(19.4) 8/3/2016

Don't have much time today, so just a quick post of SOME of the things I need to remember/add to my flow:

More landing practice!

Just some things I need to remember:

Pre-takeoff flow:
-elevator trim
-mixture rich
-appropriate lights
-final clear
-runway clear

Lining up/takeoff roll:
-heels on the floor
-throttle forward
-airspeed alive (after pushing stick forward)
-instruments in the green
-pull back stick around 55MPH

Post-landing flow:
-mixture lean for taxi
-carb heat cold
-elevator trim
-lights
-radios set

(17.7) 8/2/2016

After fueling up and preflighting, we hopped in. 

"Gross"

"Whats up?"

"The dude before me was realllly sweaty"

"HAHA! Yeah, when he got out of the plane, I noticed that his back was wet, all the way down to his pants"

Part of flying club planes, I guess >:| Started Snoopy up, and made the radio calls to taxi for closed traffic. Today was the first major day of landing practice, a day I've been excited about for a long time. It's funny that going around in circles repeatedly is fun, but variations in wind conditions, other traffic in the pattern, and other variables make each approach and landing feel different. It's almost like a video game where you hold yourself to standards of perfection, and where greasing the landing feels like magic. 

I got 7 in today, and even one after the sun had set. That felt nice because in a Citabria, the instructor sits in back and has little vision out of the front of the plane. The back seat person has to rely on peripheral vision, which becomes worse with darkness. So they're trusting you a lot as it gets dark. Anyway, there was a slight right crosswind, but nothing too crazy. I want to get good at landing tailwheel planes in harder conditions, consistently. 

A nice bonus at KRHV is that on 31L, tower often lets you back taxi to take off again, if traffic in the pattern is light. This saves a bit of time! I landed on 31L three times and 31R four times, so I got a little bit of experience doing left and right traffic patterns, too. It was a nice lesson. 

A few things to note: 

1) For left traffic pattern, you need little-to-no left rudder on the climb out turns. I skidded a bit because I was adding some left rudder, out of habit. 

2) During the turns, watch the nose attitude. Keep constant airspeed (in climb or descent)

3) Don't overshoot the runway on approach (due to the parallel runways at KRHV), but also don't undershoot the runway. 

4) Look down the whole length of the runway on downwind, so that you maintain parallel course with the runway. Watch out for the misleading grassline on the runway at KRHV. It tapers into the runway, which can skew perception of how "parallel" you are.

5) Stay on the center line on approach!

6) Be patient in the round out/flare! Slowly ratchet the stick back to slow down, and when the wheels touch in the stalled configuration, pull the stick all the way back to plant her on the ground. Dance on the rudders to keep her going straight. My first two landings were bouncy, but the last five had little bounce.  If you do have a small bounce, repeat the ratchet back and planting steps. If it's a big bounce, power out of it and go around. 

Practice practice practice.

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Also, I've been trying a new strategy for my evening lessons: Wake up at 5:50AM, get ready, and then drive down to the San Jose Caltrain Station in time to catch the 6:45AM train. I get to work at 7:45AM, then leave to catch the bullet train at 4:33PM to make it down to my car by 5:40PM. Twenty minute drive, and I'm at my 6PM lesson! It worked well today, so I'm going to try it again tomorrow. 

It sure beats the 2 hour drive down from SF during traffic, but fingers crossed that I don't have to deal with any Caltrain SNAFUs anytime soon.