Flying notes – Landings lesson 1
22 August 2009 | By Ian in AviationToday I flew 1.3 hours with John La Porta. This is my third lesson with him and my 6th overall. Aviation has been a dream and a goal of mine since I was very young and I decided it was time to realize that goal when I met a friend who happened to be a CFI (certfied flight instructor).
After preflight, I asked John if we could focus on landings today. He agreed and asked me to tell him what I know so far about landing a small craft. After discussing for several minutes, he gave me the list of steps we would take during a landing which I jotted down.
On our first go round, we came around too steep so my instincts told me to nose up. It was on this landing that I got my first real lesson on flying “the back side of the curve.” The little Cessna C-150 took the bounce surprisingly well. We settled it down and then re-applied full throttle to take off again. Surprised that my sucky landing didn’t snap the wings off, we climbed albeit a bit unsteadily.
John took us out over Redmond so we could discuss landings further and get me more proficient at firm rudder control. Previosly, I was unaware of the amount of spring in the rudder controls. You can (and should) depress both pedals simultaneously a few inches to keep the rudder from being blown about.
We also simulated several patterns. I continue to be impressed by. The tight turning radius this thing is capable of in slow flight. I need more hours to ge used to it’s capabilities.
We returned to BFI for four more landings. Each one was incrementally better, despite a notable crosswind.
It was very comforting to see the runway come into alignment and realize that I am naturally crabbing 15 degrees to maintain centerline without any effort.
My final landing stuck fairly well. I was mostly able to let go of my instinct to control altitude with the nose and instead use throttle with angle of attack controlling airspeed.
I have a long way to go, but this was perhaps the most instructive lesson to date.
(apologies for typos and grammar. Written on iphone, editing later on)
24 August 2009 | David Malouf Said:
I was wondering, after stalking you on your GPS-page, why you had a lot of activity at the airport and then that bizarre-looking set of loops over residential areas… good thing I didn’t notify the FBI (ha).
Glad to read the wheels stayed on, too! When I was taking lessons (1982), I was too short to reach the pedals – I was intrigued by the press-both-pedals instructions, very interesting.
And I vividly remembering how counterintuitive the “throttle = altitude” equation is!
Glad you’re having fun fulfilling The Dream!
Malouf
28 August 2009 | Manu Said:
Sounds like fun! Did you have to take some classes prior to start flying it?
04 September 2009 | Ian Said:
@David: We were flying mock landing patterns over a less densely populated practice area. Apparently the folks in Bellevue don’t like foy-ins. =). What were you flying back in your lessons?
@Manu: I am currently taking ground school classes from a friend. It’s a pretty informal deal where we sit down once a week at lunch and cover another chapter in the book.
08 January 2010 | Aaron Said:
Hey, I flew with John LaPorta too. He’s a great instructor, really friendly, calm, and confident.
24 November 2010 | Kelsey Said:
Hah, I just came to your site while searching for John LaPorta’s contact info only to find my husband had commented on here in January. Any chance you have John’s phone number or email, as I am trying to set something up as a surprise for my husband. (Here’s to hoping my husband isn’t subscribed to follow-up comments…)
13 July 2011 | software development company Ranchi Said:
I know so far about landing a small craft,thanks for the info
18 July 2011 | Webdesign Company Ranchi Said:
can you please help me..
Can you give me a introduction or how i introduce my self being a first timer in college w/ the course of BSEd maj. in english…
EXAMPLE PLEASE!!!!!