It is highly unlikely that a person who never flew/piloted an aircraft
before could land one successfully. There is a reason it takes about 10
to 30 hours of instruction to land a single engine plane. It is not
something that people can do naturally. There are also enough people
flying small planes who have used "flight simulators" prior to taking
lessons. I have never, ever heard of someone who could land a plane
right from the start. It just does not happen.


Before I decided to go for the ticket to fly, I had played with the MS
Flight Sim extensively. At least hundreds of hours in the C172
landing, flying, everything. Anyway, I was flying with my CFI and we
went to Oceanside airport and he put me on a stabalized approcach and
said "your plane" and I tried as hard as I could, but it just was not
gonna happen...

I think that was a move on his part to show me that the Sim ain't no
airplane and to make me realize the stakes are much higher.

I would not say it is impossible for someone to get lucky on the first
time out, but it is just that... luck. For me, it took many many
hours to get the procedures down, and getting the flare is an art that
is a unique experience everytime. I have found the landing phase to
be different every time I am on short final. After a short 3 years of
flying, with several hundred landings, I still find landings to be
very challenging and the most rewarding part of flying.

Tonight I went out for my first night flight in over 2 years. Wow,
that is beautiful. I forgot how awesome it is at night. Went to San
Bernadino, Redlands, Banning and back to French Valley. I feel so
fortunate to be able to experience the gift of flight.

Night landings are a whole different story... I felt I was behind the
plane the whole time and always felt too low. Wierd. Bummer, I guess
I need more practice. :-)



Mike Alexander
PP-ASEL
Temecula, CA
See my online aerial photo album at
http://flying.4alexanders.com