When Flying is Frustrating

SkyChaser

SkyChaser

Pattern Altitude
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Mar 22, 2020
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SkyChaser
I sucked today, big time. Nothing was quite right, except maybe the shape of my patterns. It was a constant fight to stay on altitude and coordinated, my approaches were too flat, my airspeed and altitude management were so bad, and I felt like I was wrestling the plane all the way down final. My touchdowns were...quite firm and flatter than I wanted (not three-point, though).

There was some convection/bumps, and a crosswind (think it was maybe 6-8ish kts), but last time I flew was the same - 10 kt crosswinds and lots of bumps - and I was mostly nailing it. I have been trying to land this thing consistently well for so long, it is driving me crazy. Next time I fly, my CFI is going to have me fly with a different instructor for a little bit, to see if that helps and see if they notice why I cannot seem to land. It's like every 10 or 12 landings, I completely mess it up. Most of the time, those 10 or 12 landings before are good, even really good, but not today. Every. single. landing sucked, some slightly less than others, but not much. I was finally scheduled to solo today and instead I flew the worst I've ever flown. I flew like maybe a 15hr student, and I'm at hour 38. The solo was expected to be off the night before because of the winds doing their directional and gusty thing, so it wasn't nerves. (Plus, I'm not nervous at all for the solo. I probably should be.) I know, switching planes screws up a person, especially early in training, and landing isn't easy, and I couldn't even see what I was doing for the first 10 hours of pattern/landing work in the Archer, and only being available on the weekends sucks, too. But I have never struggled this hard and this long to learn something before, and it makes me mad. I really want to just quit, because I'm obviously not that good at this. (I won't, because I'm too stubborn and because not flying again would be absolutely awful.) Why would this happen? Is there a reason?
 
Because as a wise woman once said...
"Some days are like that, even in Australia."

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Learning to land an airplane was I think the hardest thing I've ever done.
Took time. Had days when I thought it was going nowhere...
 
The frustration, stubbornness, and determination to get it right is why you are going to be a fine pilot.

Sounds like you are a normal student pilot discovering the lifetime challenge of making consistent landings. You’ll get it, but then you’ll still miss a few no matter who you are or what you are flying. The more you fly, the easier it becomes. The more frequently you fly, the more consistent you’ll be.

Hang in there and try to enjoy the training.


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Some days you just aren't feeling it. If you can string together 10 good ones in a row, you're doing better than me!

Landing was my stumbling block. Going with another cfi helped. My primary cfi said, "you're not good, but you're safe" before he signed me off to solo. I think he was mainly tired of beating up the pattern with me, and was sufficiently convinced I wouldn't bend the airplane. After I was signed off, I would go do 15 in a row by myself. Did that half a dozen times, and I still wasn't great, but passed the checkride.

I continue to log them, just because I find it interesting...423.... and the "firm" still outnumber the "greasers". Don't sweat it....its hard for everyone.
 
SkyChaser said:
I sucked today, big time. Nothing was quite right, except maybe the shape of my patterns. It was a constant fight to stay on altitude and coordinated, my approaches were too flat, my airspeed and altitude management were so bad, and I felt like I was wrestling the plane all the way down final. My touchdowns were...quite firm and flatter than I wanted (not three-point, though).
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Some days you just don't have I had one solo where I had to go around twice in my first two attempts to land. I landed the 3rd try and called it a day. Sometimes when you're fighting it, it makes more sense to call it a day and go home and chair fly. You'll get it. Don;t beat yourself up too bad.
 
Some days you’re on some days your not. I’ve been riding motorcycles since 1985, over a million miles on two wheels. Some days the upshifts and downshifts are so smooth you’d swear the bike had an automatic transmission. Other days I just swear, feels like I’ve never ridden a bike before.

Some days in the plane are like that (both of that).
 
As many have said, you will have some off days and rough landings, even when you have 2000 hours of flight time. If the landings are safe, don't beat yourself up over it.

One little bit of advice, FWIW - when you're having a bad day, you're probably not learning much. Don't push it, and don't be afraid to end a lesson early if it's just one of those bad days.
 
Thanks, guys. :) I appreciate y'all assuring me it's perfectly normal.

As for what I learned today...I fly very precisely and talk very concisely on the radio when I am frustrated/mad. Everything was very neat and tidy for my last landing today! ;) (We did come in early today, which was good, though it never feels good!)
 
