Surprise! More circuits - July 16

Today I was back to the male instructor (second time with him). We had a really nasty thunderstorm go through at 3-4pm, and we were flying at 7pm. The air was very stable, minimal wind, the sun was out, and it was just a really pretty time to fly.

Today's objectives:

• Nail the take-offs. Now that I have realized what they are like, I want them very smooth.
• Directional control on take-offs - tap-dance on the rudders as required. No more big swoops.
• Vertical rate of descent on final needs to be smooth, and at the correct angle. Make minor rate-of-descent changes early.
• Improve the lateral direction control on final
• Eyes outside, stay away from the tunnel vision
• Rotation and landing - don't be afraid of the ground, don't be afraid of a tail strike (avoid hesitation on getting the nose up)
• Today, for the first time, we were using runway 10, so I could practice positioning for the landings based on relationship to the runway, instead of ground references (eg. using the cemetery of the end of 28 as a turning point)

Take-offs: Still gentle (good), smooth (good), and medium speed (tentative) on advancing the throttle. Decent directional control, meaning no large lurches left or right. But it's still a thinking process, not yet natural.

But the lift-offs were smooth - every one of them. Just got the nose wheel up at the rotate speed, maintained a moderate nose-up attitude, and the aircraft took off when it was ready. Big improvement. Vow: No more ripping the bird off the ground, just let her fly when she is ready.

Circuits. Very nice. Most important was shedding the speed, while maintaining altitude, on the final part of downwind. Getting the landing set up early made for an easier base and final.

Final approach. Good altitude control. Lateral directional control improving, but not yet good enough. Minimal crosswind today, and no sink or mechanical turbulence at this end of the runway, made it easier.

Rotation: An astounding improvement. The landings weren't greasers, but they were very much better. Pointed mostly down the runway, but need to get 100% of the yaw out of the touchdown, so I don't torque the undercarriage or scrub the tires.

The instructor demonstrated Forced Landings - abeam the threshold chop the power, then get it to the threshold and down. There's a lot of slipping involved.

After the flight we reviewed my Pilot Training Record. Solo is approaching, though I'm certainly not ready yet. In the nearer future we need to review the work from 2006 and 2007 (Stalls, Spins, Spirals). I want more work at altitude on forward and side slips. We haven't started emergency procedures. I've only seen the demonstration of two forced landings, so that's a new topic. And, of course, I need to be better on stabilized approaches, especially in a crosswind.

I had read that to accelerate the learning curve, one must fly often. It is definitely true. I can see the progress. And my self-awareness is improving.

What went well:

• Rotation and climb on take-off. Wow. I just realized that this phase of flight wasn't smooth, decided to do it better, and it was easy.
• Rotation on landing. Eyes are right down the runway to the horizon.
• Gentle touchdowns on landing, good attitude.
• Speed during final - used to be 60-70 (fear of low&slow), then I got it stabilized at 60, now I am comfortable at 55-60 and fly these speeds naturally.
• Side slips
• I remembered to do the post-landing checklist post-landing, rather than pre-shutdown.

What needs improving:

• Directional and lateral control on final.
• Making sure there is no yaw at touchdown.

Hours: 1.4
Landings: 8