TWO fabulous landings today!

woodstock

woodstock

Final Approach
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woot!

went up again today, great day to fly. managed to pull off two great landings - the destination airport and back home. My CFI said keep it up just like this we'll talk about soloing.

I guess this means I better start studying. I also have to show him my SODA letter and get that all sorted out.

let's hope I keep improving and don't freeze up - I still get a little tense when I am near other traffic.
 
Way to go, Elizabeth! Don't worry, though, you'll still do embarrasing landings on occasion. At least I still do:rolleyes: , after some 125 attempts...

Keep up the work, and when you do hit the occasional plateau, don't get discouraged.

Jim
 
good job!!

As mentioned - bad landings happen. Great landings happen. The secret is to have more great landings than bad landings, and it sounds like you're on the way!

See if you can get your CFI to authorize your long X-C to be to Albuquerque, I'll buy you a celebration lunch :D
 
maybe Albuquerque from Las Vegas. :D

next up, Wednesday!

I may not be flying on wkds anymore now though due to my sched - maybe one or two this spring. all weekdays now.. urgh.
 
jshawley said:
Way to go, Elizabeth! Don't worry, though, you'll still do embarrasing landings on occasion. At least I still do:rolleyes: , after some 125 attempts...
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I think I have far more than that, and I managed to bounce one pretty good on Sunday! Everybody does once in a while.
 
and Wednesday is another towered airport - my third one. I am not very keen on towered airports.
 
woodstock said:
and Wednesday is another towered airport - my third one. I am not very keen on towered airports.
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Just comfort level, I trained at a towered field, and I'm not very keen on uncontrolled fields...
 
I've always found that towered airports are easier than uncontrolled.

You don't have to worry quite so much about the flow of traffic - they'll stick you in where you fit (though you DO still have to look for traffic).
They basically tell you what to do, or you fly a standard pattern.
You usually don't have to talk as much.

The one downside is that they invariably give taxi instructions WHILE you are landing but before you're ready to hear them.
 
Bill Jennings said:
Just comfort level, I trained at a towered field, and I'm not very keen on uncontrolled fields...
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Same with me. I never felt really at ease at non-towered fields.
 
Bill Jennings said:
Just comfort level, I trained at a towered field, and I'm not very keen on uncontrolled fields...
Click to expand...

I did both and never seem to be fazed by either. New experiences always make people uncomfortable. Just keep doing practicing to it is no longer something that makes you feel uncomfortable, that is why it is called training.
 
Frank Browne said:
Same with me. I never felt really at ease at non-towered fields.
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I felt the same way when I first got my license even though all my xc's were to uncontrolled fields. The issues soon faded since most of my trips were also to uncontrolled strips. All but two of the towered airports within a couple hundred miles were less than 15 miles away from my home base.

The thing is, that security you feel with a controller may well be misplaced as they aren't really required to keep you separated from other planes except on the runway itself.

For me the worst case was (and still is) uncortrolled fields with multiple runways. With those you need to keep a close eye out for traffic on intersecting runways, both in the air and on the ground.
 
I am not keen on towered airports either. I think it helps if you learn at a towered airport. I learned at an uncontrolled airport and am still uncomfortable at a towered airport. I try to pick non-towered airports on my cross country flights. ( Oregon to Gastons) We stopped in Rock Springs, North Platte, Red Oak, IW. The only towered airport was our destination airport Bloomington.IL. Keep up the good work!
 
Landings ...

Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing. If you can use the airplane again it's an excellent landing.

There are two kinds of landings: successful and unsuccessful.

Flying is the second greatest thrill known to (wo)man. The first is landing.

And my current favorite: You don't get good at landing a Pitts, you just get used to it.
 
Bob Bement said:
I am not keen on towered airports either. I think it helps if you learn at a towered airport. I learned at an uncontrolled airport and am still uncomfortable at a towered airport.
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I learned at what is now called a Class C airport (Palm Beach International), and training was primarily conducted at a nearby uncontrolled airport with a triangular runway configuration. That airport (Lantana, Florida) was such chaos I was reluctant to go to an untowered field for years. Either one works. Each has its advantages and disadvantages.
 
Ken Ibold said:
Landings ...

Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing. If you can use the airplane again it's an excellent landing.

There are two kinds of landings: successful and unsuccessful.

Flying is the second greatest thrill known to (wo)man. The first is landing.

And my current favorite: You don't get good at landing a Pitts, you just get used to it.
Click to expand...

If Landings = TakeOffs

Then Landing +TakeOffs = Good Day

Landings + TakeOffs - 1 < Good Day
 
woodstock said:
and Wednesday is another towered airport - my third one. I am not very keen on towered airports.
Click to expand...

Think about and enjoy less work radio talking at towered airports -you only have one person to talk with and they usually even know what they're doing. Never give up see and avoid though... ie: I've had to dive under an incoming 747 and again under a Baron when following tower's instructions as cleared to land.
 
woodstock said:
and Wednesday is another towered airport - my third one. I am not very keen on towered airports.
Click to expand...

Tower's aren't my favorite either.....just ask Ray. I finished up my PP with another CFI who had no patience with my fear of radio talking. Whenever we'd contact ATC, I'd get a couple of stutters in, and the CFI would go berserk and take the radio away from me. It's amazing that I did my 3 (I think that's the requirement, or is it 5) solo landings at a towered airport. Never learned to use flight following.....and the list goes on. After my PP ride, I was planning a long XC and wanted to use flight following, so I asked Ray to help me. What does he do.....takes me into Dulles....YIKES! Said if I could talk to them, I could talk to anyone. Of course he prepped me before we went, and gave me encouragement throughout the flight. I thought I was pretty cool when it was done :p .

' Course I had to get comfortable with ATC with the IR, but I still hate that "cold" call on a VFR flight......
 
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