This is Penguinetta, speaking for Penguina...
Oh boy am I glad about this thread appearing! Here we go. I'm going to feel better for this:
· 1st solo navigation exercise – all was spot on until I reached the circuit area, followed the wrong motorway and narrowly missed busting airspace, thanks to someone seeing me.
· 2nd solo landaway – landed on the wrong parallel runway at Stapleford, despite lots of easy giveaways like people lining up for the other one!!! Seriously bad: a lack of preparation by both me and instructor and end result of getting into a big stress about things in the air and 'needing' to get down.
· Qualifier – wasn’t used to o/h joins (don’t do them at home field) and did everything perfectly except for joining the wrong side! Happened simply because every circuit that day I'd joined had been the other way. Was fine when I was actually downwind, just slotted in, but still brings me out in a cold sweat when I think about the descending ‘dead side’!!! :0
· Completely busted class A airspace when flying abroad. This was due to SO MANY rubbish bits of judgement:
a) I probably wasn’t fit to fly in the first place;
b) I should have insisted on getting accurate weather information instead of trusting the (incorrect) estimated wind given to me by my incredibly experienced co-flyer;
c) I knew deep down I was lost but went into denial about it, even managing to ignore the VOR creeping slowly but surely off the line because I was so convinced the wrong feature I was following was right;
d) (The most important one.) I thought that the other pilot wouldn’t let me get into trouble and was sitting like a lemon waiting for him to tell me what to do, when _I_ was flying…
Luckily ATC were nice about it, but I learnt loads from that one!
· Took on too many new things in one go, too soon after qualifying, on one flight (as per Whirlybird’s previous comments) and took my parents to visit my grandparents (serious pressure or what?!) at a strange airfield in an area I’d never been to in a 172, which I’d only just converted onto. Reverted to type – thought I was in the 152 that I’ve done most of my flying in – didn’t flare enough, landed flat and bounced it. The slight tailwind on the runway in use didn’t help either. Then I couldn’t climb away on the go around because I was convinced I wouldn’t be able to correct any sink resulting from lifting the drag flap because of my lack of confidence with the heavier ‘plane. Walking the tightrope between stalling and not clearing obstacles for a few horrible seconds, I saw my mum and dad in an AAIB report, before taking control of the situation.
There we go, my five ‘Oh God’ moments.
Have not yet pulled the mixture control in flight. Matter of time………
I feel strangely unburdened!
Perhaps we should have a corresponding thread about good calls we've made while in difficulty, just to make us feel better. Like the time I got stuck in suddenly terrible vis and called D&D before the situation got any worse. I was a bit unsure of my position, but who cares, because it didn't stay that way?