Today I practiced crosswind landings. I have been applying what I have learned in my most recent lessons. Today I made sure to control the plane. I would only let the plane land when I was ready to let the plane touch down. I had some excellent landings and I'm very confident about flying.
I learned something very interesting. I teach my students how to calculate lift using the lift equation. My flight instructor reviewed the constants in the equation. Lift = coefficient of lift X 1/2 X wing area X air density X velocity squared. The speed, lift, and coefficient of lift can be changed. As the angle of attack (AOA) is increased the coefficient of lift increases until the plane stalls. AOA is something a pilot can change using the stick. Increase the AOA and you increase lift. Decrease the AOA and you increase the speed. This is important when on final approach. You need a good glide slope and stabilized speed but once you are above the runway you must exchange your rate of decent. Pull back on the stick and increase the AOA. Lift is just a little less than the weight of the plane slowing the decent. This step, the flare, I have been lacking. Today I greatly improved it! I also applied turns to a point in my lesson. Since there was a strong headwind on base to final I made a shallow turn to prevent from being pushed from the centerline.
Overall it was a click flight where everything clicked and went well! I cant believe it is February because it was 50 degrees and sunny. It was an amazing Friday flight!
No comments:
Post a Comment