight down
the
>runway. Remember, if you have too much energy (from being too fast or
having
>power still in), you will either land hard or float.
That's an interesting point. I am flying final at 65, as per my CFI's
instructions. The POH says 63, so that seems close enough for me... BUT...
In the POH, the checklist for approach/landing has, as it's final 2 items,
"Trim to 70 KIAS", and "Final approach speed (flaps 40°)... 63 KIAS".
Understand that I'm just trying to get the thing on the ground for now; I'll
deal with finesse later. Still, it seems clear that the POH expects you to
maintain some amount of back pressure on the yoke during final. I can only
speculate, but presumably this is for safety (most everything in the POH
is).
---------------
Sean Franklin
Plymouth / Indianapolis, IN
Tina Marie
In article <6bfupa$p7r$1...@news.megsinet.net>,
Sean Franklin <sfra...@nospam.skyenet.net> wrote:
>In the POH, the checklist for approach/landing has, as it's final 2 items,
>"Trim to 70 KIAS", and "Final approach speed (flaps 40°)... 63 KIAS".
Maybe I'm nuts, but to me that sounds like, "Trim for 70 - by the
time you drop 40 degrees of flaps, you'll be down to 63".
Tina Marie
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Wendy B G
>In the POH, the checklist for approach/landing has, as it's final 2 items,
>"Trim to 70 KIAS", and "Final approach speed (flaps 40°)... 63 KIAS".
Hmmm....just out of curiosity, what is the final approach speed for a
short-field landing?
--Wendy
robert a barker
In article <6bfp4g$nr8$1...@news.megsinet.net>, sfra...@skyenet.net
says...
>
>I've been inspired by the recent postings of new students to journal my
>lessons as they go along.
>
>Tuesday AM - 0800 local. This has been a strange winter in terms of
Sean: My CFI was also named Eric and was not inclined to *demonstrate*
I found however he would willingly when I asked.It really helped me on
several different manouvers including landing.I found it gave me the
*feel* of a properly executed manouver.
Don't beat yourself up over your landings at this point.As far as I
can tell all of us made controled crashes until something clicked and
they just smoothed out.
Good luck!!! I really enjoy your and others postings.
Bob Barker
Hilton Goldstein
Tina Marie wrote:
>
> In article <6bfupa$p7r$1...@news.megsinet.net>,
> Sean Franklin <sfra...@nospam.skyenet.net> wrote:
> >"Trim to 70 KIAS", and "Final approach speed (flaps 40°)... 63 KIAS".
>
> time you drop 40 degrees of flaps, you'll be down to 63".
Good news - Tina, you're not nuts! :) You don't actually trim for
airspeed, you trim for AOA. Now in 'stable' 1G flight, they're pretty
much the same thing, but during steep turns, configuration changes, etc.
your airspeed will probably not remain the same. When you extend the
flaps, numerous things are happening. Basically, I'm saying that
trimming for 70 before flap extension does not mean that you'll be
trimmed for 70 after flap extension. I'm sure you knew that though.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Hilton
--
Hilton Goldstein.............................hilton@sgi.com
650-933-5254 (phone).....................(fax) 650-390-6159
M/S 1L-945, 2011 N. Shoreline Blvd, Mountain View, CA 94043
http://reality.sgi.com/hilton
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