As a new pilot, coming to terms with a draggy 40hp single seat taildragger of very pronounced pitch disturbance when the power is adjusted, The last few seconds have thus far been heart in mouth events. Cutting the power at what seemed to be the right height causes the aircraft to slow down fast horizontally but speed up vertically! The glide approach is out of the question for the time being but I think I would be better off keeping the power in until the wheels touch. Assuming a runway of infinite length, the power only has to be reduced until the aircraft descends slowly, and eventually it ought to touch down nicely as long as the speed is dead right. So given a runway of finite length, I have to nail the height over the threshold to achieve this, get the speed right and just nold my nerve until I can get it to run out of height as it runs out of flight. Then the footwork begins. It is another level compared to the trike I learned in and it takes time for my old brain to take it in; (experience makes reflexes.)
Some of us aren't natural sky Gods. We work hard at it. It doesn't stop us trying to do it well but aptitude needs time to develop. The GST only gets you the licence to learn, after all.
Last edited by m.Berger; 11th Sep 2013 at 19:24.