Contents

A Collection of Items:
--Maturity comes to some earlier than others but to all survivors given enough time.
--Love maintains enthusiasm and youth in those who love.
--Getting older is a worthwhile process when you consider that dying younger is the alternative.
--Your alternative to becoming an old pilot is being a statistic.
--Every day of your flying life is a new record for how long you have been a pilot.
--Your job is what you do, not who you are.
--Problems can be managed by anticipation of a situation's options.
--In advisory communications the aircraft type is more important than the call sign.
--Calling the turns in an uncontrolled airport pattern is best for visual location of position.
--Stopping to talk to pilots is an excellent way to get ideas and incidental knowledge
--Beware of pilots who exaggerate their capabilities and experiences.
--Going to places were planes and pilots congregate is the best part of flying.
--There is no safe way to fly an airplane with dry ice aboard.
--The rarity of tragedy in light aircraft is proof of inherent safety given the idiotic behavior of pilots.
--A pilot should never be surprised
--Turning downwind is dangerous if facing obstacles requiring same climb rate over distance as on takeoff.
--Transponder operation is a two-way street between ATC and plane.
--Do not assume that your transponder is the problem when ATC has a problem with your transponder.
--When a SIGMET identifies thunderstorms as an area instead of a line, it means avoidance is possible.
--Even experienced instructors should study and practice
--Experience does not mean that you should not study and practice.
--Flying with a tense instructor is not conducive to good learning.
--Failure to challenge a student is indicative of poor instruction.
--Flying, as one of the wonders of life, cannot be viewed on a cost basis.
--Pilots who receive poor service are obliged to advise management.
--100-hour inspections on instructional aircraft dependent on compensation and who provides plane.
--James3:1 Not any of you should presume to be teachers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
--A tense instructor will cause tension in a student.
--An instructor should challenge a student to '…be all he can be'.
--An instructor should take weather opportunities to expose a student to real MVFR conditions.(See 6.23 last topic.)

The Flare
Dear Mr. Whitt:
I have enjoyed your Web Site and have used it extensively in my training. You have helped me understand the process of learning to fly. I am 53 years old and started flying in 1978, I had 30 hours in and had to quit, (marriage and kids). I always wanted to go back and get my license, and have finally started back in. I have an additional 45
hours in and have met all my requirements.

All x-countrys are done, all night flying, all hood work, passed the written with an 88. My problem is still and has always been ( even back in 1978) the flare. I fly a 172 and can land flat with the nose wheel above the runway, not touching all day long. X-winds are not a problem. Can squeak 4 out of 5 landing semi flat. However when I need to land with the stall horn on, I "drop" the plane every now and then. My CFI says I run out of Flaps, stall it to high above the runway and it drops onto the runway. I get very tenative after I drop one, drops fairly hard, and it takes me a lesson or two to get back into the groove.

I have read your articles on landing and the flare, Is there any thing else you could tell me that would help? I'm getting ready for my check ride and can do all the requirements very well until the flare thank you

Gene's Answer
First of all you must adjust your seat height and distance. You must have your seat high enough so that by just turning your head you can barely see the bottom of the wing under the top of the window frame. Secondly, you must be able to reach the rudder pedals and brakes easily.

That said you must determine if the flare problem is different when you are solo and dual. A C-172 with a person in the back seat is easy to flare properly. A short to medium height person in a C-172 may have difficulty flaring if the aircraft has a complete radio stack. What I am trying to indicate is that you must get rid of all the problems related to the airplane. I once put 50# in the luggage compartment so a short lightweight student could flare an older model C-172. The wing of the older C-172 had a different leading edge from those built in the 1970s. The new models above M have only 30 degrees of flap and the difference could be part of your problem. Depends on what you are flying.

Now let's talk about the actual flare. In reading my material you saw the importance of a minimum of fingers on the yoke, you also read that the last few inches of yoke must be UP as well as back. Run a weight an balance with you alone and at the most forward C.G. It is just possible that a power-off landing will require a bit of airspeed above 60 knots or 1200 rpm to give the elevator authority needed to raise the nose. The power-off full-stall touchdown to a feather-like landing is difficult for the best of pilots. Have your instructor give a demonstration so you can laugh.

One exercise I like to do with my students is to have them come in with low power on and leave it on until touchdown. Do this with your instructor until you feel comfortable. In the flare with power you must be very smooth and gentle to prevent a balloon. Be patient. Let the aircraft do the landing and be prepared not to let the touchdown shock cause the nose to lower. You will feel a slight elevator sensation in your gut when the plane is ready to land. That is the time to raise the nose and cover the far end of the runway. At touchdown with the nose up, immediately remove the flaps and keep the nosewheel off the runway while you smoothly add some power to keep the nose up. You can do touch-and-gos without letting the nose wheel touch the runway.

A very smooth landing in a full stall is a rare event. The landing gear and aircraft are designed to take a firm landing without damage. Just do not let the nosewheel participate in such a landing. If you are uncertain about the approach or flare, go-around. Wait until you are a private pilot to take the advanced training need to 'salvage' a landing.  A DE will never fault you for going around.
More if you wish...
Gene

Hiya groupies
Well I finally managed to get another lesson today, my first since last Saturday. That lesson was bloody scary and prompted me to start the "Scared SH#TLESS Of Stalls" thread that so many kindly replied to with their thoughts and encouragement.

Before my lesson this morning I read back through all the posts and emails (for about the 20th time), built up my confidence with some positive re-enforcement and headed off for the field. Officially, the lesson for today was to be my first circuits (patterns) but I had to prove my confidence in stalls first before Instructor would move on to circuits.

Once in the training area, Instructor did 2 slow speed stalls to get me back in the rhythm then handed over to me. I pulled it off nearly perfect, lost only 50ft and it felt pretty damn good (no queasy feeling either this time)

Next was the power on and again, it scared me a bit with a wing drop and too much forward pressure leaving me pointed nearly vertical at the ground. But I recovered well and that helped build the confidence.

Next was the power on with full flap and to start with it rattled my cage BIG TIME - major wing drop and that stupid reaction of trying to correct with aileron. Again, I recovered it but was nowhere near confident.

It was about now I thought back to all the postings, particularly the ones I could most relate to and had singled out to try and help me. I went through them in my mind and thought, damn - I CAN do this!! Slow it down and think it through. What followed was 2 pretty darn good power on full flap stalls - WHAT A FEELING!!!!! I actually felt like I could control the bird and once I had that, the fear was gone! Unbelievable!!

Thanks SSSSOOOOOOO much to you all. I really can't express my gratitude to all the great people in this group.  If you can make it to the bar, the drinks are on me! :-)

.....After the stalls were my first touch and goes...but that story is goin' in my web journal....URL to follow shortly :-) Thanks again guys and gals.
Stu

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