It is not stressed during check-outs, to get a true sight
picture. In many airplanes the pilot sits about 5 degrees
from his eye to the only visible part of the cowl/nose and
that is the hump over the prop. Unless to conscientiously
avoid using it as a reference, your eye will use it as a
default reference for alignment.

It is very easy to fix as a pilot or instructor if you know
to look for the signs. If you are an instructor giving a
flight review to an owner, you can gain extra points by
telling him about his landing problem even before you start
the engine.

A grease penciled mark (I like crosshairs on the spot) makes
it easy to cure the pilot and teach the student. Soon they
won't need it.


--
James H. Macklin
ATP,CFI,A&P

--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
some support
http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm



"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
newsnFmf.394608$084.59578@attbi_s22...
| This is not just a problem with SE trainers,
| look at the tires on a Lear or King Air next time you
have
| the chance, it isn't uncommon to see all the tire wear
on
| the co-pilot's side because the Captain does all the
| landings.
|
| Interesting observation, Jim -- thanks.
|
| As a new pilot I used to occasionally have trouble landing
in a slight crab,
| even when there was no crosswind. (In fact, it was
sometimes worse with NO
| wind at all.) I cured that problem by consciously
aligning the nose and
| tail of the plane with the runway, not just aligning *me*
with the runway.
|
| Now, it's second nature, but it took some analysis to
figure out what I was
| doing wrong. It never dawned on me that this was common,
and would result
| in uneven nose-tire wear!
| --
| Jay Honeck
| Iowa City, IA
| Pathfinder N56993
| www.AlexisParkInn.com
| "Your Aviation Destination"
|
|