Changes once you got the license (Certificate)

[pradeep]

Has anyone had any experience like once you got the license your flying skills changed, either improved or degrade? (no one is watching you anymore....)

 

I am referring to flights soon after getting the license (say first 5 flights).

 

 

cheers,

 

 

[rdarby]

No problem in the first 5 fights, but I did find my ability to fly circuits determiorated as my focus was on cross country training so I would do 4 landings a month instead of 40. Since then I have found my cross wind ability needs work, so I am hiring for an hour of just circuits.

 

I have found that my theoretical knowledge is getting rusty and it's only been 6 months! I have started to paging through the BAK occasionaly.

 

Ryan

 

 

[Guest nunans]

Not yet for me anyway, though i've only done one command flight since i got the cert. Though I have noticed that during my training i never really learned any cross wind take off or landing technique (we always just picked the most suitable runway and I always struggled with any cross wind component to the point that on take off the wind would pick up the into wind wing and have me pushed over on one main wheel, and on landing i'd drift off the runway during the flare...

 

I've since been crossing up the controls when i begin the round out, like as if you're slipping the plane in fairly havily and it almost works (i'll get the hang of it in future).

 

 

[.Evan.]

It's taken me a couple of hours' flying since my test to build up the courage to tackle crosswind operations.

 

I gave it a go the other day. Had to go around the first time... While lowering the into wind wing during the flare, I managed to balloon quite a bit. The second time wasn't so bad and I was able to affect a safe (not pretty) landing.

 

Must work on that!

 

 

[Guest davidh10]

It's taken me a couple of hours' flying since my test to build up the courage to tackle crosswind operations.I gave it a go the other day. Had to go around the first time... While lowering the into wind wing during the flare, I managed to balloon quite a bit. The second time wasn't so bad and I was able to affect a safe (not pretty) landing.

 

Must work on that!

I think everyone has inelegant landings on the odd occasion. A few weeks back, a cross wind gust caught me when just a few feet above the runway... needless to say it was when I had an audience of about 15 people all watching my approach (quite co-incidently). Not a very elegant landing, but nothing to worry about.

 

..Though I have noticed that during my training i never really learned any cross wind take off or landing technique (we always just picked the most suitable runway and I always struggled with any cross wind component to the point that on take off the wind would pick up the into wind wing and have me pushed over on one main wheel, and on landing i'd drift off the runway during the flare...

That's not very good. Your instructor should have taught you cross wind and down wind takeoff and landings. Further the instructor should have ensured that you were able to manage all of those combinations before awarding you the Certificate. If you really weren't trained in these techniques, then I'd suggest paying for a few extra lessons specifically to address those skills.

Sometimes there isn't a runway without a cross wind. Sometimes the wind changes while you are in the air. Just because there was no cross wind at take-off, is no assurance of no cross-wind on landing.

 

During my training we did down wind take offs and landings (not in strong wind), just to experience the differences and also one lesson doing cross-wind take-offs and landings with 20G25 knots wind on the ground and 40 knots at circuit height, all at about 35 degrees off the runway heading. From the direction of the wind that day, over the hangars, also creates mechanical turbulence on late final. I remember being pretty tired and having stiff arms after 9 landings in an hour. Ground handling becomes a bit of a challenge with this strength of wind too.

 

Has anyone had any experience like once you got the license your flying skills changed, either improved or degrade? (no one is watching you anymore....)I am referring to flights soon after getting the license (say first 5 flights).

 

.,

After one reasonably hard landing when I took my wife for her first flight (3rd PAX), my landings continued to improve as did my confidence:chuffed:, although I was still a little wary of turbulence:fear:. Now, approaching 200 hours and 300 landings, I'm pretty relaxed in most situations, but I'm still learning. I'm sure you will find the same.

 

 

[Gnarly Gnu]

In this huge country there has to be a few 20 mile long salt pans or the like where one can just repeat a string of landings rather than get the single landing / 15 seconds flare & touchdown experience per circuit one gets on a conventional runway. I reckon with a nice long strip you could really build up experience much faster.

 

 

[pradeep]

That's not very good. Your instructor should have taught you cross wind and down wind takeoff and landings. Further the instructor should have ensured that you were able to manage all of those combinations before awarding you the Certificate. If you really weren't trained in these techniques, then I'd suggest paying for a few extra lessons specifically to address those skills.

At one stage whenever I booked for my lessons it was always crosswind, I was a bit dissapointed that I was not getting any solo for a long time as my instructor wanted me to experience all sorts of xwinds.

 

One day the headwind on main rw was around 13knots and he took me to land on the cross strip to get the most out of the xwind technique. Once I landed he mentioned he really didn't want to touch the controls and I did a good job, that's when the enjoyment felt.

 

cheers,

 

 

[Guernsey]

To answer the original question my flying improved to such an extent my instructor remarked that I flew much better without him. After all my years of flying inlcuding many check flights and bi-annuals the same still applies today I find that I concentrate more on flying correctly than possibly trying to please my instructor. It should be the same thing.

