Lesson 28: You spin me right round, baby, right round, like a record baby...
08/06/2007 Filed in: Flying
Monday - 08/06/07
Three days to checkride. 2 days, 16 hours, and 30 minutes to be more precise. Not that I've counted.
If all comes to pass as planned, today is my last flight with CFI3 as a student pilot. He's got his work cut out for him today, though. It is in his charge to imbue in me some semblance of skill on short field landings. If you've been keeping up, you're well aware that this is a daunting task, but he assures me he's up to it.
Because it's 103F on the ramp today, I do the preflight and then come back in for some water and air conditioning. CFI3 has just come in from another flight and appears to be in even less of a hurry to climb in our winged sauna than I.
We start out with about 20 minutes of ground work (read: more AC). Among other things, CFI3 says the magic words that finally bring it all home for me:
CFI3: Short field landings are not soft.
Me: ???
CFI3: Keep the nose up, but plant the mains and get that thing on the ground.
It can't be that simple. And actually, it's not, but that one instruction does rectify 95% of my problem. I have been trying to land both short and soft and I found myself unable to consistently judge the floating distance necessary to do so.
If the fix is as easy making a hard landing, I'm *real* sure I can manage. Hell, I'm the undisputed middle-weight hard-landing champion of the world! PTS has got no shot against a pro like me!
We also discuss not aiming for the numbers again.
CFI3: If you aim for the numbers on 32 you're going to take out one of the light posts [that are just before it]
Me: Yeah, I know, that's what I've been worried about.
CFI3: We'll use the 500 ft marker instead. So aim about two runway stripes before that and it'll come out about right.
I rather like the light posts where they are. Especially at night. They're certainly more useful there than they would be hanging from the mains of 223NH.
One last note on our ground lesson. I'm told that if I find myself too low about the time I'll flare to just keep it in ground effect and hold it off. I have little doubt that will work in the katana.
If, however, I find myself too high, bring the speed back from 60 to 55 and the airplane will sink like a rock and allow me to land shorter. I nod as if all this sinks in and the mere experience of hearing it has given me mastery over the concept. As you'll see later, it hasn't.
After our ground lesson, we head out for the preflight. Much to our chagrin, an unexpected cold front has not moved over the ramp. I realize that, for the first time ever, I've driven to the airport, preflighted the airplane, and yet I truly have no desire to get in it. Discipline rules the today, however.
It's about this time I note the windsock is pointing 90 degrees to our usual runway. It's also gusting more than I'd prefer, which is to say, at all.
Me: Normally I'd welcome the crosswind landing practice, but...
CFI3: <evil grin>
The ASOS confirms my fears, but the wind apparently cannot make up its mind on which wind direction and velocity will vex me the most. Tower gives us runway 19, confusing both me and CFI3:
CFI3: Tower, the windsock looks like it favors 32.
Tower: Wind currently is 220 @ 8 gusting 14, but it is variable. Runway 19 currently in use.
CFI3: Roger that.
We shrug at each other and head out for the arduous journey from our ramp to runway 19. It'll give us a chance to exchange our life stories anyway.
After the runup, CFI requests a soft field takeoff. I note the windsock is pointing straight across the runway.
Me: So you want a soft-field, crosswind takeoff?
CFI3: Yep. You up to it?
Me: Yeah, I have to try it some time.
I plant the stick in the far lower right corner of its range and begin promising good behavior to all the deities I know.
My soft field takeoffs are generally pretty good. This one got squirrelly enough that CFI3 actually reached for the controls about halfway through, but somehow he restrained his nerves and allowed me to continue fighting the good fight.
After that he takes the airplane and gives me... wait for it... a demo. Yay!
On downwind...
CFI3: Yeah, that wind still favors 32. Just sayin.
He brings it in exactly as we discussed in the ground lesson and then touches down in a way that I'm pretty sure will displease my chiropractor. But, more importantly, it was *exactly* on the marker. Manly, I tell ya. Banana manly.
So finally having some idea how this is supposed to work, I take over and give it a shot. Long story short, it's a beauty. I nailed that first one. I am the walrus. Grr!
Now, on the second pass, I end up short. Like 100 feet short. Given that PTS is -0 / +200, that's not good. Mulligan!
The whole wind / tower / runway thing apparently has CFI3 in a tizzy.
