incredibly frustrated

[TheRaven]

Hi,

 

I'm new to this forum, but thought if anyone could help me, it might be someone here! I've now had a total of 37 hours of dual instruction in the CTLS and still haven't soloed! Needless to say, it's very frustrating, and I'm on the verge of giving up. After all, I thought one of the main attractions of the sport pilot license was that it took fewer hours. I must be on pace for some kind of record, and obviously not a good one!

 

My first instructor told me that the reason I wasn't soloing was that my landings weren't very consistent. For various reasons, I switched to a different instructor, and suddenly my landings became much more consistent. But then a whole host of other issues cropped up, mainly having to do with ADM and my failure to respond appropriately to simulated engine-outs. Which, I might mention, my previous instructor never had me do in 28 hours of instruction. That always seemed kind of weird to me, but since I was a new student, I figured the CFI knew best. I'll never make that mistake again!

 

So I'm very frustrated with the flight school where I'm at now, and am thinking maybe a change of schools might help. My impression of my current school is that it's first and foremost a business, rather than a flight school, and as along as they have a steady stream of revenue, they don't really care what their success rate is.

 

But I guess other than simply venting my frustration, my question here would be: is the CTLS a somewhat difficult plane for newbies to fly? What is the average time to solo?

 

Thanks for any help.

[paul m]

Raven where are you based? Trickier than some other planes...yes. 37 hours of tricky...no. Two issues on landing are the sight view that makes you think you are crooked and the fact that when wing stops flying, it stops flying. Both I think with some experience are easy enough to anticipate and handle. You could always try an experiment, try a few landings with an instructor in a 152/172 and see how much easier/harder that is for you.

[TheRaven]

Thanks for your response, Paul. For my 37 hours in the CTLS, I have been flying out of KHFD. Before that, I flew at a different location in Warriors and Cherokees, and I have to say the landings in those did seem a bit easier. Unfortunately, they were also rickety old planes that scared the &$*#! out of me! It's one of the reasons I switched to the CTLS, which I really like and feel more secure in. Plus, the sport pilot license just seems to fit better with what I want to do with aviation, except for the fact that for me it's now turning out to be every bit as costly as pursuing my PPL. I see you're from Massachusetts. I was thinking of trying a lesson or two at 7B2, which I believe also has a CTLS. Do you have any knowledge of the school there?

[paul m]

I have not flown at either Premier or Northampton. I have been flying at 7B3 with is Hampton Airfield, NH which I would recommend but that's too far a drive for you. I'll let the instructors on this forum give you more informed advice, but my feeling is there is something wrong with 37 hours and not soloing. My suggestion on the 152 was not to suggest you switch to PPL but only to say try a plane that almost everyone agrees is docile and easy to land. You can then decide for yourself if it's something about the plane or the pilot/instructor (or the interaction of the two) that's causing the issue. I would certainly keep trying to get it sorted out if you can. Would be a shame to give up on your dream of flying.

[TheRaven]

Thanks for the additional input, Paul and gbigs. I feel like landings are no longer the problem, that I'm doing them fairly well and consistently. It's almost like every time I feel like I'm close to soloing, another issue arises and I'm told I'm not ready. As for whether I'm being scammed, I'm not quite ready to go so far as to make that claim, but I do feel like my best interests are clearly not being served. For instance, when you have a CFI tell you that the reason he became a CFI was because he loves to fly and wanted to fly as much as he could without paying for it, that would probably indicate that he's not especially student-oriented. I'm kicking myself for not being a better consumer and interviewing different CFIs and schools before plunging in, but what can I say -- like many others, I got the flying bug quickly and wholeheartedly!

 

I definitely don't feel like I'm a "special needs" case, although I don't claim to be a stick-and-rudder prodigy either. However, I've always been very athletic and coordinated, and see no reason why this should be so difficult for me with the proper instruction. For what it's worth, although I know written test scores don't mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things, I already passed my sport pilot written exam, with a score of 98.

 

Anyway, I'm now convinced a change of schools is definitely in order. I do feel like I'm too far into this to give up now.

[CT4ME]

Raven,

'Don't think you mentioned your age... but that does seem to have some affect on the time needed. My instructor felt that the older you are, the more time it takes. Older guys obviously aren't as quick with the reflexes and learning. old dog, new trick. He felt the older you were, you had more respect for the responsibilities associated with flying, and take things a bit slower.

