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Fitz376

Filing Flight Plan
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Fitz
So, I've got about 500 hours and my schedule often requires significant amounts of time away from airplanes followed by a return and period of refamiliarization and polishing to get back to proficiency. But I'm not totally green. That said, I recently took a very unplanned break from flying and am battling a little more than usual to polish things off now that I'm back in the air. I broke my collarbone in a ski accident a couple months ago, and (following all the proper approval from the doc and the AME) returned to flight. The first couple flights were with CFIs to make sure I was safe and competent, and since then a bunch of flying solo to get things dialed in again.

And strangely ... and embarrassingly... my landings have continued to be, in my view - pretty terrible. Normally this is an area where I'm pretty quick to get back in the saddle. This time, for some reason, the normal habits and muscle memory of handling the plane in the flare just seem to be not clicking back into place.

This is different from a student pilot learning how to properly land a plane for the first time. I would argue that I know HOW to manage an approach, round out, flare and touch down. That's what makes this a little more confusing. My thought is that the one month of near total immobility of the arm has caused some significant strength loss and proprioception / muscle memory / fine motor control, and it will take some extra time to get the refinement back.

My question: has anyone else experienced this? How did you practice to get past it? Specific PT exercises to regain fine motor control (to be clear I am not an invalid - I'm an athlete with above average normal baseline fitness and activity level)? How long did it take to get "back"? I figure good old pattern work with a CFI might be in order to help point out more specific points where I'm messing up but any thoughts would be appreciated. I'm tired of coming back from every flight feeling like I'm just not solving things. I'm a perfectionist and recognize the spiral of stress (and resultant decreasing performance) that can put us into - so if nothing else I'm just gonna try meditating more :cool:

Thanks.
 
Are you having any pain or discomfort? It doesn't take much to throw you off.

When I was training for Sport Pilot, I had a flare-up of CTS and tendonitis that made my landings go bad for a short while (left arm/wrist, and I was using that hand on the stick). I started taking a little ibuprofen an hour or so before flying, and using a little blue imu ointment, and that helped quite a bit.

If you have no pain but have just lost some fine motor skill, it's mostly going to take time. You might try some hand and arm exercises and doing things that require precise motions (like playing an instrument, for example) so that you're getting improvement when you're not flying.
 
Half Fast said:
Are you having any pain or discomfort? It doesn't take much to throw you off.

When I was training for Sport Pilot, I had a flare-up of CTS and tendonitis that made my landings go bad for a short while (left arm/wrist, and I was using that hand on the stick). I started taking a little ibuprofen an hour or so before flying, and using a little blue imu ointment, and that helped quite a bit.

If you have no pain but have just lost some fine motor skill, it's mostly going to take time. You might try some hand and arm exercises and doing things that require precise motions (like playing an instrument, for example) so that you're getting improvement when you're not flying.
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Thanks. No significant pain but I wouldn't say it's entirely unnoticeable. As a standard practice I don't take any medications at all while I'm flying although a 2-400 mg of ibuprofen dose is about as low risk as it gets.

You're second thought also validates a couple of my own thoughts. I'm actually going to dust off the old flight simulator and do some left hand flying on it. Will google for some PT ideas.
 
My terrible landings are still soft and aligned. Do you mean terrible as in big bounce, or wheel barrowing, or dropping in from 10 feet above the runway? I don't know anyone who attains perfect all the time.
 
Are you able to see well? Are you consistently sitting in the same position at the same height? Changing these variables can really keep you from getting into a groove.

I took someone for a ride once, and moved my seat up a notch to give them more legroom in the back and then couldn't land right for a couple weeks before I figured out that I never moved it back. It made a difference.
 
heheh. Yeah Salty I can identify. I fly a smattering of different rentals and each seat is slightly different in height and distance from the controls. I can appreciate the benefits of always flying slightly different aircraft - but it does account for some need to fine tune how I fly for each one, every time. And they're all old, slightly worn out 172s so each one behaves just slightly different in slow flight and in the flare. The plight of the lowly rental pilot. =) It does have some negative aspects for sure.

Interestingly (at least for me) I have enough time in tailwheel that I often find my most comfortable position is as low as possible. At 6'0" I can still see over the cowling of a 172 in the flare, even at full stall landing but it's lower than most seem to use.

Also, interestingly I flew a Cessna 140 a couple weeks ago and felt right at home. I wasn't as polished as I like to be, but those little, old Cessna 2-seaters just suit me. So much fun and intuitive to fly. The very light control forces probably account for some of the better performance - finger tip flying at all times. No arms even needed =)
 
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PaulS - the primary thing I'm dealing with is a small amount of PIO or balloon in the flare. Exactly what I'd expect when using an arm that spent the previous weeks dangling or held firmly at my side and now has a slightly different structure than it did before. The proprioception just feels "off".

