Week of 16.Oct.2017
New format - This blog is moving to a more conversational format rather than defined sections and probably fewer stats. I'm far enough into training that I think a looser format will be sufficient.
I've been out of the cockpit for a month due to weather and travel. The plan, coming back, is to put in two intense weeks and work on just landings; my weakest flight skill. We'll start with regular landings and move on to short and soft field as soon as the majority of each class of landing is 'DPE Approved'. The plan is for 6 flights a week: 2 on Monday, 1 on Tue & Wed, 2 on Thursday then a break.
This week Monday was cancelled due to high winds. They were blowing 10 - 11 knots with a 5 knot or larger cross-wind component. Based on previous windy days, they were well above my personal minimum (more on that later).
Tuesday the winds were lower (8 knots and mostly down runway 05). Turns out 8 knots with a 3 knot cross-wind was probably too high. The air was rough and out of 10 landings, only 1 would been good for a check-ride. The good news is that it was windy and the pattern was pretty full and I managed to hear and understand most radio calls.
Wed winds were almost calm, around 2-4 knots. I did 9 landings, got my solo endorsement renewed, and 8 of the landings would have been DPE Approved. Cross-winds were very light so most of the landings were really pretty good. The last one I landed soft, got a bit of a gust, took off, drifted, and set down hard with a good side load. Ugly but nothing broke.
Thursday we started on short and soft field. Let's just say I have a lot of work left on these. We'll continue on them next week. Spoiler alert, Monday is already a washout due to both rain and winds.
Lessons learned:
New format - This blog is moving to a more conversational format rather than defined sections and probably fewer stats. I'm far enough into training that I think a looser format will be sufficient.
I've been out of the cockpit for a month due to weather and travel. The plan, coming back, is to put in two intense weeks and work on just landings; my weakest flight skill. We'll start with regular landings and move on to short and soft field as soon as the majority of each class of landing is 'DPE Approved'. The plan is for 6 flights a week: 2 on Monday, 1 on Tue & Wed, 2 on Thursday then a break.
This week Monday was cancelled due to high winds. They were blowing 10 - 11 knots with a 5 knot or larger cross-wind component. Based on previous windy days, they were well above my personal minimum (more on that later).
Tuesday the winds were lower (8 knots and mostly down runway 05). Turns out 8 knots with a 3 knot cross-wind was probably too high. The air was rough and out of 10 landings, only 1 would been good for a check-ride. The good news is that it was windy and the pattern was pretty full and I managed to hear and understand most radio calls.
Wed winds were almost calm, around 2-4 knots. I did 9 landings, got my solo endorsement renewed, and 8 of the landings would have been DPE Approved. Cross-winds were very light so most of the landings were really pretty good. The last one I landed soft, got a bit of a gust, took off, drifted, and set down hard with a good side load. Ugly but nothing broke.
Thursday we started on short and soft field. Let's just say I have a lot of work left on these. We'll continue on them next week. Spoiler alert, Monday is already a washout due to both rain and winds.
Lessons learned:
- I have never really paid attention to wind speeds and cross-wind components and where my personal minimums exist. I now know that anything over 8 knots is a no-fly day and at or below 5 is a good day. I'll have to pay attention to see how 6 and 7 knot days fall into my own minimums.
- I am beginning to get better at when to round out and flare. I still couldn't tell you how far off the deck I am but I'm getting lower more consistently which allows me to land softer.
- I seem to be getting better at hitting the mid-line stripe which is helping with left/right alignment.
- I'm still not seeing cross-wind drift as well as I'd like.
- I did see the shadow of the plane using peripheral vision on two landings; i.e. less forward focus/tunnel vision and more all around awareness. If I can do that more consistently, landings will improve.
- More short and soft-field work. Lots more. I really don't have a good understanding of the flow that gets you to each.
- Since Monday is a washout for flying, I'm going to focus on the FAA written test and see if I can get to a consistent 80% pass score so I can schedule the actual test.
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