Convince me to stick with it . . .

Way too early to throw in the towel....you're just getting started. Did you
run into someone in the airport coffee shop who told you that s/he soloed in
10 hours? 15? Who are you comparing yourself to?

KIck back, take on one problem at a time, and try to put them in context.
Not starting abeam the numbers every time? Horrors! Can't find that in the
regulations or practical test standards. Whatever "errors" are made at that
point are easily corrected further down the road, so don't sweat it.

As I understand it, you get to the final approach leg more or less
satisfactorily. At that point you are, what, a mile out? A minute at a
nominal 60 knot groundspeed? A whole minute available for you to use as you
wish? Fine. Establish a power setting of your choice, with a little help
from the POH. Configure the airplane for landing (flaps). You should be able
to see the desired landing spot directly over the nose. Trim, Check your
airspeed and adjust the power accordingly. Trim. Watech how "the spot" moves
on the windshield...if it moves up the runway, you will overshoot and
should re-adjust power. Trim. If it moves off of the runway surface into the
grass or whatever, you will land short and should add a touch of power.
Trim. You should be able to take your hands off of the yoke at any time
without having the airspeed change. While doing all this, remember that good
landings are slow landings and that you should avoid being too fast.

When you pass over the end of the runway you should be no more than ten feet
up, max. Pitch up to level flight and pull the power off. Now the airplane
has lots of aerodynamic drag and no power. What is going to keep it flying?
Kinetic energy, but that is ebbing fast and the nose wants to drop. Pick it
up to level flight again and repeat the process. As you feel the airplane
sink, and you will, make the front of the cowling just obscure the far end
of the runway and wait for the wheels to touch. If you drift sideways, add a
touch of aileron into the wind and keep the airplane straight with opposite
rudder.

Didn't land on the centerline? I can remember my instructor hounding me
about that when I was working on my ATP, but not when I was a student pilot.
Sure, it's a laudable goal, but if you land to one side or the other the
world will not stop revolving.

Only one of your thoughts I go along with is taking a flight or two with
another instructor.

Bob Gardner


"Gary G" wrote in message
...
OK, I had just about "2 steps backward" day yesterday flying.

We're just focussing on pattern and landing.
I'm fine on everything. then after the turn to final,
things start falling apart.
Holy crap!
In fact, I did so bad, I called it quits after 3 times
around. I was just completely flustered and embarassed.

I'm not 100% starting abeam the numbers, not getting the
plane setup right - but I generally make up for that.

I correct a bit on base and final for "high/low fast/slow",
but still have a few issues getting the right airspeed.

By short final, I'm not on the centerline, can't quite
get back on, and then blow the flare, and things go goofy.

OK - I've read the posts before. But now I'm just about
to the solo point, and am feeling that I'm not having any
fun now.
I am embarassed by my peformance.

- So, ar there some tactics I should consider?
- Take a couple weeks off and relax?
- Take some time to read and review some videos?
- Go fly somewhere else once or twice and see if a different
instructor can connect?
- Take clarinet lessons with Squidward?
- Get a vasectomy?

I'm really frustrated today and haven't even booked another flight
because I'm pretty underconfident at the moment.

OK-the boilerplates.
About 18 hours flying.
About 42-45 landings (although I figure the first 10 or so don't count
as they are just still in the "what the hell is an airplane" phase -
ha!)

Thanks and regards,

Gary

"Gary G" wrote in message

OK, I had just about "2 steps backward" day yesterday flying.

Relax. You're fine. Spend 2 or 3 days doing something else - don't even
think about flying. So far, no one here or anywhere was born knowing how to
fly. 9,982 hours from now, you'll still occasionally say "God, that landing
sucked!"

John Gaquin wrote:
Relax. You're fine. Spend 2 or 3 days doing something else - don't even
think about flying. So far, no one here or anywhere was born knowing how to
fly. 9,982 hours from now, you'll still occasionally say "God, that landing
sucked!"


I never say that. My passengers, OTOH....



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

On 12/6/05 10:55 AM, in article , "Gary
G" wrote:

I'm really frustrated today and haven't even booked another flight
because I'm pretty underconfident at the moment.

