I've had a few mishaps in my short time too.
The one which most shook me up was a particularly heavy landing as a result of flaring too high on a PFL to the airfield in a 14kt crosswind. Just as I thought it's time to go around the plane dropped the 2 feet I was above the runway, leaving my stomach up there.
One incident which just plain made me jump out of my skin was when the canopy very rapidly shot backwards into the fully open position just as the wheels left the ground. Good job there was a second pair of hands to close it because all I could do was swear. It turns out that the canopy was secured but the latch had become worn and was prone to releasing, as the next pilot found out. However, checking the canopy is closed is a high priority for me now.
Had an F15 pass very close under me when I was on top in a loop. (very loud engines) He'd seen me thankfully!
I find that I natter to myself when I am solo and as I do checks from memory I feel that saying them aloud (which is how I learned them) helps me remember them. However, we have ground crew at my airfield and one day I felt a bit stupid talking to myself in front of him so I did all the checks silently. I looked alot more stupid doing the after-start checks (lowering flap, asking groundcrew to check pitot heat etc.) before starting the engine!
SR