CFI3: Can you see that windsock?
Me: Yeah, I see it.
CFI3: Ok, just so I'm not the only one.
On the next pass, I'm way high when I get to my point. I'm just about to call a go-around when...
CFI3: Slow it down to 55.
Me: Really?!
CFI3: Yeah, go ahead.
Honestly, I figure he's lost it. It looks like we're about 20 feet from our touchdown point and still 100 feet or so above it. There's no way we're going to lose all that altitude in time. I may be exaggerating a touch, but honestly not terribly so.
I slow down to 55 and as if by magic the airplane immediately begins to sink towards our spot. It's as if someone embedded a tractor beam in the marker and is reeling us in. I easily land within PTS. It was nothing short of amazing.
Me: Wow!
CFI3: Pretty cool, huh?
Me: I can't believe how that worked. Thanks for showing me that!
After that we try a couple more and then head out for some ground reference maneuvers in the practice area. I'm ashamed to admit I've only done turns around a point and S-turns once in all of my training, and there was virtually no wind at the time as I recall. It's high time to review those.
They're both unsurprisingly bad at first, but with constant instructional chatter from CFI3, they improve fairly quickly.
We're heading back into Smyrna when it happens.
CFI3: You ever been in a spin?
Me: Uh, no. They kinda terrify me. I tried to spin with CFI1 in the 152 but there was a rudder problem.
CFI3: Well I can't spin this, but I can show you an incipient spin.
Me: What's that mean?
CFI3 makes a vague and horrifying motion with his hand simulating the expected motion of the airplane, complete with some sort of wing-over, rolling effect that would frighten a kamikaze pilot.
Me: Ok, let's do it. I'll try not to freak out.
CFI3: Just don't grab the controls.
I pause to make absolutely certain that what I'm about to tell him is the truth.
Me: I will not grab the controls.
It is at this point that CFI3 appears to push, pull, and cram on the controls, ostensibly in some non-random manner. Somehow this commands the airplane to pitch up, roll violently, and then immediately pitch down and perform what felt a great deal like a barrel roll or a twist loop on a rollercoaster. It was completely, unequivocally awesome.
He then bullies around the controls some more and our faithful katana jumps right back into stable flight. Wow. Just wow. He looks at me to gauge my reaction.
Me: I think I just got a hard on.
CFI3: <laughs> I did not need to know that! Now, do not do spins without a CFI in the airplane.
Me: Hey, you don't have to tell *me*!
After that he demos a spiral and points out that the difference, just like the books said, is the dramatically increasing airspeed. Of course, the book failed to mention anything about them causing you to lose control of your bowels. Not that I did. No, certainly not. But let me recommend 964CT if you're in Smyrna and in the mood to fly a katana. No particular reason. Just trust me.
After that we head back into Smyrna, land, shutdown, and make a beeline for the air conditioning. Freon is easily my favorite cancer agent.
CFI1 is there and I listen in while CFI3 briefs him on our lesson as though I weren't standing there. It's an interesting window into the inter-CFI communicae that takes place. CFI1 seems genuinely pleased to hear that I properly executed around 70% of my short field landings today. That's a marked improvement, afterall.
After that I have a ground lesson scheduled with CFI1 to go over some lingering questions I have about the oral. Mostly some airspace stuff, some FARs, etc. He throws in some questions of his own and I'm able to answer most, but not all, of them correctly.
We call it a night around 8pm. I'm scheduled for solo flight tomorrow and a mock checkride with CFI1 on Wednesday before the big day. Which, by the way, is 2 days, 11 hours and 49 minutes away as I leave the FBO parking lot.
Logged: 1.7
Comments:
rjh
Member
Registered: Jun 2007
Location: KC
Posts: 70
The...sus...pense...is...killing...me.
gunthernsons
Senior Member
Registered: Sep 2006
Location: Blacksburg, VA
Posts: 412
Hope you can get some sleep over the next couple of nights. I know I didn't get much. Good luck with your ride.
__________________
I'm just a student, what do I know?
My Flight Experiences
battmain
Checkride Passed!
Registered: Oct 2006
Location:
Posts: 368
You know, somehow I think this guy is already a pilot and is just making us wait. Lets see, 11 days ago...I know there has been some weather that direction, but 11 days worth? Or maybe it was the DE scheduling? Hmmm. Yeah the suspense is killing me too!
