Date & Time: Tuesday, 3rd June, 1997, 18:00 CDT
Where: From SPX, local flight
Instruction: 0.4 hours (ground) 1.1 hours (air) - - Total 1.5 hrs. Running logbook total: 13.3 hrs
Aircraft: Cessna 172, number N1219F
Dual Instruction with Lee Simmons.

I've now got a big grin on my face...

   The weather was much like on Sunday - clear skies with METARs in the area reporting a 'FEW' layer of clouds, and only a little wind (which this time was favoring Runway 13 like it usually does). What wind there was was all crosswind. However, unlike Sunday, there was virtually no turbulence - just the odd small bump around the pattern. As I took off into the clear and smooth air, I flew with an enhanced sense of confidence that I could really concentrate on the landings without getting sidetracked by turbulence, and get to explore the envelope some more. I even got the radio work more or less right today too - I made more calls than I usually manage, and got a call in for each final approach.
   The first couple of landings were better than I had ever done before, but not quite greasers. At least I tracked the centerline this time, even if I did bounce a little on one landing. We also did an excersise where Lee would take control of one thing, and I would control the other. We started off with Lee controlling pitch and roll, and myself controlling the rudder and power, so I could practise keeping the aircraft nose pointed at the right heading by using the rudder. There was enough wind aloft to need a small amount of correction on downwind and final (it was a direct crosswind, but it wasn't particularly strong). This really helped me get my sense of rudder control (even though it can be a bit tricky keeping everything coordinated with two people controlling different axis of flight!) We then swapped over. I got a nice smooth flare in this time, but I still let the aircraft down a bit early, but we didn't bounce.
   It was getting hot down there, so we exited the pattern, and flew off for about 15 minutes to cool off in the cooler air aloft. Lee used this time to demonstrate a VOR intercept and the effects of magnetic dip on the compass (things I'd only read about so far - but the compass effects were surprisingly significant). We looked at the acronyms - ANDS: accelerates North, decelerates South - by flying an easterly heading then accelerating and watching the compass swing north, then decelerating and watching it swing south. Then the other direction - turning from north to south and back again to watch the compass lag at the north and overtake the DG as we went towards south.
   After this, we did some more touch and goes. The first one in, Lee told me "Your flaps have failed. Give me a no-flap landing". I thought a little about it, and decided to extend the downwind out to give a longer final approach (good descision!). I flew the normal speed of 65 knots, and had the power off during the base leg. I came in a little fast during final, but a little nose up trim helped cure that. The touchdown was a near greaser, but I didn't quite get the stall warning to go off (and I let the nose down a little too early). My second to last landing was a greaser! I had the yoke all the way back during the flare, and the stall warning actually went off just before the gentle touchdown - I've never been able to get the stall horn going during the flare! My only mistake was to once again let the nose down a little early - but everything else was good. On our final full-stop landing, I did my best ever. A true greaser with the stall warning going off, and I remembered to hold the yoke back until the nosewheel settled down gently on its own. I'm getting the hang of this...now if I can do this next time, you never know...I might get to do it solo! People keep telling me that that landing will be like the amazing <insert favorite sport> shot that they made once but can never again attain...I hope not!

Conclusion.
   Well, I'm getting it with the landings! The lack of turbulence and calm winds helped me a lot - I could concentrate on getting the flare right and exploring the envelope during the flare. Now I've found out what to do with the yoke and rudder, I should have a much better chance with getting landings done well when the weather is more gusty and bumpy. Now I've found out what a good landing should feel like with myself at the controls, I've got more confidence for the next session. I might even get to solo (but I must remember to find the answer to the tire pressure question on my pre-solo written: I had a good look in the POH but I couldn't find it. I think I'm going to go out and have a look on the tires next time I go out - it's probably somewhere on them...)

What was learned.
   At first, the quality of your landings will be questionable. You'll get frustrated - I certainly did...but keep on coming, and those greasers will start to come. I've found the best help I had today was the lack of turbulence and gusts which meant I could really explore the elevator input I needed to - and now I know what it's like, hopefully it will come off right during the next gusty session. The other thing is to never give up in the flare - keep using the ailerons, rudder and elevator to keep the airplane just where you want it, because if you don't - you'll head off into the grass (I had no close shaves with the grass today, but last time under the same crosswind conditions there were a few tense moments because I didn't control the airplane enough). Even if the mains just touch before the stall horn starts, don't let the nosewheel down, and keep coming with the elevator until it really stops flying (but be careful not to balloon up, because that's a sure way to get a hard landing!)
    Now if I can get them like that all the time, just like Lee does...