That slight "off" feeling exacerbates the problems correcting for a slightly high or low round out. Especially since weather has been gusty or x-windy for the last little while. No wheelbarrowing or dropping from 10 feet, but dropping from a couple feet or touching down on the mains but sloppy and fast, slightly behind the plane. Not perfectly on centerline or perfectly aligned. Just like anything, there is a cascade effect from one problem to the next. Yes, I aim for perfection but these are actually, definitively sloppy.

It's a matter of finding the best tools for getting actually SHARP on these skills that are normally fundamental. Or normally come back more easily than they are this time. Thus the request for tips and any thoughts. Thanks!
 
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My guess is that it's more over-thinking than under controlling. In my experience as an orthopedic surgeon I've taken care of a lot of broken collarbones, and resumption of normal activities once it's healed (or even before it's healed) doesn't seem to be a problem. I have seen situations where people concentrate so much on the flare that they end up looking at the ground that's too close to the airplane rather than the ground further down the runway.

I would just stick to your plan to do a little work with a CFI and expect it all to smooth out.
 
I had some stomach surgery back in February. Doc told me two full weeks off work.... and then a really long time of no lifting, etc... I forget exactly how long... I thought no way it'll take me that long to recover.
Yeah, it kinda did.
Other times in the past (unrelated to the surgery) I've noticed when I have a kink in the neck or back problems things that seem like they shouldn't be can be just a little off. Reflexes just a bit slower, etc...
My point is major injuries can throw a body off in very many ways and it can take a long while to recover.
Could be just that.....
Could be some misalignment or inflammation from the fall in other areas of your body that is lingering and throwing things out of whack.... Do you believe in Chiropractic medicine?
 
dbahn said:
My guess is that it's more over-thinking than under controlling. In my experience as an orthopedic surgeon I've taken care of a lot of broken collarbones, and resumption of normal activities once it's healed (or even before it's healed) doesn't seem to be a problem. I have seen situations where people concentrate so much on the flare that they end up looking at the ground that's too close to the airplane rather than the ground further down the runway.

I would just stick to your plan to do a little work with a CFI and expect it all to smooth out.
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Good feedback. It's all too easy to concentrate so intensely that we/I forget to just fly the airplane. So much self-induced pressure gets us focused on the wrong things or tense on the controls. A recipe for herky-jerky control inputs.

Worth remembering: forget the pressure and just have fun flying.

I am pretty conscious of where I'm looking in the flare. I've consciously adjusted and played with it during this re-education process. We all know the general rule of looking toward the end of the runway - but adjusting that and remembering to take in ALL of the peripheral cues, shifting the gaze as (or if) needed, is still important.

Thanks for the reminder.
 
Thanks Brad W. Always good to hear from others who've gone through similar experiences.
 
I would suggest doing several touch and go's alone, mount a couple of go pro's, one looking out and one at the panel for airspeed and attitude, and if you could, someone to shoot your landings. Synch the vids and watch them over to pinpoint where you are falling short. It very well might be that you are just too hard on yourself and your landings are just fine.
 
FWIW, some of us are still working on making good landings ... :rofl:
 
Haha! Yeah, we're all working on getting better than whatever we are right now. Relentless pursuit of being good enough to not die. Or look like an idiot. =)

intercept_flight - hopefully that is the case. =) I've been lucky enough to fly with some world-class pilots. That sets the bar pretty high - I've seen what CAN be done with an airplane. Still, I'll call my performance definitively mediocre by normal pilot standards. And just shoot for continual improvement.
 
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Sounds like you just need some laps around the pattern by yourself?
I find myself rusty if I go 4-5 days without flying. I fly a 172 and that is pretty much all I do when I fly around town for fun, practice landings.
It took me a long time to solo cause my landings were so inconsistent.
Go fly the pattern by yourself...a lot.
 
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Gary, yeah that can definitely be all it takes sometimes. There are ups and downs with any training and taking a long time to solo because landings are a hang-up is totally normal. Trust me I've been beating up the pattern quite a bit lately. ;) This is a plateau that I'm not used to at this stage in my flying - so it started to get a bit more frustrating. But you're right, sometimes it just takes some time and blue-collar work to get things dialed in.

There's been a lot of good thoughts in this thread and I appreciate the input and support from everyone. In the end, some wonky landings aren't worth getting too distraught about. But we all like to be able to take pride in all the flying that we do. Hopefully someone else battling there way to being better at this thing we all love doing gets some helpful thoughts as well.
 
I've seen quite a few sloppy landings by 10,000 + hour pilots, even in aircraft which they fly regularly. You just hope that your absolute worst one is forever behind you. :)
 
M2C - Flying is like playing the guitar, piano, violin, etc. If you stopped practicing for a week, your friends might not notice but you could tell. If you stopped practicing for a month, you'd still be able to play, but all would know you're off a bit. Stop for a few months, and you could still play but you'd have to do a lot of the basics (chords, etc.) to get back to where you need to be.

Net Net - go fly with a CFI and drill on the basics.
 
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