So after my solo short cross-country flight last week and the issues I had landing at the home airport, I decided to talk to my instructor and set up a lesson where we would just practice landings. Yesterday afternoon we spent 8/10ths of an hour doing just that and by the end of the lesson I was back on my game.

It turns out that somewhere during my solo flights I had acquired that habit of flaring a little too high and then pushing a little too much into the yoke on touchdown, which was basically making the airplane lose its energy and then somewhat slamming down onto the runway. It’s most likely that I came in too hot on that bouncy landing last Thursday and did the same thing, which caused me to bounce until I applied power again.

By the end of the lesson my landings were much smoother and I felt much more confident behind the yoke again. I had to admit that I was sweating quite a bit on the first landing; this was from the residual nerves I was feeling from Thursday’s experience.

On the downwind for my last landing of the lesson my instructor pulled the power on the Cherokee 140 midfield and I simulated an emergency landing onto the runway. This went very well and it helped bolster my confidence back to where it needed to be.

After the debriefing in the hangar with my instructor, I feel totally back on my game and I’m looking forward to a solo flight in the practice area tomorrow (weather permitting).