Friday, February 24, 2012

Lesson 12 - Circuits (4)

25th September 2011  VH-TXH
CIRCUITS
Today I wouldn’t be flying with Jason, he already had another booking and I really want to get in a couple of weeks in a row.  So Warren would be taking me up.  Having another point of view turned out to be a good thing, it gave me a different focus.



The day was nice, with light winds from the southeast.  This meant we were going to be using 13L – a first for me.  As the threshold of 13L and 17L aren’t that far apart, I was doing to need to make sure I was aligned with the correct runway.

Off we went.  After the first circuit Warren got me to do a couple of things. 
  1. Do less – He took over the radio calls, so I could focus on flying,
  2. Use my feet more – It was rough coming in over the golf course and I was using the ailerons to try and keep the plane level and lined up with the runway (At low speeds the ailerons are less effective and once I got my feet going it was much easier)
Unfortunately, I’m still flaring to high and I need to watch my power control on finals.  I must admit that by the end of the lesson I’m feeling more relax (until the last 50 ft) and starting to feel like I have enough time to start thinking about landing properly.  

VH-TXH – Piper Warrior III 1.0hr (12.8hr)



Things to watch in the future
  • My height on downwind (a couple of times I let this wander)
  • The height of my flare – I still strating to high.
  •  Still have the urge to push forward on the york when we float or bounce.
  •  Use my feet.  Ailerons are less effective than the rudder at slow speeds
  •  Don’t taxi under landing planes – One distraction for them and two don’t want them landing on top of you.
  • Use Power to manage height on Crosswind and final.

No comments:

Post a Comment