I love the write ups though.
__________________
PP ASEL
Three days to checkride. 2 days, 16 hours, and 30 minutes to be more precise. Not that I've counted.
If all comes to pass as planned, today is my last flight with CFI3 as a student pilot. He's got his work cut out for him today, though. It is in his charge to imbue in me some semblance of skill on short field landings. If you've been keeping up, you're well aware that this is a daunting task, but he assures me he's up to it.
Because it's 103F on the ramp today, I do the preflight and then come back in for some water and air conditioning. CFI3 has just come in from another flight and appears to be in even less of a hurry to climb in our winged sauna than I.
We start out with about 20 minutes of ground work (read: more AC). Among other things, CFI3 says the magic words that finally bring it all home for me:
CFI3: Short field landings are not soft.
Me: ???
CFI3: Keep the nose up, but plant the mains and get that thing on the ground.
It can't be that simple. And actually, it's not, but that one instruction does rectify 95% of my problem. I have been trying to land both short and soft and I found myself unable to consistently judge the floating distance necessary to do so.
If the fix is as easy making a hard landing, I'm *real* sure I can manage. Hell, I'm the undisputed middle-weight hard-landing champion of the world! PTS has got no shot against a pro like me!
We also discuss not aiming for the numbers again.
CFI3: If you aim for the numbers on 32 you're going to take out one of the light posts [that are just before it]
Me: Yeah, I know, that's what I've been worried about.
CFI3: We'll use the 500 ft marker instead. So aim about two runway stripes before that and it'll come out about right.
I rather like the light posts where they are. Especially at night. They're certainly more useful there than they would be hanging from the mains of 223NH.
One last note on our ground lesson. I'm told that if I find myself too low about the time I'll flare to just keep it in ground effect and hold it off. I have little doubt that will work in the katana.
If, however, I find myself too high, bring the speed back from 60 to 55 and the airplane will sink like a rock and allow me to land shorter. I nod as if all this sinks in and the mere experience of hearing it has given me mastery over the concept. As you'll see later, it hasn't.
After our ground lesson, we head out for the preflight. Much to our chagrin, an unexpected cold front has not moved over the ramp. I realize that, for the first time ever, I've driven to the airport, preflighted the airplane, and yet I truly have no desire to get in it. Discipline rules the today, however.
It's about this time I note the windsock is pointing 90 degrees to our usual runway. It's also gusting more than I'd prefer, which is to say, at all.
Me: Normally I'd welcome the crosswind landing practice, but...
CFI3: <evil grin>
The ASOS confirms my fears, but the wind apparently cannot make up its mind on which wind direction and velocity will vex me the most. Tower gives us runway 19, confusing both me and CFI3:
CFI3: Tower, the windsock looks like it favors 32.
Tower: Wind currently is 220 @ 8 gusting 14, but it is variable. Runway 19 currently in use.
CFI3: Roger that.
We shrug at each other and head out for the arduous journey from our ramp to runway 19. It'll give us a chance to exchange our life stories anyway.
After the runup, CFI requests a soft field takeoff. I note the windsock is pointing straight across the runway.
Me: So you want a soft-field, crosswind takeoff?
CFI3: Yep. You up to it?
Me: Yeah, I have to try it some time.
I plant the stick in the far lower right corner of its range and begin promising good behavior to all the deities I know.
My soft field takeoffs are generally pretty good. This one got squirrelly enough that CFI3 actually reached for the controls about halfway through, but somehow he restrained his nerves and allowed me to continue fighting the good fight.
After that he takes the airplane and gives me... wait for it... a demo. Yay!
On downwind...
CFI3: Yeah, that wind still favors 32. Just sayin.
He brings it in exactly as we discussed in the ground lesson and then touches down in a way that I'm pretty sure will displease my chiropractor. But, more importantly, it was *exactly* on the marker. Manly, I tell ya. Banana manly.
So finally having some idea how this is supposed to work, I take over and give it a shot. Long story short, it's a beauty. I nailed that first one. I am the walrus. Grr!
Now, on the second pass, I end up short. Like 100 feet short. Given that PTS is -0 / +200, that's not good. Mulligan!
The whole wind / tower / runway thing apparently has CFI3 in a tizzy.
CFI3: Can you see that windsock?
Me: Yeah, I see it.
