Hi Lee and all,
just jumped into this excellent thread and although I haven't read all postings find it really interesting
It's not long ago that I've all also been through all these feelings and moments that you are now experiencing. It's about two weeks since I passed my (german) PPL(A) checkride and I have to admit that the one and only thing I was really worried about on that day was the "emergency landing". From my minimal experience, the only thing I can say is: "take your time with the flaps extension".
No complicated aerodynamics theory here, just what I have learned from the theory lessons and experienced myself. Stay on clean configuration as long as you are not 100% sure that you make it to the runway (I take it for granted that you constantly monitor your speed for best glide
). Talking now of myself, I set the flaps only when I'm sure that I will hit the "numbers"
... whereas my estimations have not always been right at the beginning
In any case, I wish you lots of fun and I'll definitely follow the thread to wish you best luck on your upcoming solo and all exciting moments you are about to experience.
Best regards,
Nikos