Date & Time: Saturday, 7th June, 1997, 09:30 CDT
Where: From SPX, local flight
Instruction: 1.0 hours (ground) 1.0 hours (air) - - Total 2 hrs. Running logbook total: 14.3 hrs
Aircraft: Cessna 172, number N1219F
Dual Instruction with Lee Simmons.

Nothing but touch and goes...
   Today consisted of nothing but touch-and-goes. The weather was calm, but humid from the overnight rain, with winds "gusting" from completely still to about 4 knots crosswind (just enough to keep pushing me off the centerline on final approach if I didn't watch out).
   Well, you know that <insert favorite sports achievement> affect I mentioned last time? Well, I never quite repeated that last landing, but none were bad. In fact, this time Lee never took the controls, except to give me a quick break and demonstrate another one of his perfect greasers. Today I had a bit of trouble touching down on the centerline - apart from 3 landings (which were spot on - and the wind gusted on those too!), I was a little to the right (mainly because when the wind occasionally gusted, that's where it'd put me on those ones). I was concentrating so much on getting the flare right, I would sometimes forget to correct for the drift. (I still need to quite consiously think about what I'm doing to correct drift whilst I'm flaring as well - that's the most difficult part - making it come more naturally so I do the actions quicker).
   I practised a few new things. The first takeoff we did was a soft field takeoff, where you get the nose off the ground early and keep the nosewheel just off the ground, allowing you to see over the front but without the wheel touching. You also extend 10 degrees of flap, so you lift off earlier. When you lift off, you remain in the ground effect to gain speed, then climb out and retract the flaps. I also did a simulated emergency landing (the 172 will glide for a long time!) by pulling the power completely. We had 1000 feet (pattern altitude) below us, so I could fly a normal base and final. I just added flaps later than normal - you don't want all that drag out there when you have no engine out there to pull you forward. The final landing we did was a soft-field landing with 40 degrees of flaps. Lee told me the quality of the touchdown was what counted, so I tried to make it so. However, I haven't done many landings with full flaps and ballooned a little during the flare and touched down harder than any of my other landings that day! I think it would have been a soft-squelch landing leaving nice wheel marks where I came down if that had been a soft field...
   Well...that solo didn't come today. However, we reviewed the first half of my pre-solo written (I forgot to bring the questions, so we could only go over the ones where it was obvious what the question was from my answer - I answered them pretty verbosely in most cases, so at least that was possible). I've already packed the question sheet with my answers ready for next time, because we're going to review them - probably before going out. So, Wednesday might be the big day! I've just got to get my landings on the centerline...
   The other problem I have is being a bit late on cutting the power and getting the flap settings right. I'm usually a bit high, and then get on the flaps a little late. However, towards the end of the session, I was landing much closer to the numbers (my flare was starting more or less right over the numbers). A bit more practise, and I'll get it.

Conclusion.
   Well, this was also a good session, and I got to try out some new things in the pattern (soft field takeoffs and landings, and short field takeoffs - we'll probably do some short field landings next time). I've just got to remember to stop the drift during the flare, and then Lee will be a lot happier (and so will I!) I think I should practise some gusty, turbulent crosswind landings in Flight Simulator so my brain is happy with doing everything right close up to the ground (however, the feeling isn't quite the same in FS, since in real life you can see that big, wide and round thing called the "ground" and you know it won't make friends with you...)
   I also can't wait for the day when Lee lets me solo regularly - recent news is that the 152 has been sold so now the club has only one trainer (and the scheduling is tight). Once I'm let loose on the pattern...then I can get much more flexibility with the schedule.

What was learned.
   Watch it with the flare with full flaps...it's easy to balloon it if you are not precise enough with the elevator. You also come down steeper too.
   On reflection, I think landing with around 20 degrees of flaps usually works the best in our C172N, since you can come down with a pretty nice sink rate with the power at idle and the transition to flare isn't too hard. However, I've got to judge where I get the flaps in and the power changes better to get set up like this - it all goes to show that a good landing can only come from a good approach, and that you need to be ahead of the airplane to make it down nicely.