Well this will be somewhat drawn out and maybe disorganized, bear with me as thoughts on this are being dragged in 7 different directions
Ok, full down auto's.
Here in the U.S. it is not usually taught until you are going for CFI.
An interesting thread over at JH has me thinking and rethinking ...
I can see that with each auto being different, and adding all the variables involved in toughing down off airport that insurance is a major reason for this not being taught earlier in the US sequence, but at the same time I wonder if I'd actually put it all together if I had to touch down.
Fri night I returned to the cockpit after a 3 week absence. One reg approach and one steep were great enough that my CFI that evening wanted to move to autos and so we could get in some 180's too. (I really only need to polish up autos for precision, 180's and pinnacle op's to be ready for the checkride at this point ....)
I had a blast, and I know if I get to the flare and recovery, that in the full down situation, I would likely transition in thought (as I haven't done full downs yet) to the hover auto as I leave myself at that spot at the leveling off point of my flare.
At least I'm 100% confident that I'll enter and glide down ok, flare might be high, but I can work on that.
But unless I actually did one, I'm torn between thinking I could, and knowing I could, etc.
I don't want to be in the "rote" method, flaring and then possibly recovering when there is nothign to recover hehe ... Or just being able to know what it looks like, feels, etc. Get the full down experience.
It is likely (I haven't asked yet, but intend to) that my CFI's might not be able to demo it unless I was going for CFI, but I wanted thoughts here. I'm also hesitant about it, as amajority of mishaps in that category have been due to those variables one cannot control after touchdown (I may be wrong, but you know what I mean, the thought is "Gee, I don't want to kill myself learning to not kill myself
)
I know you all do them even for PPL right?(Whirly, I'm so envious that you have done them !
)
so I know it will be towards that end, etc.
Marc
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Marc
[This message has been edited by RW-1 (edited 15 May 2001).]