How long did it take before you landed landing

[Jamie Kirk]

Only on my second day of pattern and landing work but I ended today frustrated.

Last Friday did my first pattern and landing work. Did 4 complete stop landings. First two I was nervous, did well on the final one.

Today we did 1.25 hours of pure touch and goes and floating over the runway. Today was hot, winds were bad and I was fighting the plane the entire day.

Procedures? I have those down. I’ll taxi, take off, circle pattern and get lined up almost exactly on point with elevation and speed while doing all the radio work. But then I fall apart on final.

I’m struggling with:
Pitch for airspeed and use throttle for elevation. Naturally if I start to see a vasi light slightly change shades I pull up. I need to engrave into my brain that I need to add power.

Actually landing. CFi keeps saying pull back pull back pull back. I get it right there and instincts take over and I stop flaring.

Keeping the airplane level and straight. I’m all over the place. I need to work on my rudder control and stop trying to fly the airplane with the stick and use the rudders.

Have 3 more days this week scheduled. I’m hoping I feel better after some of those.

CFI says it just happens. You don’t really get better, just call of a sudden a light bulb goes off and it clicks.

 

[PeterNSteinmetz]

Have to agree it can be frustrating and echo the remarks that you are very early in the game.

One way to think about it that I didn’t discover until well past my private is that, in a way, landing is actually sort of what one might naively think to do. Namely, fly it down into ground effect, then let it slow down and settle onto the runway. You do that by flaring of course, but that is one way to cognitively break it up. First, get it flying straight over the runway in ground effect. Then settle it on.

 

[PeterNSteinmetz]

I just need to concentrate on getting that float and letting her come down.

I felt that was the key idea.