Lost focus in the flare

Timbeck2

Timbeck2

Final Approach
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Timbeck2
Don't do that because you may bounce a landing.

I can't remember ever bouncing a landing and I can attest that I've never bounced a landing in my Cherokee...that is until last weekend. I was landing runway 24 at Falcon Field into the setting sun when off to my left, a flock of birds decided to play chicken. I was so focused on the birds that I lost sight of where I was in the flare and I waited a split second too long to catch it. I bounced the landing which was pretty embarrassing but I was with a pilot friend and he thought it was funny. It wasn't a hard landing but I did get the two for one deal.

Lesson learned - bird strikes probably cost less than rebuilding struts or repairing wing damage from a crappy landing. Focus on flying the plane, landing the plane and then worry about what may happen.
 
Lost focus on the flare.

Damn that sounds like a song title. Lemme see if I can work up some lyrics. Here ya go @Timbeck2:

"Lost Focus In The Flare"

A beautiful evening it was
The sunset setting aglow
Me in my sweet aeroplane
Setting down before the sun

Touching earth I alight
Only to be sent back to the sky
Oh my I exclaim to myself
As I discover my soiled pants

Ok ok so I'm not there yet as a song writer....
 
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And if you do bounce, don't choke and push the yoke forward. Years back a Bonanza owner did just that. I got the "honors" of replacing everything from the firewall forward. Damages totaled about $90,000 and he had no hull insurance. He would have been better of scrapping the plane than repairing it but WTF, I made money from his mistake.
 
eh, shiz happens, but yeah, fly the plane first. screw the birds.
 
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It was the birds haha, suuuuure... J/K. Bounced landing was the day I decided I am a pilot. I was on some solo flight landing and boiiinnnggggg, back up into the air. I felt pretty scared. Comes down again, this time so hard I thought for sure I broke something. Boiinnnggg, back up in the air. At that second I thought to myself, wow the third hit is probably going to be even harder, so I crammed the throttle and did a go-around.

Before that I had not heard of this kind of bouncing/porpoising. It was at the moment I did the go-around I felt like I made the right decision, and started feeling like a real pilot. The airplane wasn't damaged. Now most if not all of my landings are soft fields. If the yoke isn't into my chest and the stall horn isn't chirping it's a go-around. I try to pretend the runway is only long enough to land on, and do the approach right so the landing part is easy.

A few months later our club had a prop strike due to bouncing. The guy quit flying, pretty sad outcome for all.
 
Timbeck2 said:
You forgot into the setting sun too. ;)

I've got to blame it on something. :)
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Own it dude. I think I’ve bounced everything I’ve flown or thought about flying. A 172 will make a great “sprong” sound when ya bounce it just right. Now. PA-28 is a little tougher to bounce but it’s doable with enough skill. The oleos soak up most of the abuse, skipping down the runway is much easier to accomplish.

Now if ya wanna talk LSA, man some of those things are a bounce just waiting to happen. I think they’ll even bounce on departure...
 
I think I may have bounced a landing before too, wait what day is it? Whats my name again... uh, nevermind I forgot what I was trying to say.
 
It's so easy to do, even after years of not bouncing. General loss of focus. Looking at the runway too close to the airplane instead of way out. There are so many tiny things we can do wrong. And we even manage to find some new ones from time to time ;)
 
N659HB said:
I usually bounce when there are witnesses. :rolleyes:
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:yup: :nod:


It is hard to bounce a Cherokee with the oleo struts.
However, a Cessna with its spring steel gear is pretty easy to get up in the air after first touchdown.
I had the (dis)advantage of training in a Cherokee. It made my landings look good .... without them being that good.
So I had to re-learn on Cessnas how to land smoothly.
I still get the occasional 3-for-1 recurrentification landing from time to time. :)
 
Is there a way for a pilot to check the firewall in a rented 172/182 before flying away in it? Keep from being held responsible for something the previous renter should take credit for?
 
Ask me how to bounce an archer, I was pretty proficient on it till after my first solo, I may have lost that skill recently though...

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
I thought you bounce them when you're trying to get current with only one trip around the pattern?
 
Dave Theisen said:
As long as it doesn't hit hard enough that you DON'T bounce, you're good. :)
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FMD. I hit hard one night when she quit flying. Thought it was game over but the airframe shrugged it off. Keep it on the mains and yer bacon might be safe...
 
Dave Theisen said:
As long as it doesn't hit hard enough that you DON'T bounce, you're good. :)
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I flew a LSA once where 40 degrees of flaps meant you were coming down RIGHT NOW. Totally threw me off on final, and I dragged that plane onto the tarmac under power. I touched nose wheel first and bounced twice. Luckily airspeed was low enough that she settled after the 2nd bounce of the nosewheel (mains were on the tarmac.) No harm to aircraft, and only one pair of soiled underwear. (Fabreeze worked on the seat.)
 
Bounce.......no, BIG bounce........followed by tail scrape..... you have to be very [un] skilled to perform those. Please don't ask me how I know.
 
I had an encounter with a porpoise a few months back. Cessnas do like to bounce if you're not kind to them.
 
Zeldman said:
Why is it I only make greaser landings when I am by myself and no one is watching..????
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I'm just the opposite. My landings with passengers are so much better than my landings alone.
 
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