.Evan.

After many years, today I finally got to fly with my Dad. He had flown all kinds of GA aircraft in the 60s and 70s, but hadn't flown at all until a few months ago when he was offered access to a friend's Cessna 210. He's now in the process of resurrecting his PPL.

I was nervous, because there were many other firsts today also:

1. First flight with my Dad

2. First flight in a J-170

3. First flight from a new airport (i.e. other than YBLT)

4. Dad's first flight in a recreational aircraft

5. First use of a lovely (and expensive) ANR headset.

It was an awesome day for flying, and we went all around the Latrobe Valley where I grew up.

He and I had a great time, and thankfully it all went well - I didn't scare him from going again!

Read the full story here. :thumb_up:

Thanks for sharing, Mal. Keep us updated! :thumb_up:

Thank you Eric and Peter! :thumb_up:

Whoa!

Mmm.... Nice.

Awesome!!!!

Perfect morning for flying! (for once!!!)

Landing Hoodoo... ABOLISHED!

Went up with my instructor this morning, carrying an almost full load of fuel and went through several CCTs using a couple of techniques. He also briefed me extensively on the mathematics and the concepts behind everything that is going on during the various phases of landing (taking my understanding to a new level).

Result: Much more consistent and controlled touchdowns (not necessarily all greasers, but much more consistent).

On this site you oft see quoted: "Don't take an aeroplane anywhere that you mind did not visit five minutes ago".

Thanks everyone for your help and support!

P.s. more details, as usual at my blog. If you wanna.

Amazing. So glad he made it to tell the story!

I need to buy some tropical fish!

Great stuff, Mike. Congratulations! :clap2:

Keep us up to date with the rest of your training, ok?

Yep, I just read your post after writing my own. Congrats to you too :)

...and finally, she understood What It's All About.

I'm friends with James Morrison on FaceBook, so I decided to ask him.

Yep, he's still a member of RAAus, but doesn't get to fly the Drifter as often as he'd like! (Too busy flying his beautiful Cirrus, I guess!)

Thanks all. :thumb_up: I'm going to raise the approach speed a tad and see what happens.

I'll also give the ThrottleTweak® method a bit more of a try.

Evan if you look at the side on photo you can see the door on the right hand side of the cockpit. You climb up on steps behind the wing. If you look below the windows at the back, you can see a step cut into the fuselage midway between the main and stub wing. The windows are for a passenger cabin at the back behind the fertilizer hopper. That's where the sheep in Ozzie's story above were.

What an interesting design!

How does the pilot access the cockpit? I can't quite see a door, nor steps notched in the fuselage...

There are those that know how you feel (fliers who have gone solo) and then there is every one else.

I. Want. One.

Thanks Frank!

Now with added pics!

... Your approach speed in ultralight types is normally given as the correct speed for MTOW, so increasing your approach speed will not resolve your issue. You just need to understand that the hold off will be a shorter duration with higher weights and allow for it to settle quicker. Practice will make perfect.

A solid 'plop' is not a bad landing, a firm sit on the runway always means she is stalled and will not be going anywhere other than on the runway. A solid sit is always preferable to skipping along a runway with flying speed; 'skipping' is a very bad technique and will get you into trouble one day.David

You need to adjust for the extra weight with more lift ie go faster.

Or hold off just one centimetre above the runway to lessen the ' plop '. :thumb_up:Alan.

Things have been going well. Lots of milestones and such, but there is still so much more to learn.

What I am finding now that I'm flying with different people (i.e. different weights), is that the aircraft seems to react very differently when landing at or close to MTOW. My instructor is not very heavy at all, and I'm only a medium build. The flying school has fuel in the hangar, so generally we'd only have a light fuel load meaning that the J160 was usually operating fairly low in it's weight range during my training.

I have been able to get fairly consistent greaser-ish landings when practising by myself, but I am finding that once the weight is up (bigger Pax, more fuel, etc), it is a very different ball game. During the hold-off, instead of continuing to fly until the speed bleeds off and then it settles on to the runway, it seems to hold-off normally and then suddenly 'plop' on the deck from that last half a foot or so. Not entirely unsafe, but not so comfortable for my Pax (or me!). I think it is due to the already high wing loading on the 160 - add some extra weight and it decides not to fly so very much earlier.

Has anyone else found this too? How do you guys cope with this change?

I can think of two things:

1. Keep a trickle of power on through the flare and hold-off and pull steadily to idle once the mains are on the ground.

2. Raise the approach speed by 5 knots or so, bringing more potential energy into the flare/hold-off scenario.

Or, am I barking up the wrong tree entirely?

:clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2:

That's awesome news!