Sloppy Piloting

If there had been any significant sink I would have been in deep
Kimchee. Had I been using my checklist this wouldn't have happened.
I was a sloppy pilot and a classic example of a few dumb errors that
combined could have put me in real harms way. It's very easy to kill
yourself if you aren't on top of your game. Sloppy is a great way to
describe it.

Switching planes is a great way to make sloppiness apparent.

I had recently transitioned to a Cessna 172, and I was on final approach for
Rwy 9 at Sylvania Field (C89) in Wisconsin. This airport had a 2300 foot
by 30 foot wide runway, with Interstate 94 just a few dozen feet off the
departure end of the runway.

Precision was rewarded.

I was approaching somewhat high and fast when another plane -- apparently
NORDO -- pulled onto the runway. I immediately firewalled the throttle --
and slapped the flap selector to the "up" position. Big mistake.

I was used to Cherokee flaps -- one click of the Johnson Bar up or down --
and was surprised to find my now-becoming-flapless plane sinking toward the
runway -- and I-94. I quickly put in a click of flaps, which arrested the
descent, just in time to clear the trucks on the freeway.

It was a great lesson to learn, if you lived through it.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"