Fear of flying cross country

Marc Ramsey wrote:

At our club we had a requirement to
land over a barrier, then get stopped within 500' prior to taking the
1-26 XC.

A reasonable test, if properly organized, but not something to do on a
day to day basis.


Why not?

I think we should do something similar, informally, on every
landing, where doing so does not conflict with other operational
requirements. If we don't set a standard of some sort for every
takeoff, every flight, every landing--how do we know what we can do,
whether we're making any progress, or even maintaining our skills?
After all, not having confidence in our abilities results in a
reluctance to fly XC.

Your suggestion that we focus on the touchdown point is very
important, but it is just part of the challenge. Getting stopped at
a certain point helps us to determine just how good a job we've done
of choosing the _right_ touchdown point, assessing the braking
available on a given surface, and the effects of slope and
vegetation on our roll-out distance.

Spot landings are fun and useful, but we need to know, and be able
to do, much more.


Jack