Challenging Flights Make Better Pilots

At first glance, one could have predicted that today’s flight was “just more of the same,” but it ended being much better than expected.  After the pre-check of the 2009 Diamond Eclipse DA20-C1 (N322DC) , I taxied it out to runway 19.  We were in the plane for 1.5 hours, and spent the entire time in the traffic pattern above the Smyrna Airport.

My first few landings were less than ideal.  In fact, 3 times I had to abort a landing and do a go around.  I’m not sure if I’m making an excuse, but it had been a week since I had last flown and there was a stronger crosswind from the southwest than I have experienced before.  In addition, the traffic pattern was to the right, which made it difficult for me to keep an eye on the runway.

What I noticed was that I was ending up closer to the runway upon approach and coming in faster than I would have liked.  There are some maneuvers to help slow the aircraft’s speed and reduce altitude.  One maneuver is caused a forward slip.  The pilot applies full rudder and then the opposite aileron.  This causes the plane to fly in straight line, but the nose of the plane is pointing to a different direction.  It causes addition “drag” (basically making the plane less aerodynamic) on the aircraft and helps to decelerate the plane.  At the last few seconds before landing, the pilot will straighten out on the runway.

This works well and helped me land successfully a few times, but there were three landings that I was still too high and fast to comfortably land, and I preformed a go around.  A go around is simply adding more power and regaining altitude.  It was frustrating not being able to perform a simple landing that I have done dozens of times, but it is the safest option.  While I had not planned to practice go arounds, it is a valuable skill I need to know.

By the end, I had managed to compensate properly for the wind and I had some of the smoothest landings to date.  Over all, I had another 10 take off / landings.  I absolutely feel that I’m a better pilot after today’s flight.

The biggest news was that my CFI gave me a copy of the written exam for my first solo.  I am to take it home and have it completed when I return for my next flight.  We will spend part of the time next lesson reviewing what I have learned and then I will fly solo.  This is a huge milestone in my training and I am both nervous and excited.

Flight time: 1.50 hours

Cost:  Plane rental - $180.00, Instructor Fee - $60.00