 

Regarding cross wind operations we only had one runway in Guernsey so we learned from the beginning to handle them. In a taildragger (Auster) that was good training.

 

My apologies for leaving out the commas as my comma key has just died or got blown away in a cross wind. Alan Marriette.

 

 

[Guest Howard Hughes]

You will find that no matter how much experience you get there will always be peaks and troughs in your skills. Every four to six months I find a need to get back to basics, concentrate on speed, attitude control and circuit shape. Whoever said first "you are only as good as your last landing" was indeed correct!:thumb_up:

 

In this huge country there has to be a few 20 mile long salt pans or the like where one can just repeat a string of landings rather than get the single landing / 15 seconds flare & touchdown experience per circuit one gets on a conventional runway. I reckon with a nice long strip you could really build up experience much faster.

Merely flaring over and over will not improve your landings, the landing is just a crescendo of a well executed approach. If I was going to give someone advice on the most important thing for a good landing, it would be rudder, rudder, rudder, but of course you taildragger pilots knew that already!

 

[Gnarly Gnu]

Merely flaring over and over will not improve your landings, the landing is just a crescendo of a well executed approach. If I was going to give someone advice on the most important thing for a good landing, it would be rudder, rudder, rudder

If your problem was learning rudder control then perhaps it wouldn't have helped you so much. For me rudder and approach were not big issues but more time flying in and close to ground effect, flaring and touch downs would have trimmed several pre-certificate hours off.

 

 

[rgmwa]

Whoever said first "you are only as good as your last landing" was indeed correct!

Oh, **** !!

 

rgmwa

 

 

[Guest Howard Hughes]

If your problem was learning rudder control then perhaps it wouldn't have helped you so much.

Gnarly you have missed my point totally!

From my experience the key to a good landing is good rudder control, that inlcudes problems with the flare, try it sometime you may be surprised!

 

 

[Gnarly Gnu]

I should try poor rudder control for a while then switch to normal for the surprise part? O...K...

[flindersflyer]

Just adding to this thread, after completing my navs and gaining X country, I decided to go for a flight around a familiar area but since restrictions were in place I went for circuits. X-wind directly across the runway at about 20-25kts and gusting to about 35ish kts. Managed all landings well until the final one. I had decided to end the flight due X-wind becoming much stronger. I made and extended downwind and final so that I'd have more time to set up a good approach.

 

Approach good ........ flare good .......... touch down good .......... and then down to about 15kts (couldn't be exact on that as I was eyes out front at the time) and suddenly, unexpectedly (as would be the case) I was fighting to keep the aircraft from ground looping. I already had full left rudder but away it went. I managed to stop the loop by applying some power which obviously countered the X-wind to my great relief. Anyway all ended up stationary, up the right way and nothing damaged except pride, no ground loop but off the tarmac by about 2 metres. I pondered over this for a week and spoke to my instructor and an X senior Qantas pilot to get experienced opinions about the incident. I was questioning my abilities in aircraft handling but both suggested a freak strong gust was the most probable cause and the X-Q pilot iterated that one should never think that the flight is over until the aircraft is hangared, chocked or whatever etc. After another week of considering the incident I've now decided that a combination of strong wind gust and a relaxing of rudder at the same moment in time was the probable cause. I'll be a bit more wary next time.

 

 

[Tomo]

the X-Q pilot iterated that one should never think that the flight is over until the aircraft is hangared, chocked or whatever etc.

Just to add to this, I landed a Drifter one day and was just taxiing along the rest of the run way to the end to get off when some massive something hit me, and lifted me and the aircraft (naturally as I was strapped to it!!) clean off the ground - I can't recall how high but I knew it would hurt smacking back down again so without even thinking I went full power and touched down softly. Still to this day I think it has to be one of the most strangest experiences I've had to date.

 

Point I'm making is that you've certainly never finished a flight till it's in the hanger or tied down, or somewhere safe. There's a big bad world out there ready to get you!

 

 

[flindersflyer]

Just to add to this, I landed a Drifter one day and was just taxiing along the rest of the run way to the end to get off when some massive something hit me, and lifted me and the aircraft (naturally as I was strapped to it!!) clean off the ground - I can't recall how high but I knew it would hurt smacking back down again so without even thinking I went full power and touched down softly. Still to this day I think it has to be one of the most strangest experiences I've had to date.Point I'm making is that you've certainly never finished a flight till it's in the hanger or tied down, or somewhere safe. There's a big bad world out there ready to get you!

Too right Tomo. Was probably just a giant burping after a large meal!!

 

 

[pudestcon]

Too right Tomo. Was probably just a giant burping after a large meal!!

Well it smelt like that afterwards eh?

 

Pud

 

 

[Hildy]

right after I got my certificate I changed planes and I've been struggling with my circuits. I am at a new airfield, different plane, different prevailing meteorology... I wonder what going back will be like.

 

 

[Hildy]

the thing is, I have! I'm doing my NAVs at the new school, in the new plane, and not really getting any comments about my circuits... but they're not as perfect as they were.

 

mind you, my training consisted of 250 circuits at the same airfield in the same plane, so you'd think I'd get good at it.