Hang in there, frustration comes with the territory. You will nail it next time. And remember that once you are a certificated pilot, this will happen again .... every so often at least for me
 
Timbeck2 said:
For everyone...if they say anything different, they're lying.
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Yep!

Like most people who fly commercially quite a bit, I've experienced an occassional rough landing on an airliner. Even high-time professional ATPs don't grease 'em every time.

@SkyChaser , if the flight school isn't asking you to pay for repairs to the aircraft, consider the landing to be great. :)
 
Asking a pilot to define a greaser is a whole nuther subject. My definition: You don't hear the tires touch the runway, you're just suddenly on the runway and you never felt it. I've had four that I can remember.

And then you have those landings that you're actually glad nobody witnessed it.
 
Timbeck2 said:
Asking a pilot to define a greaser is a whole nuther subject. My definition: You don't hear the tires touch the runway, you're just suddenly on the runway and you never felt it. I've had four that I can remember.

And then you have those landings that you're actually glad nobody witnessed it.
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...and then you have these


The Maule was never easy to get a good landing in - greasers were 1/12 or worse.

At the end of my time with her, I flew at least 2 TOs & landings a day for 2 months. Greasers were experienced maybe 1/3 of the time but it was random.

Then started flying the RV10 - most landings were greasers for a couple of months. No embarrassing arrivals for the first year or so. Now about 1/2 landings are greasers, especially if I try hard.

Lesson 1: Planes have different degrees of difficulty
Lesson 2: Nothing beats proficiency based on frequency of flight.



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Ask yourself this. Were any of your landings dangerous? If the answer is no, then carry on. If the answer is yes, then concentrate on fixing what went wrong on those and don't worry too much about the other ones. The object right now should be to get them consistently safe. Good will come later. Much later. Safe is what you should looking for right now IMO.
 
OP when is the last time your CFI turned pale and took over controls when you were about to land? If the answer is long time ago, you are ready for solo. It’s has to be safe not perfect or even pretty. I learned that the hard way during my solo
 
WannFly said:
OP when is the last time your CFI turned pale and took over controls when you were about to land? If the answer is long time ago, you are ready for solo. It’s has to be safe not perfect or even pretty. I learned that the hard way during my solo
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Yeah, it's been a while... It is hard to figure out just how much of my perfectionism to check at the door. I'd rather just have perfect landings all the time. LOL
 
SkyChaser said:
Yeah, it's been a while... It is hard to figure out just how much of my perfectionism to check at the door. I'd rather just have perfect landings all the time. LOL
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Sorry to break your bubble, but that is something you will probably chase your entire flight career / passion .

I was the same way prior to solo I compared all my landings to my CFI’s landing who had about 9k hrs and 11k landings. Finally when I voiced it to him, he got super angry, jumped out of the right seat and asked me to make 3 in the pattern.

When you CFI get out of the door and signs you off to solo , trust his judgement.
 
BTW, don't forget you majored in music. It's common for students, alone in the cockpit for the first time, to be overjoyed and to sing during the first solo. "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "Nearer My God to Thee" are traditional....
 
Half Fast said:
Like most people who fly commercially quite a bit, I've experienced an occassional rough landing on an airliner. Even high-time professional ATPs don't grease 'em every time.

Sometimes that’s intentional but yes, even good pilots goof them up.
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Half Fast said:
BTW, don't forget you majored in music. It's common for students, alone in the cockpit for the first time, to be overjoyed and to sing during the first solo. "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "Nearer My God to Thee" are traditional....
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Are you making fun of me?! LOL I will keep that in mind. Maybe I'll even get a (lousy cellphone) video. ;)
 
You flew and walked away from the airplane and it can still be used, relax it will get better.
 
SkyChaser said:
Are you making fun of me?! LOL I will keep that in mind. Maybe I'll even get a (lousy cellphone) video. ;)
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Not at all! My first solo was a time of reverent prayer: "Dear God don't let me screw up. Dear God don't let me screw up. Dear God don't let me screw up. Dear God don't....."
 
Half Fast said:
Not at all! My first solo was a time of reverent prayer: "Dear God don't let me screw up. Dear God don't let me screw up. Dear God don't let me screw up. Dear God don't....."
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I am pretty sure that I'm going to have a very similar experience! LOL
 
I've been flying for 35 years, a lot of it in a very familiar AA-5. Most days I fly like I'm wearing it, like a comfortable pair of shoes. Occasionally, it's more like a rock in the shoe. C'est la vie. You never know when you are going to have one of those days. If you don't bend it, it's likely safe. Take a break and do better next time.
 
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