(at 56) I solo'd in a C152 at about 25 hours, then took a few months off to buy a CTsw, and then took another 20 hours to solo in the CT.

Don't get hung up on the numbers... National average for PPL is 80 hours, well above the mythical 60.

Is your instructor "old school", or seriously in-tune with the oddities of LSA? There was NO WAY my first instructor could have taught LSA... he couldn't comprehend "plastic airplanes", and was as old school as you can get. Even my 2nd instructor, with thousands of hours of CFI, needed to be pointed to this forum to understand the differences in landing techniques. Read the sections on landing techniques... I think you'll find a consensus that, at least at the start, flying in with a touch of power and 15 degrees of flaps will produce the best results. I'm not saying other techniques won't work, and shouldn't be practiced, but right now, you're just looking for success.

Good Luck...

tim

[Jim Meade]

You should be aiming at completing the requirements of the Practical Test Standards (PTS). When you can do everything in that to the satisfactory level, you are ready for the practical, or "check ride". Your CFI's should have used that all along.

http://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/airmen/test_standards/pilot/media/faa-s-8081-29.pdf

 

Your CFI should be teaching you from some sort of syllabus and lesson plan. It needn't be fancy and I suppose many aren't even written down but they should be able to outline the course of instruction so you always know where you are and where you are going.

 

I've always said (personal observation) that a bad landing starts on downwind. The trick, to me, is to be as consistent as you can from one pattern to the next so that you can reproduce the airplane's performance. Then you can fine tune it. Then you can adapt it to things like wind direction, speed, condition and other factors that arise. You're after repeatability. You should be able to start out by flying li "by the book" and alter that based on conditions, experience and so forth.

 

One way to get it is to try to minimize the changes you make all at once. If you change many things at once (pull power, add flaps, change trim, bank) and you don't end up where you want to be, which one did you in? If you change one thing at at time you know what happened. When you become proficient, you can do all those things at once because you can handle it.

 

One thing that always bothers me is you've been flying 37 hours and haven't soloed, what kind of bad habits have they ingrained in you? Even the best instructor may take some time for remedial training to be sure he knows where you are. I know I'd want to see you fly for a couple of hours before we started in on polishing off your skills.

 

Get the PTS and see where you are. At the next school, insist on some kind of syllabus or course outline.

[TheRaven]

Excellent advice! Part of my frustration stems from the fact that I don't have a good sense of where I am in the process, because I've never been presented with a syllabus or any kind of plan to get from Point A to Point B. My instruction so far has been very unstructured, with little connection between lessons. I'll definitely insist on a syllabus next time.

[coppercity]

Excellent advice! Part of my frustration stems from the fact that I don't have a good sense of where I am in the process, because I've never been presented with a syllabus or any kind of plan to get from Point A to Point B. My instruction so far has been very unstructured, with little connection between lessons. I'll definitely insist on a syllabus next time.

 

Hi Raven,

 

I have been teaching in CT's for about 5 years now both the SW and LS and 37hrs before solo is certainly much higher then normal for our students. Everyone is different of course and learn at different paces and different ways, but a professional school and professional instructor would have a syllabus for you, a structured briefing and debriefing as part of every lesson and clear objectives for each flight. Remember you are the customer so be sure to shop around and find the school that cares about you and your experience. Ultimately you want to be a safe pilot with sound ADM and you will get there so don't give up, find the right instructor to help you! Learning to fly isn't always smooth sailing but its our job as instructors to get you over those hurdles with the least amount of frustration and pain on your wallet.

 

We try not to focus on hours so much as meeting the standards for the tasks. Our students that can fly 3-4 times a week generally solo between the 10 and 20 hr mark in the CTLS, go for their Private between 45-55hrs, and Sport around 35hrs. If your flying 2-3 times a month it will take 5-10 more hours usually. Feel free to call me if you have any questions at all.

[Duane Jefts]

Hey Raven,

 

I'm in Tucson and have been looking at the weather up there in New England. I recommend you take a little vacation to Bisbee, AZ and visit Eric at Copper City Aviation. The weather will be much better and I'm sure your flying experience as well.

 

He taught me how to fly the CTLS and made it incredibly simple. His syllabus and flying guide is extremely professional and make flying a breeze.

 

Don't give up on the CTLS. It is an incredible airplane.

 

Good luck!

[Bobby CAU]

hi Raven,

greetings from Jakarta, Indonesia.

 

im 40 years old and i had my solo with my CTSW was 38 hours.

i have an issue with my consistency of landing as well, CTSW too aggressive to me (that was i thought before solo).

