A good AG pilot friend always has told me throughout my training, "don't
worry about the landings being perfect, just get it down safely. Just act
like no one is ever watching, because you're bound to bounce a few in every
month." And landing on a 1,700 ft. runway with trees on one end makes me a
little nervous everytime I come in. Now give me a glider and I'll show you
10 perfect landings in a row. You gotta love the spoilers in a sailplane,
come in with full spoilers at the approach speed and slowly bleed them off
when you're at 6 inches off the ground. Gently pulling back on the stick
while bleeding the brakes you feel like you're drive a car, then u hear the
wheel spin up a few times as you pass the few lumps in the runway but you're
just high enough to graze the rubber. Finally, the brakes are in, the speed
is below stall and you're on the ground without any bumps along the way.
"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:RF%Td.1853$Ze3.1281@attbi_s51...
I've noticed something about my landings over the last few years, and
wondered if you folks have had the same experience?
After my first 100 hours or so, my landings were pretty consistently okay.
A nice one every now and then, adequate ones the rest of the time. Every
now and then a crosswind landing might stress the gear a bit, but nothing
too horrible.
Around 500 hours, I seemed to master the art of the greaser -- if I
really,
really worked at it. Most of the time, my landings would be good,
sometimes
great.
Now, some 400 hours later, flying about the same frequency throughout (1 -
2
times per week. Around 100 hours per year), my landings seem to run in
streaks where I will be almost perfect, separated by periods where my
landings are good, but not greasers.
What *is* that?
I don't feel any different. The plane is no different. I'm flying just
as
often. Weather conditions are similar. I feel like I'm working the
approach
just as hard, and in the same way. Yet, *something* is different.
For example, right now I'm in a streak of near-perfection. I had
passengers on Wednesday that told me they had never landed so smoothly,
ever. Hell, *I* have never landed so smoothly, ever, as a passenger or a
pilot. I've just been rolling them on, in any wind condition. Yet I know
that two months ago, I had a couple of real clunkers that probably had my
passengers wondering if I was really a pilot.
So, what is this phenomenon? Karma? The stars? Blood pressure? Phase
of
the moon? It's frustrating to not be able to break down cause and effect
here -- does anyone else notice this?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
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