IO 540 asked:
May I ask what is the purpose of side slipping, in the context of PPL training?
I guess that in simple terms it is another very potent weapon in one's flying arsenal.
For finessing landings it is absolutely essential - I am not talking about bringing a PA31 with eight friends in the back into 6 000' of billiard table smooth tarmac, where throttle and flaps can effect the same seamless transition from aircraft to ground vehicle.
What I mean is judging your touchdown point very accurately in an aircraft with no flaps or with u/s flaps.
When will this be useful?
Well several scenarios spring to mind;
1 forced flapless landing into a confined space
2 landing into a short strip
3 landing something hot and fast (sports biplanes?)
4 3 pt landing something with very poor forward vision (C195)
5 wishing to land and avoid hay bales and cowpats on a farm strip!
Of the two aircraft that I own, if I was not competent at side-slipping then I'd never get them down!
Paulo - the comp turn is a low K factor, however if you do exactly what Uncle (aka The Master) says in his book you will generally score quite high. Having never flown a Robin I can not really comment on technique but are you sure that you are not being too energetic with your feet?
Stik