 

in Brisbane flying school australia where i have my personal air class with CTLS, 2 CTLS was there but not much people willing to hire that planes due to difficulties they faced up during fly, and landing as well.

most of them choose others, so we are the lucky one, we are the chosen one !!.

 

now, i have 380hours and my new CTLS coming soon.

i love this plane and as my wife always said, better late than not mature hahaha ...

 

takes your time, dont be frustated and as Duane Jefts said, dont give up on CTLS, it is an incredible plane !!.

trust me ...

 

see you in jakarta !!

[TheRaven]

Thanks all for the encouragement and suggestions! I hope to report back with a progress report later. Even though I'm struggling right now, I do love the CTLS and want to stick with it.

[Ed Cesnalis]

Raven,

 

Light sport instruction doesn't take fewer hours instead it requires fewer hours. Aviation is unforgiving and it takes what it takes. Learning to pilot a powered parachute would still be a light sport endeavor but it would take far less time to solo yet it would require the same hours for a certificate.

 

Forget the light sport designation and see the CT for what it is, a very light, very responsive fixed wing aircraft with a wide range of capabilities. The stick is sensitive, the sight picture lacks visual clues, co-ordinating turns is far from intuitive, pitch changes are meaningful, gusts have more effect and care must be taken to ensure that you don't run out of energy with your mains even a few too may inches from the ground. The CT is a great plane but allowing you to solo in the absolute minimum number of hours is not one of its strong points.

 

Between the various complexities and the difficulties that learning in a New England winter presents and the less than perfect approach to date, failing to solo is not surprising. Have you done 3 landings in a row without the instructor touching the controls? 3 Landings that were consistent enough where you think you should have solo'd on the next one? If not that's a hurdle you do have to cross, if so then you have already proven that you can achieve your goal, its just a matter of getting on the same page as the instructor and him as you. Learning to land involves utilizing visual clues that you did not know how to recognize a short time ago. When you are not turned loose due to inconsistency maybe the instructor is seeing things that you cannot yet recognize? "Inconsistency" is not very precise, ask for a precise explanation of where you fell short and then a demonstration on how to deal with that shortcoming. Turn the lesson into focusing on that shortcoming if you have to.

 

A tip that is helpful to me, is I move my heading bug to the heading of my base leg so I know where to roll out of my downwind to base turn even if I can't see the runway, that keeps my pattern more square.

 

A tip that was very helpful to me back when I was learning to land was to sing a rhyme of questions in my head. 'Too high?, too low? too fast?, too slow? Tracking the runway center line and remaining aligned with it are so visual, I didn't miss those, but speed and glide slope were harder for me to notice when they went wrong so the rhyme really helped. Decades later the focus on speed remains. The earlier I can recognize the need for a pitch or power adjustment the more subtle I can make the adjustment.

 

CT's are hard to land as are any very light aircraft, very rewarding though.

[Marco01]

Raven, some inputs from a French guy:

I have been solo after 15 hours ... on a very basic ultralight x-air plane. this stuff do not looks great, slow like a snail, no glass cockpit, but hour after hour, I enjoy it more and more. and the instructor was in confident to let me go safely.

Then, I started to fly other easy ultralight machine for 15 additionnal hours to get confident in my flare. next, I bought my own CTSW , and found out that I needed extra lessons and experiences on this great bird. after 130 hours, I can manage to get a perfect land in 70% ratio. cross wind remained challenging.

Here are some basics:

-try to no stop flying more than 2 weeks on a row...

-fly on all weather conditions with your instructor.

-avoid navigation for a while, just practice your landing and flare. long flight will bring nothing at the present stage.

-sometime, select fly very early in the morning when weather is perfectly calm: this is your benchmark. do not benchmark your landing during gusty or windy conditions

-CT is a tricky, and fragile, plane: may be consider to fly for a while on an easier one before sitting back in a CT.

-finnaly, each flight needs to be fun! if not, change your instructor or school.

[CT4ME]

Don't know that I can agree... the only person who knows if you're ready is your instructor. Our own perspectives, while important, aren't equipped with enough experience to know. Maybe all instructors don't think this way, but my best (and last) instructor told me he'd kick me out of the nest when he thought I was safe enough for not only myself, but also for his wife or kids as passengers. That's a heavy burden to bear.

Tim

[Jim Meade]

A tip that is helpful to me, is I move my heading bug to the heading of my base leg so I know where to roll out of my downwind to base turn even if I can't see the runway, that keeps my pattern more square.