CFI3: Ok, just so I'm not the only one.
On the next pass, I'm way high when I get to my point. I'm just about to call a go-around when...
CFI3: Slow it down to 55.
Me: Really?!
CFI3: Yeah, go ahead.
Honestly, I figure he's lost it. It looks like we're about 20 feet from our touchdown point and still 100 feet or so above it. There's no way we're going to lose all that altitude in time. I may be exaggerating a touch, but honestly not terribly so.
I slow down to 55 and as if by magic the airplane immediately begins to sink towards our spot. It's as if someone embedded a tractor beam in the marker and is reeling us in. I easily land within PTS. It was nothing short of amazing.
Me: Wow!
CFI3: Pretty cool, huh?
Me: I can't believe how that worked. Thanks for showing me that!
After that we try a couple more and then head out for some ground reference maneuvers in the practice area. I'm ashamed to admit I've only done turns around a point and S-turns once in all of my training, and there was virtually no wind at the time as I recall. It's high time to review those.
They're both unsurprisingly bad at first, but with constant instructional chatter from CFI3, they improve fairly quickly.
We're heading back into Smyrna when it happens.
CFI3: You ever been in a spin?
Me: Uh, no. They kinda terrify me. I tried to spin with CFI1 in the 152 but there was a rudder problem.
CFI3: Well I can't spin this, but I can show you an incipient spin.
Me: What's that mean?
CFI3 makes a vague and horrifying motion with his hand simulating the expected motion of the airplane, complete with some sort of wing-over, rolling effect that would frighten a kamikaze pilot.
Me: Ok, let's do it. I'll try not to freak out.
CFI3: Just don't grab the controls.
I pause to make absolutely certain that what I'm about to tell him is the truth.
Me: I will not grab the controls.
It is at this point that CFI3 appears to push, pull, and cram on the controls, ostensibly in some non-random manner. Somehow this commands the airplane to pitch up, roll violently, and then immediately pitch down and perform what felt a great deal like a barrel roll or a twist loop on a rollercoaster. It was completely, unequivocally awesome.
He then bullies around the controls some more and our faithful katana jumps right back into stable flight. Wow. Just wow. He looks at me to gauge my reaction.
Me: I think I just got a hard on.
CFI3: <laughs> I did not need to know that! Now, do not do spins without a CFI in the airplane.
Me: Hey, you don't have to tell *me*!
After that he demos a spiral and points out that the difference, just like the books said, is the dramatically increasing airspeed. Of course, the book failed to mention anything about them causing you to lose control of your bowels. Not that I did. No, certainly not. But let me recommend 964CT if you're in Smyrna and in the mood to fly a katana. No particular reason. Just trust me.
After that we head back into Smyrna, land, shutdown, and make a beeline for the air conditioning. Freon is easily my favorite cancer agent.
CFI1 is there and I listen in while CFI3 briefs him on our lesson as though I weren't standing there. It's an interesting window into the inter-CFI communicae that takes place. CFI1 seems genuinely pleased to hear that I properly executed around 70% of my short field landings today. That's a marked improvement, afterall.
After that I have a ground lesson scheduled with CFI1 to go over some lingering questions I have about the oral. Mostly some airspace stuff, some FARs, etc. He throws in some questions of his own and I'm able to answer most, but not all, of them correctly.
We call it a night around 8pm. I'm scheduled for solo flight tomorrow and a mock checkride with CFI1 on Wednesday before the big day. Which, by the way, is 2 days, 11 hours and 49 minutes away as I leave the FBO parking lot.
Logged: 1.7
Comments:
rjh
Member
Registered: Jun 2007
Location: KC
Posts: 70
The...sus...pense...is...killing...me.
gunthernsons
Senior Member
Registered: Sep 2006
Location: Blacksburg, VA
Posts: 412
Hope you can get some sleep over the next couple of nights. I know I didn't get much. Good luck with your ride.
__________________
I'm just a student, what do I know?
My Flight Experiences
battmain
Checkride Passed!
Registered: Oct 2006
Location:
Posts: 368
You know, somehow I think this guy is already a pilot and is just making us wait. Lets see, 11 days ago...I know there has been some weather that direction, but 11 days worth? Or maybe it was the DE scheduling? Hmmm. Yeah the suspense is killing me too!
I love the write ups though.
__________________
PP ASEL