Today is the first day of flight training that I don't feel better about my ability than the previous lesson. 41 landings in the last 2 months, and I was starting to feel pretty good. Today was rough. Intellectually, I understand that a 10 kt crosswind at 70 degrees is more challenging than previous lessons. But damn, I sucked today. It was a good learning experience, and I am sure that having the experience is beneficial.
If any other student pilots read this, don't get discouraged by one tough lesson. Every day in the air is a gift, and feeling a minor setback has got to be something that happens to most students.
@Daniel Bissell
You're actually fortunate to be able to practice landings in a stiff crosswind. It's a skill that can only develop with practice. During my Private Pilot training, I didn't get too many opportunities. It wasn't until I bought my Maule MX-7-180 and then later flew a Cessna 185F for the Forest Service as a Commercial Pilot that I got a lot of crosswind landing experience. Those are tail draggers so crosswind landings are even more difficult than a nose wheel aircraft. In my opinion the most difficult landings are gusty crosswinds since you are constantly and rapidly adjusting ailerons, rudder and elevators close to the ground. Airspeed control, flap setting, sink rate and aiming point are additional variables that must be managed for a good landing. If you float too much before touchdown, you need to reduce your final approach airspeed. I use one notch of flaps (24 degrees) in my Maule for crosswind landings to lower stall speed and final approach speed. In the C185F I used 10 degrees flaps. Spending less time in the air on landing reduces the amount of time that a crosswind affects the lateral stability of the airplane as speed decays. That's why you don't want to float or bounce. Adding or reducing throttle to maintain your aiming point is important for a precise landing. If the aiming point moves up in the windshield, add power. If it moves down, reduce power. Watch the runway center line when you flare to make sure that you aren't drifting sideways. Adjust bank to correct and rudder to maintain longitudinal alignment. Touch down on the upwind wheel first and keep the bank into the wind to prevent the upwind wing from lifting. Raise flaps once your wheels are on the ground to reduce lift and shift weight to the wheels. Maintain ailerons into the wind until you are stopped. That way a gusty crosswind won't pick up your upwind wing unexpectedly. Don't get discouraged if your landings aren't perfect. Just think of a crosswind landing as a good training opportunity. Analyze what you could have done better after each landing and practice it on the next landing.
@Daniel Bissell you and I must have been in the same corner of the Matrix. I too had a rough training day that involved unexpected crosswinds, something for which that I have had very little training. Even with over 300 landings and 80+ hours of instruction, I haven't been exposed to significant crosswinds, and I was flying a Cessna 162 Skycatcher Light Sport which is a dream in still air and a nightmare in the wind. It was only my second solo and the first time I was actually scared in the plane. By the time I got safely back to the hanger all I could think about was how quickly I could post my gear on E-bay and put this whole flying thing behind me, maybe buy a boat or something. I've calmed down some and have replayed the session in my mind, and re-scared myself by realizing just how many mistakes I made in a little over an hour in the plane. I probably won't throw in the towel just yet, but I will have to stop avoiding windy days and get some time with my CFI in less-than-ideal conditions. But, until then, I'm not going to take the plane up by myself unless it is calm or has a wind more closely aligned with the runway heading.
When doing my CPL training I had the pleasure of being able to fly almost every day. I didn't of course but certainly flew with my instructor at least four times a week. The one item I had difficulty with when working on my PPL was cross wind landings. I had a tendency to crab to the threshold and then straighten out and force the plane on to the runway. Drove my instructor nuts! I finally got the technique right. My CPL training began with concentrating on instrument flying. This was so I would have it for later in my training but also to complete my night rating (I am in Canada). My PPL training required a minimum of five hours of instrument flying so I already had that under my belt. I was now working on the additional twenty hours that I needed and already had done a fair bit of work under the hood. My instructor had a lesson planned for me that included taking off and then on the climb out going under the hood and continuing from there out to the practice area. Remember that I already had lots of instrument time by now and was a licensed pilot. On this flight I could not get the plane to settle down. Straight and level flight on a day with virtually no wind or turbulence and I could not control my altitude. At this point my instructor told me to remove the hood and land which I did. I went home and rested and came back the next day and had no problems flying under the hood. As my instructor said you can have days like this. Sometimes it just doesn't pay to be in the air. Simply put, there are going to be times that you regress in your training and have to redo work that you have already done. As far as cross wind landing are concerned my instructor said that he found that good technique had him basically “dancing on the rudder pedals” when getting close to the runway. This allows for gentle appropriate timely adjustments to your approach. I have kept that phrase in mind and find that it helps me to make cleaner controlled cross wind landings. Perhaps it might work for you.
Today is the first day of flight training that I don't feel better about my ability than the previous lesson. 41 landings in the last 2 months, and I was starting to feel pretty good. Today was rough. Intellectually, I understand that a 10 kt crosswind at 70 degrees is more challenging than previous lessons. But damn, I sucked today. It was a good learning experience, and I am sure that having the experience is beneficial.
If any other student pilots read this, don't get discouraged by one tough lesson. Every day in the air is a gift, and feeling a minor setback has got to be something that happens to most students.
I wish I could “up vote” an initial post.