Boxing the wake

6/28/03 - Finally some sun, up to the 80's by 9:30.

Two 3000' flights with P. Takeoffs: takes a LOT of control input to correct. Easy to want to straighten out using ailerons, when it should be rudder. First tow, he demo'd boxing the wake. Second time, I did it. Really very smooth! Smooth and easy, although the tug looks VERY high when you're down below!

Practiced some more turns, up to 45 degrees - still need some work, as I tend to flatten the bank by the end of the turn. Slow flight straight ahead, down to 38 kt. - just fun to FLY for a little break. Turns are still somewhat uncoordinated. I asked about the difference between skids and slips, and P had a good mnemonic: "Slip in and skid out".

Stalls: I again nosed over instead of stalling the first time. But my recovery next time around was really good - I think *very* little loss of altitude.

Approaches OK - need to square off the base leg, not round into the final. Practicing judging the pattern by angles instad of landmarks. Pretty straight, well-aimed final.

Some new info on speed/glide on final: to gain speed, push stick and spoilers BOTH forward. At least on the Blanik, you can't treat speed and glide independently. I remembered to pull the stick back - the second time. I think the set-downs were very smooth. P thinks I'm doing very well - he said I could have brought it down by myself.

14 flights now, about 5 hours.