Today was a red-letter day for me. I hadn't flown since April 24th. It was mostly due to scheduling, weather, and aircraft problems. Up until today I had been looking for a way to improve my landing skills. I was not satisfied with my progress and really wanted to find a way to get in the groove. I ordered an interactive computer course for the risk management of takeoffs and landings. I had previously completed the course and had been itching to try the techniques that I had learned.
My daughter had just returned from her school day at the last minute she decided to accept my offer and come fly with me. Even though I told her that I would only be "going around in circles" she decided to come with me so she could sit in the coveted co-pilot seat.
Now the pressure was really on. I hadn't flown in a month and I'm taking one of the two most important people in my life up with me. I was concerned that my skills had eroded. Once we got in the air I was very pleasantly surprised by what I experienced. In addition to the new techniques I used to help land, I had discovered the one thing that was making my landings suffer. I was flying the pattern and the approach to landing too fast. Once I slowed down to the correct pattern and approach speeds, my landings became much smoother and more controllable. It made a world of difference. It made it so much more fun and exiting to finally have some good landing experience and the beginning of what I'll call my "mad landing skills."
I can't wait to get back in the air.
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