Pilot's fear of landing

[Eboy]

Many years ago I worked through a Student license, while bouncing my rented Cessna 150 through a couple of landings on my cross-country. No damage or injury, but it spooked me, and I never followed up with the instruction to get my Private license -- that is how much landings bothered me while I was piloting. As a passenger, no problem. Did any professional pilot have a similar experience? Any tips for overcoming this anxiety? I'd really like to get my Private license.

Thanks

Eboy

[27driver]

Eboy,
I have been spooked MANY of times during my career. What kept me going was that I learned what I should have done (or shouldn't have) and kept on truckin'. Get back on the horse and give 'er another shot. Let your "new" instructor know that you scared yourself bouncing down the runway, and review "recoveries from bad landings..ie bounce/porpoising/overshooting. :( Good luck with the flying... :D

[Kermit 180]

Eboy, all pilots at some stage have had a fright when landing or during other stages of flight.

Try doing a spot of dual circuits in various conditions with an instructor to satisfy yourself that you can land the aeroplane.

Most of all, keeping current helps to overcome anxiety and makes you more confident in your own ability. Remember, what goes up must come down, so if you want to complete your training you have to overcome this problem.

Kermie ;)

[safety_worker]

Keep the hard work going! Learn why you did it, correct the ignorance, and become better. It is human to err! It is a professional who manages risks!
Ps. We all have at some point in our life, leave alone aviation, made mistakes. It is the recognition of the mistake early, the correction of it, even if it embarasses you, and the management of further risks, that will make you better (among a whole lot of other advises). Don't lose heart. If you got it, love it, then go on and nurture it the best way you can.......learning along the way!

[criticalmass]

Eboy,

Few pilots get an easy ride in aviation, no matter what section of the industry/sport/hobby they participate in. But you must persist, even though you cannot see where the reward is. The only way to get your PPL is to get back in the air and keep going.

The reward comes with time. It is called experience, and you gain experience by having experiences, both good and bad. You had a bad experience (relatively speaking; you didn't bend the a/c and no-one died) but if the desire is strong enough, your own drive to get your PPL will overcome your temporary setback. Remember, there are good experiences in flying waiting for you as well. Unless you get back in the air you will never find them.

To fail because of lack of ability is one thing, but to fail due to lack of application is quite another. It is an opportunity that was wasted, an opportunity that might have produced a very fine pilot indeed.

Find an instructor who understands your problem and is genuinely concerned with getting you over it. Instructors aren't Gods, they're human, and some are better at realting to people than others (genuinely good instructors will acknowledge this fact themselves). Find one in whom you have confidence, get back in the airplane, and fly.

There is no other way to get your PPL except by doing it yourself, under the guidance of a good instructor. He can tell you what to do, but ultimately you yourself have to actually do it.

And when you have gained that PPL, feel damn proud of your achievement. You will have earned it.

[Cloud Chaser]

Whether they admit it or not at some stage in their training (and afterwards) every pilot has been nervous about aspects of flying. I took a few hours longer than most to go solo due to my instructor not being happy with my landings. The extra hours in the circuit improved my technique and my confidence. I now have 140 hours and am halfway through ATPL ground school. As advised above, make sure the instructor knows your concerns so he/she can help.
There are books available specifically on take off and landing. Try your local pilot shop.
Finally don't let your fear put you off. We have all scared ourselves at some time. It just shows that you realise that flying needs to be taken seriously and respected.
Best of luck. :)

[Eboy]

Thanks for the great supportive comments! I am newly inspired to get on with it. A couple of you raise the instructor issue, which was an eye opener. I think that was part of the problem, though I don't want to shirk my role. He was a "cowboy." Nothing wrong with that, but I'm not one. I have been focussing too much on landings and not enough on what I should have done to get an instructor with whom I could relate better. I'll fix that also.

[kabz]

I don't think you'd bee human if weren't scared sometimes.

The first series of solo flights in a powered airplane must be one of the more 'involving' experiences I have had. However, I know that it will get better, because this is what happened during my glider training. Now, in a glider, I feel very very at home, and comfortably in control of the a/c in flight and during t/o and landing.

Flying a powered aircraft still feels a bit precarious as the a/c is very short of energy during final approach and there is much less margin for error, though you do have the option of going around if you are 'surprised' by a xwind and start drifting, etc.