OK-the boilerplates.
About 18 hours flying.
About 42-45 landings (although I figure the first 10 or so don't count
as they are just still in the "what the hell is an airplane" phase -
ha!)

Thanks and regards,

Gary

I've come to the conclusion that learning comes in plateaus. Usually it
seems like I'm on the verge of jumping to the next plateau just when I think
I suck the most.

Get back in the plane and get ready for the next plateau.
--
Jeff 'The Wizard of Draws' Bucchino

Cartoons with a Touch of Magic�
http://www.wizardofdraws.com

More Cartoons with a Touch of Magic�
http://www.cartoonclipart.com

"GG" == Gary G Gary writes:
GG - Take a couple weeks off and relax?
Yes. Though I would say only a week.

GG - Go fly somewhere else once or twice and
GG see if a different instructor can connect?

Maybe. Can't hurt. Might help because often different instructors
insist on different ways of doing something and maybe that's what you
need.

Something which helped me during landing, and which I didn't learn
until I had a couple hundred hours--speed control. I got an
instructor who really insisted I trim for proper speed in the pattern
and not let it wander about, and it helped landings a lot. However, I
don't think that single bit of advice is quite what you need. Instead
as others have posted, you need for the whole business to click.

Get some good sleep for a few days. The brain does its best learning
during sleep.

"Gary G" wrote:

- So, ar there some tactics I should consider?

Relax and keep at it. Everyone goes through days like that learning to
land. Make sure your airspeed is right on final.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

Gary G wrote:
OK, I had just about "2 steps backward" day yesterday flying.

We're just focussing on pattern and landing.
I'm fine on everything. then after the turn to final,
things start falling apart.
Holy crap!
In fact, I did so bad, I called it quits after 3 times
around. I was just completely flustered and embarassed.

I'm not 100% starting abeam the numbers, not getting the
plane setup right - but I generally make up for that.

I correct a bit on base and final for "high/low fast/slow",
but still have a few issues getting the right airspeed.

By short final, I'm not on the centerline, can't quite
get back on, and then blow the flare, and things go goofy.

OK - I've read the posts before. But now I'm just about
to the solo point, and am feeling that I'm not having any
fun now.
I am embarassed by my peformance.

- So, ar there some tactics I should consider?
- Take a couple weeks off and relax?
- Take some time to read and review some videos?
- Go fly somewhere else once or twice and see if a different
instructor can connect?
- Take clarinet lessons with Squidward?
- Get a vasectomy?

I'm really frustrated today and haven't even booked another flight
because I'm pretty underconfident at the moment.

OK-the boilerplates.
About 18 hours flying.
About 42-45 landings (although I figure the first 10 or so don't count
as they are just still in the "what the hell is an airplane" phase -
ha!)

Thanks and regards,

Gary
You need to breathe through your eyes during the flare, and wear a
womans garter (rose in front) to keep you distracted. Seriously though
if a landing isn't going well ask you inst. if you can try some
go-arounds. It worked for me. I was more successful with a "do over"
then trying to salvage a landing that is not working. Three years & 350+
landings later they still go haywire from time to time for me. Maybe I
need to get my vasectomy checked?

Gary G wrote:
OK, I had just about "2 steps backward" day yesterday flying.

We're just focussing on pattern and landing.
I'm fine on everything. then after the turn to final,
things start falling apart.
Holy crap!
In fact, I did so bad, I called it quits after 3 times
around. I was just completely flustered and embarassed.

I still have days like that... sometimes I'll be doing greasers, and
then all the sudden I'll go up one day and have to call it quits after
two landings before I break the airplane. Hell, my dad still does it
occasionally (at least in our plane), and hes a 10k+ hour ATP... it
happens. Give it a day or two, and you'll be back to normal.

Nothing beats practice and expereince. That you don't have yet. The
only way to get it is to keep on keeping on. In 500 landings you'll be
doing it subconsciously.
--
Gene Seibel
Tales of Flight - http://pad39a.com/gene/tales.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.

Gene Seibel wrote:
Nothing beats practice and expereince. That you don't have yet. The
only way to get it is to keep on keeping on. In 500 landings you'll be
doing it subconsciously.

Nice theory bad practise..
gravity wins when you stop thinking