 

 

In WWII, it was found that Corsairs landing on aircraft carriers had to fly a rounded pattern. The benefit was the pilot could always see the "runway" as the big nose didn't get in the way on final.

 

For the last decade or so, glider pilots, led by the British, have adopted a similar pattern. It was based on GPS tracks plotted from expert pilots and then adopted as better than the artificial "square" pattern.

 

I'm not here to start an argument on which to use, although I prefer the rounded, but simply to point out that there are acceptable alternatives.

[Doug G.]

The Brits figured that out on the Corsairs. The US had major problems using them on carriers so they were land based until the Brits solved the problem. They solved the Mustang problem too. Maybe they were more motivated.

[Bobby CAU]

Raven, some inputs from a French guy:

I have been solo after 15 hours ... on a very basic ultralight x-air plane. this stuff do not looks great, slow like a snail, no glass cockpit, but hour after hour, I enjoy it more and more. and the instructor was in confident to let me go safely.

Then, I started to fly other easy ultralight machine for 15 additionnal hours to get confident in my flare. next, I bought my own CTSW , and found out that I needed extra lessons and experiences on this great bird. after 130 hours, I can manage to get a perfect land in 70% ratio. cross wind remained challenging.

Here are some basics:

-try to no stop flying more than 2 weeks on a row...

-fly on all weather conditions with your instructor.

-avoid navigation for a while, just practice your landing and flare. long flight will bring nothing at the present stage.

-sometime, select fly very early in the morning when weather is perfectly calm: this is your benchmark. do not benchmark your landing during gusty or windy conditions

-CT is a tricky, and fragile, plane: may be consider to fly for a while on an easier one before sitting back in a CT.

-finnaly, each flight needs to be fun! if not, change your instructor or school.

 

agreed Marco, good point plus !!

[TheRaven]

I really appreciate all the time and thought people have put into their replies. So much to think about! Just a few responses/answers to some of the comments/questions here. As for the age argument, I guess I do fall into the "old dog/new tricks" category, although I prefer to think of age as largely a state of mind. I'm 54. I can accept that maybe it might take me longer to learn to fly than, say, some 17-year-old who's spent his entire youth playing with Flight Simulator. But still, 37 hours and no solo is a long time, by anyone's standards, I think. I also might as well mention now that I'm a woman. I don't see the relevance of gender to flight training, but I'm mentioning it only because some here are assuming I'm a man.

 

As for how my landings are going, there was one lesson following a lot of pattern work where I was sure that my second CFI was about to jump out and let me solo. And at that moment, I was eager to do it, feeling confident that I could. Unlike my first instructor, I rarely if ever felt him on the controls, and I finally realized that, yes, I really was flying the plane all by myself! But obviously that anticipated solo was not to be. Soon we started practicing engine failures, and then that seemed to be my downfall, rather than landings. I guess if I were to summarize my problem right now, it's putting it all together, consistently -- the pattern, the landing, the emergency procedures.

 

The comment about five different pilots having five different ways to fly is so true. My first instructor had me fly the plane very differently than my second instructor (for instance, the first one never had me use negative flaps in the pattern, the second one did; the first one never had me use use trim, except in cruise phases of flight, the second one had me using it often). So when I started with the second instructor, the first couple of lessons with him made me feel like I was learning for the first time all over again. And maybe this will be the case again if I move on to a third instructor, although I doubt it at this point. But the bottom line is, if I'm going to continue, I need an idea of where exactly I am in the process, and a solid plan to get to the end of it. I'm thinking of maybe even writing my own syllabus of sorts, based on what I've practiced so far and what I need to do to meet PTS standards. I'd like to sit down with any future CFI, and get his/her input and maybe after a lesson, an honest assessment of where I stand. That's been lacking so far -- I just keep being told that I have the skills to be a pilot, but that it will take more time to refine them. I was even once told, by way of encouragement, that one of their PPL candidates took 100 hours to solo! Really, that was supposed to encourage me??? :wacko: I can't afford to keep going back to this flight school with the vague hope that someday it will all click for me.

 

My frequency of training has been all over the place, and I understand the problems in not flying regularly. As Duane noted, the weather in New England this winter has not been kind to pilots. Ten of my last 17 lessons have been canceled due to weather! However, even in the spring and summer, when I was flying at least once a week, I didn't feel like I was making good progress. I'm thinking of trying to really make any future training somewhat intensive, for instance, four lessons every weekend. Unfortunately I live far from the schools with a CTLS, so I can't really spread the training out throughout the week.

