Flight April 14, 2005

CFI: Jason Hill
MapComments
A satisfying batch of landings, just to kind of pull it together. Not bad weather, a little wind for intrigue, but I made progress on the elusive flare. I was shy about pulling back, having balooned up on a couple of previoius occasions, and I had an idea that naughty pilots balloon because they pull back too soon or at too high an airspeed. As it turns out, the balloon is more about pulling back on the yoke too abruptly. You can apply back pressure and then it may start to climb a little, but you just manage the pressure to keep it between climbing and descending. After the approach, after the level-off, you're no longer concerned about pitching for descent -- you're trying to increase the angle of attack for three reasons: 1) to stop the flying descent, 2) to put the main wheels lower than the nose wheel, and 3) to allow the airplane to stall gently. This flight was helped me turn an important corner with respect to the landing skillset.