Coloradokevin
Pre-takeoff checklist
Eating a Soup Sandwich (AKA: Flying poorly)
Ever enjoy one of those famous Soup Sandwiches of the aviation world? I'm sure we all have, but sometimes they just seem to come out of nowhere!
Like so many of us who pilot light single engine aircraft, my flying has been limited due to nasty weather this winter. I've cancelled three flights in the month since my last flight, all due to unsafe weather conditions.
Today I finally got the chance to take the wife up in a C152, and I really couldn't have asked for better weather: 65 degrees, virtually no wind (8 knots or less), and 50 mile visibility. It was the kind of day where even a rookie pilot who had just been cleared to solo could grease every landing. This weather sits in stark contrast to every other day I've flown since October… usually I'm facing winds in excess of 15 knots, with a few flights hammering us with surface-level winds well over 20 knots.
My wife and I took off with the intention of doing a couple of laps around the pattern, before heading up north for a bit of sightseeing. In the words made famous by "Top Gun", the pattern was definitely 'full' today. On downwind I had three other Cessna singles in front of me, and another one on short final to Rwy 30L. So, it was definitely a touch busy, and I was a touch rusty, but it was simply PERFECT weather.
Anyway, I set up for my first landing, and then came back to earth with one of the most spectacularly uninspiring "arrivals" I've had since primary training some 15 years ago. Not only did I jolt us a bit harder than I'd have liked, I also think I caught a bit of the left toe brake (we all know where this is going), which caused us to veer toward the side of the relatively large paved runway. I stayed off the grass at least, slowed it way down, then realigned myself with the middle of this 75 foot wide runway before adding the power again for the "go" part of the "touch-and-go". The takeoff wasn't spectacular either… I gently brought the yoke back at 55 knots, like I usually do, but the airplane took a bit longer than normal to start clawing its way into our thin air (7,200 foot DA). My wife sat quietly beside me, but I could feel the scorn and anxiety just silently oozing from her.
We went around the pattern again, with my confidence a wee bit shaken. This time I came in with a slightly worse pattern (dodging other traffic), but was still set up to easily accept the landing by short final. I caught a bit of sinking right before the threshold, as I often do on this runway, and I added a bit of power to compensate. I was right on the centerline for this landing, and was much more cognizant of not letting my heels leave the floor this time. But, I flared just a touch too soon, and set the plane down a touch harder than I would have liked. This wasn't the kind of landing that damages aircraft, or even really rattles pilots, but on the heels of the prior arrival, it was definitely enough that my non-pilot spouse was probably starting to wonder if I'd lost the touch… or my mind.
Anyway, I decided to depart the pattern after this landing, and go do a little sightseeing. Everything went as normal from then on out, and our final landing at the airport was a non-event about an hour later.
Still, I hate having those days that leave you asking yourself if you've simply forgotten how to fly airplanes! After all, I was flying the simplest airplane in the fleet, in the best weather available! Maybe I'll include the "Soup Sandwich" approach in my logbook notes? Sigh.
Ever enjoy one of those famous Soup Sandwiches of the aviation world? I'm sure we all have, but sometimes they just seem to come out of nowhere!
Like so many of us who pilot light single engine aircraft, my flying has been limited due to nasty weather this winter. I've cancelled three flights in the month since my last flight, all due to unsafe weather conditions.
Today I finally got the chance to take the wife up in a C152, and I really couldn't have asked for better weather: 65 degrees, virtually no wind (8 knots or less), and 50 mile visibility. It was the kind of day where even a rookie pilot who had just been cleared to solo could grease every landing. This weather sits in stark contrast to every other day I've flown since October… usually I'm facing winds in excess of 15 knots, with a few flights hammering us with surface-level winds well over 20 knots.
My wife and I took off with the intention of doing a couple of laps around the pattern, before heading up north for a bit of sightseeing. In the words made famous by "Top Gun", the pattern was definitely 'full' today. On downwind I had three other Cessna singles in front of me, and another one on short final to Rwy 30L. So, it was definitely a touch busy, and I was a touch rusty, but it was simply PERFECT weather.
Anyway, I set up for my first landing, and then came back to earth with one of the most spectacularly uninspiring "arrivals" I've had since primary training some 15 years ago. Not only did I jolt us a bit harder than I'd have liked, I also think I caught a bit of the left toe brake (we all know where this is going), which caused us to veer toward the side of the relatively large paved runway. I stayed off the grass at least, slowed it way down, then realigned myself with the middle of this 75 foot wide runway before adding the power again for the "go" part of the "touch-and-go". The takeoff wasn't spectacular either… I gently brought the yoke back at 55 knots, like I usually do, but the airplane took a bit longer than normal to start clawing its way into our thin air (7,200 foot DA). My wife sat quietly beside me, but I could feel the scorn and anxiety just silently oozing from her.
We went around the pattern again, with my confidence a wee bit shaken. This time I came in with a slightly worse pattern (dodging other traffic), but was still set up to easily accept the landing by short final. I caught a bit of sinking right before the threshold, as I often do on this runway, and I added a bit of power to compensate. I was right on the centerline for this landing, and was much more cognizant of not letting my heels leave the floor this time. But, I flared just a touch too soon, and set the plane down a touch harder than I would have liked. This wasn't the kind of landing that damages aircraft, or even really rattles pilots, but on the heels of the prior arrival, it was definitely enough that my non-pilot spouse was probably starting to wonder if I'd lost the touch… or my mind.
Anyway, I decided to depart the pattern after this landing, and go do a little sightseeing. Everything went as normal from then on out, and our final landing at the airport was a non-event about an hour later.
Still, I hate having those days that leave you asking yourself if you've simply forgotten how to fly airplanes! After all, I was flying the simplest airplane in the fleet, in the best weather available! Maybe I'll include the "Soup Sandwich" approach in my logbook notes? Sigh.
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