 

Lastly, I just wanted to say that I would never try to cajole a CFI into letting me solo if he/she/or even I truly didn't think I was ready. It's an awesome responsibility that CFIs bear, and I can't imagine what it would be like to let one of your students solo, only to watch it end in disaster. But I have had the feeling during much of my training that the CFIs haven't really cared whether I solo or not -- ever. Flying is a complicated process, and I respect the responsibility it entails if it is to be done safely and competently. And if it takes 5, 10 or 15 more hours for me to safely solo, then so be it. But I need to be convinced that what I'm doing each lesson is working toward that goal.

 

Oops, sorry if this has turned into a rant/vent session! Have a nice weekend!

[coppercity]

I really appreciate all the time and thought people have put into their replies. So much to think about! Just a few responses/answers to some of the comments/questions here. As for the age argument, I guess I do fall into the "old dog/new tricks" category, although I prefer to think of age as largely a state of mind. I'm 54. I can accept that maybe it might take me longer to learn to fly than, say, some 17-year-old who's spent his entire youth playing with Flight Simulator. But still, 37 hours and no solo is a long time, by anyone's standards, I think. I also might as well mention now that I'm a woman. I don't see the relevance of gender to flight training, but I'm mentioning it only because some here are assuming I'm a man.

 

As for how my landings are going, there was one lesson following a lot of pattern work where I was sure that my second CFI was about to jump out and let me solo. And at that moment, I was eager to do it, feeling confident that I could. Unlike my first instructor, I rarely if ever felt him on the controls, and I finally realized that, yes, I really was flying the plane all by myself! But obviously that anticipated solo was not to be. Soon we started practicing engine failures, and then that seemed to be my downfall, rather than landings. I guess if I were to summarize my problem right now, it's putting it all together, consistently -- the pattern, the landing, the emergency procedures.

 

The comment about five different pilots having five different ways to fly is so true. My first instructor had me fly the plane very differently than my second instructor (for instance, the first one never had me use negative flaps in the pattern, the second one did; the first one never had me use use trim, except in cruise phases of flight, the second one had me using it often). So when I started with the second instructor, the first couple of lessons with him made me feel like I was learning for the first time all over again. And maybe this will be the case again if I move on to a third instructor, although I doubt it at this point. But the bottom line is, if I'm going to continue, I need an idea of where exactly I am in the process, and a solid plan to get to the end of it. I'm thinking of maybe even writing my own syllabus of sorts, based on what I've practiced so far and what I need to do to meet PTS standards. I'd like to sit down with any future CFI, and get his/her input and maybe after a lesson, an honest assessment of where I stand. That's been lacking so far -- I just keep being told that I have the skills to be a pilot, but that it will take more time to refine them. I was even once told, by way of encouragement, that one of their PPL candidates took 100 hours to solo! Really, that was supposed to encourage me??? :wacko: I can't afford to keep going back to this flight school with the vague hope that someday it will all click for me.

 

My frequency of training has been all over the place, and I understand the problems in not flying regularly. As Duane noted, the weather in New England this winter has not been kind to pilots. Ten of my last 17 lessons have been canceled due to weather! However, even in the spring and summer, when I was flying at least once a week, I didn't feel like I was making good progress. I'm thinking of trying to really make any future training somewhat intensive, for instance, four lessons every weekend. Unfortunately I live far from the schools with a CTLS, so I can't really spread the training out throughout the week.

 

Lastly, I just wanted to say that I would never try to cajole a CFI into letting me solo if he/she/or even I truly didn't think I was ready. It's an awesome responsibility that CFIs bear, and I can't imagine what it would be like to let one of your students solo, only to watch it end in disaster. But I have had the feeling during much of my training that the CFIs haven't really cared whether I solo or not -- ever. Flying is a complicated process, and I respect the responsibility it entails if it is to be done safely and competently. And if it takes 5, 10 or 15 more hours for me to safely solo, then so be it. But I need to be convinced that what I'm doing each lesson is working toward that goal.

 

Oops, sorry if this has turned into a rant/vent session! Have a nice weekend!

 

Its ok to rant and vent! I hope you will find an instructor that you will click with and that can adapt to the way you learn. Its unfortunate that our male dominated field of instructors sometime have trouble teaching women or at least explaining things to the detail you like. I'm lucky that my wife is also a instructor and the best pilot I've ever flown with and she teaches me tons! Stick with it, and find an instructor that can teach the way you need to learn regardless of what airplane its in!

