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[color=#000000]- After my epic cross-country,I fell out of the habit of keeping my journal. I was inspired enough to keep flying, but there was no immediate goal on the horizon, and I seemed to be working more yet having less expendable money lying around, so my flying was, for a while, limited to short occasional hops just to keep my hand in.

I don't remember much about these three flights, but the logbook entries speak volumes.

It's interesting how much learning there is to do, even after getting the PPASEL and venturing far from home on long trips...


Flight 108
10-01-00

C172

2N8-local

2.0 solo; 10 landings


"pattern & landing practice; mostly on 09; var. winds; worst landings in a long time!!"

It's funny how safe the ground feels.. when it takes three tries to get there...

8-)

It's funny how safe the ground feels.. when it takes three tries to get there...

8-)

... and how suddenly you can lose interest in flying!  ;D

I remember like it was yesterday.. after a similar struggle landing in winds..   A day or two later, I climbed into the cockpit (same kinda winds) and just SAT there, for about an hour; trying to decide if I was gonna do this piloting stuff, or not (I was at about 150 hours).

It was really no big deal; 10 gusting to 15... but man, as you sit there and feel the stationary (tied down) airplane give way to those winds... you start letting your mind run wild.. "if it's getting banked and yawed like this, with wheels firmly planted.. what chance in hell do I have of controlling it in the air ?" Who am I kidding ?



Ahh  .. memories. Since then, I've regularly landed in gusty winds (sighting out the passenger window to keep line up with the runway)  :o

And now, I prefer a good wind. It gets you involved in the approach early.. No wind at all is like hitting a knuckle ball..  8-)

[quote]I remember like it was yesterday.. after a similar struggle landing in winds..