Originally Posted by
double_barrel
I was prompted by the thread on
circuit trouble to post an update.
I did hour 12 last weekend. I am definitely not a sky god! I guess it is going sort of ok, I have had 6 sessions of circuits with multiple touch and go's on each session. It seems to be taking forever for me to get comfortable with the approach and landing. It's always very messy. Maybe I could blame the fact that it is VERY busy with loads of traffic to watch out for and adjust the circuit accordingly, with the complexity of comms with a busy and not easily understandable ATC - I am constantly failing to hear or understand calls and the accuracy with which I am getting to and holding the desired altitude is decidedly wobbly.
The airport is so damn busy that the downwind is constantly being extended - base legs 6nm downwind are common and once we extended to 9nm downwind before turning 'base'. We invariably have to extend and then slot into the final approach among stuff including Dash 8's and CRJs. My handling of the aircraft was still pretty rubbish last time, but although the instructor did not seem impressed, I was actually pleased that for the 1st time I felt on top of the maneuvering and dodging. And to add complexity, these are right hand circuits; I have never flown a left hand circuit. So I am constantly having to look
through the instructor to keep an eye on the situation. I guess (hope?!) that makes it significantly harder.
You've heard a lot of people talk about things taking time. One of the more important things to learn which you can only learn through repetition is how to divide your attention efficiently so that you can monitor radio calls, operate the aircrafts systems, fly it where you want it, listen to your instructor, and relax (at this stage that takes conscious effort), all at the same time. Watching your instructor fly shows you it can be done, but you need to learn the "how" yourself.