[knolde]

Raven: Sorry to hear that you are having trouble soloing. I am not an instructor, but I have almost 600 hours in the CTLS; 2000 in a Cherokee and other GA aircraft; and 5500 military hours. So I will try to answer some of your questions. The CTLS is not harder to fly than other LSA aircraft, but it is a bit different. Someone already said this and I heartily agree. From my perspective, if your instructor cannot give you a detailed explanation of what problems you are having and cannot offer positive remedial actions--get out. At this point you should find another instructor and you are to tell him that you are frustrated and why. In recent months I have flown with a number of experienced instructors, a few military type who are curious, several longtime instructors who also are curious. My observation is that with one exception, everyone of the instructors wanted to do two things wrong: First, they tried to make the aircraft land before it was ready to; 2. all tended to try and flare abruptly because of misjudging our altitude above the runway (hard or grass).

 

In every case several tries after talking about it the landing were fine. As soon as I mentioned two things, airspeed on final and a quick glance to the side to judge altitude they all slapped themselves on the forehead and said "I shoulda thought about that!" Point here is that the instructors did the same thing that I did on my first few attempts to land the CT. Obviously, I cannot know if this is what you may be having a problem with, but this is the nub of what I have found in being able to land the CT consistantly well in all conditions.

 

I hope this is is of help, but there are a number of instructors who contribute to this forum and I have found they give good solid advice based on being able to do it. Please try to find another instructor, because once you solo, the flying world changes and you see the big picture.

 

Enjoy, see ya, Dr. Ken Nolde, N840KN 500+hours and I love it!

[Jim Meade]

After reviewing the Sport Pilot PTS, I agree that the examiner is going to expect to see a square pattern. There is provision for local patterns, but I'm sure that the square pattern will be the norm for most places. As several have pointed out, that is what you should demonstrate.

 

I can see that my comments may have misled some and I regret that.

 

As you can see, I fly it differently, but that is another story and obviously after passing the checkride.

[pat]

Raven, Looks like our stories are similar. I am also 54 (old dog) also having landing problems. Everything right up to the flare part is fine. He tells me to pick a spot at the end of the runway but I don't know what I'm looking for. I guess we don't want to mention any names here so if you could pm me with the name of the instructor that helped the most. I haven't been flying since last march but I'm going to be starting again soon and i can't afford to screw around. I believe when it comes to learning we all have a keyword that someone has to say to make it all click and they haven't found mine yet. I don't know where your located in relation to khfd but I'm in New Britain and was thinking of taking a couple of lessons at sport flying of Ct. at kdxr just to see if there's a difference. they have the tecnam there. Don't get me wrong, I love the flight design and 747JD will always have a place in my memories as the first small plane I flew but if I had 37+ hours and hadn't soloed yet I'd be looking for an alternative. If I do stick with premier and haven't soloed in 20 hours I'll move on. SPORT FLYING OF CONNECTICUT 914-588-1682

[TheRaven]

Its ok to rant and vent! I hope you will find an instructor that you will click with and that can adapt to the way you learn. Its unfortunate that our male dominated field of instructors sometime have trouble teaching women or at least explaining things to the detail you like. I'm lucky that my wife is also a instructor and the best pilot I've ever flown with and she teaches me tons! Stick with it, and find an instructor that can teach the way you need to learn regardless of what airplane its in!

 

Thanks Eric, that makes me wish I lived in Arizona! Well, that AND the new snow that we awoke too.

[TheRaven]

In every case several tries after talking about it the landing were fine. As soon as I mentioned two things, airspeed on final and a quick glance to the side to judge altitude they all slapped themselves on the forehead and said "I shoulda thought about that!" Point here is that the instructors did the same thing that I did on my first few attempts to land the CT. Obviously, I cannot know if this is what you may be having a problem with, but this is the nub of what I have found in being able to land the CT consistantly well in all conditions.

 

I hope this is is of help, but there are a number of instructors who contribute to this forum and I have found they give good solid advice based on being able to do it. Please try to find another instructor, because once you solo, the flying world changes and you see the big picture.

 

Enjoy, see ya, Dr. Ken Nolde, N840KN 500+hours and I love it!

 

Thanks for the tip on the glance to the side, Ken. I can't say I've ever tried that, because my instructors have always told me to focus at the end of the runway.