Confidence is increased but still struggling with round out

I went out yesterday and did 2 touch and goes in my Sky Arrow, followed by a power off approach and landing.

GoPro on my cap visor. Here's the first touch and go, followed by the power off approach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCjjm_Hrmgg&list=UUIRbXga4oZn7XAUSLfkBO7w

Just posting as an example of how much easier the landing process is if power is already at idle by 100' or earlier.
 
Pedals2Paddles said:
This is something I want to do more often. You're probably the best prepared for an engine out at any time for making all your approaches that way.

But, does this **** off towers that weren't expecting a short approach?
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In a 172 at best glide (65 KIAS), the approach isn't that short. You can almost fly a standard 1/2 mile pattern that way, with no flaps until short final, at least in calm wind. If you try a "short approach," you'll end up losing half your altitude in an aggressive slip.

Even in a 182, it's not all that short, though they do drop faster with the CS prop pushed in.

I prefer to pull the power to idle at 100 feet or earlier, or after the mains touch (for a soft field landing -- if I needed to add power to soften sink).
 
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UngaWunga said:
That's excellent.
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Thanks!

I do NOT wish to derail this, but...

At about 1:40 you might see me reach up to put down the rest of the flaps, but then wait. They finally go down right after I roll out on final.

This gets back to my original training of trying to always deploy flaps in wings level flight. It's just a habit now. Of course I have the ability to put down flaps while turning, and will stipulate that the chances of it causing an issue are vanishingly small. But the video also shows no harm is done by waiting.
 
I am another struggling low-timer. About 15 hrs in the log book, at 9 hrs after 2 calm day lessons my CFI said I was about ready to solo. Landing were going great, it seemed to be clicking. Then the wheels fell off.

Last few lessons it has been windy. Had a 20-25 kt N wind one day, so we went to another airport and things were ok landing on 36 but I struggled with hitting the center line. Last 2 lessons we practiced crosswinds. Terrible.

I just can get consistency. Today we were using 9L, wind was 160 at 11-15 kts. I had a couple good ones, but most were terrible, big bounces, drift off the center line, you name it, just a mess.

Not sure what to try, but I sure felt defeated after today. I have watched tons of videos, read books, I KNOW what to do, but I just can't do it.
 
It's one of those things that just clicks. Hard to explain. I think I had around 200 landings in my book before I solo'd. Yeah, it takes that many. :)
 
SethV said:
I am another struggling low-timer. About 15 hrs in the log book, at 9 hrs after 2 calm day lessons my CFI said I was about ready to solo. Landing were going great, it seemed to be clicking. Then the wheels fell off.

Last few lessons it has been windy. Had a 20-25 kt N wind one day, so we went to another airport and things were ok landing on 36 but I struggled with hitting the center line. Last 2 lessons we practiced crosswinds. Terrible.

I just can get consistency. Today we were using 9L, wind was 160 at 11-15 kts. I had a couple good ones, but most were terrible, big bounces, drift off the center line, you name it, just a mess.

Not sure what to try, but I sure felt defeated after today. I have watched tons of videos, read books, I KNOW what to do, but I just can't do it.
Click to expand...

I am not surprised you regressed with those winds. No, they're not killer, but a low-time student who is dancing on the edge of consistency in a no-wind situation is going to have significant trouble in a moderate wind situation, especially if there is crosswind component. Part of it is task and mental saturation. You're already near the limits of what you're able to handle during one of the busiest times of a flight, and dealing with the wind pushes you a bit beyond that.

Rest comfortably that even though you felt defeated that day, you gained valuable experience that you will be able to use on your next flight. A good flight debrief, along with a flight diary as well as some study and chair flying before your next lesson, will go a long way toward making the best of your tough day.
 
Pedals2Paddles said:
I generally only do it while I'm driving. Especially if I have iFly up on my phone and it starts blaring TERRAIN TERRAIN PULL UP!! I keep pulling back on the steering wheel but it doesn't go up.



This is something I want to do more often. You're probably the best prepared for an engine out at any time for making all your approaches that way.

But, does this **** off towers that weren't expecting a short approach?
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You'll get the best answer to your question by asking someone at the tower. My suggestion is to ask the tower for "the option," which means a normal landing, a short landing, or a go-around. That lets tower personnel make a hole in the sequence for whatever you decide to do.

Bob Gardner
 
asechrest said:
Rest comfortably that even though you felt defeated that day, you gained valuable experience that you will be able to use on your next flight. A good flight debrief, along with a flight diary as well as some study and chair flying before your next lesson, will go a long way toward making the best of your tough day.
Click to expand...

This is a good point - you'll transition from "this is what was happening" to "I made the aircraft do what I wanted". It takes some practice which requires a lot of patience. No big deal, hang in there.
 
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