when things go wrong solo!!!!

[mark8647]

Hello all,

I have just hit a block.

Last week while doing my second solo circuit i found myself experiencing problems on final.

whilst at about 600ft i hit quite a bit of turbulance which caught me by surprise, i immediatly corrected for that and got centralised again however i did find it hard to maintain speed and height after this.

It didnt warrant a go around as i had the plane back under control and stable on the approach but after landing i felt shaken up by what had just happened.

I obviously feel good about the fact that my instructer has taught me how to overcome such problems but my question is have you ever experienced problems whilst solo and did it make you question wheather flying is right for you.

i felt for some time after that maybe i wasnt suited to flying but i love it too much to stop.

[LH2]

As with anything else, you will get the excrement scared out of you once in a while. Generally speaking, fear (but not panic) helps to keep you safe.

When you should be concerned is if turbulence on final does not make you worried. Just remember to make space on your flight bag for a change of underwear and you'll be allright.

[tegwin]

I wouldnt worry....Some flights will scare you, worry you, but provided you can be objective about it and actually learn from the instance in question, there is no harm done...

I come back from some flights feeling that I have had a really bad time, when infact, I have learned a load...I just dont know it!

[XX621]

I obviously feel good about the fact that my instructer has taught me how to overcome such problems but my question is have you ever experienced problems whilst solo and did it make you question wheather flying is right for you.

Yes. Several times, and it always happens at the beginning of a currency cycle, i.e getting back into it after a period of little flying. Within a few hours the self-belief (not over-confidence) returns and those pesky negative thoughts dissapear (or don't occur very often!)

Piloting an aircraft is a great way to learn about yourself and how you cope with things; with many of the skills you develop very transferrable into other areas of life; well, in my opinion anyway!

[flybymike]

"Flying is many hours of repetitive boredom interspersed with moments of sheer terror..."

[RatherBeFlying]

I would discuss with your instructor as a wise school and/or instructor usually has a maximum wind allowed for solo students and less for those at the early solo stage.

After a while you will get used to being bounced around -- it's like driving on a bumpy road.

In many cases the terrain below the approach is lower than the runway and any wind down the runway will produce a downdraft if you get low. A steep approach will help keep you out of this nastiness.

If the turbulence gets your approach messed up, you are better off doing a go-around and trying again, this time forewarned.

Sometimes the wind will change and you may be better off landing somewhere else.

[ventusdriver]

Agree with RatherBeFlying - if in doubt, there is no doubt - go round, settle down in the circuit and try again. You obviously 'got away with it' this time, and no doubt learnt from the experience, but as you say yourself, you had trouble maintaining speed (and height) and I would therefore gently suggest you were not in complete control.

And don't worry about hitting the odd block - it happens to everyone at some point. If you give up, you are never going to get through it! Keep at it - the more practise you get, the more natural it will become.

[BackPacker]

I have to agree with the previous posters. If you were temporarily out of control, your first reaction should be to push the nose down and go to full power, effectively initiating a go-around. If you then exit the turbulent area without too much energy (speed & height) you can reduce power and attempt the landing again, but if there's any doubt at all, go around.

The fact that you had trouble maintaining height and speed suggests you were awfully close to a stall, which is quite often fatal at that altitude.

On you second attempt, carry a little extra speed. Half the gust factor is a generic suggestion, but talk things over with an instructor to look for specific advice.

BTW random turbulence should not, on average, cause you to lose any significant speed. Sure, you might have trouble controlling the bank but if you don't start pulling on the stick/yoke, you should not lose any significant speed in random turbulence - although your airspeed needle will fluctuate a lot. Your story either suggests that you pulled your nose up as a (wrong) instinctive reaction without adding power, or suggests windshear (-sheer?) on final. The latter would be cause for a pilot report to the tower/FISO/AG operator so that others can carry a little extra speed on final too.

So definitely talk it over with your instructor and get his opinion on this!