It's not just me

10-30-04 Five pattern flights with a CFI to work on slips to landing.

• First time, I let the speed get way too high.
• Second time, did not use enough rudder, so he kicked it in to show me how much I really can apply. Very extreme yaw!! Still came in too high.
• Third time, better use of slip but too fast on final. The ASI is inaccurate, so you just have to go by sound... it's tough to pull the nose up after learning so much about stall avoidance on final. Each time, we pushed the downwind and base further from the field.
• Fourth time, still floating, he (we? no firm transfer of control) decided to go over the taxiway. I did better last week - this time we ended up in the rough part of the gully, but in control and no damage.
• Fifth time, way out on base, STILL came in too high.

Instructor was rather mystified... surprised at how little the Blanik comes down with just the slip. He'll talk with the other CFIs and get back to me with ideas. I now have over 100 flights in my log!

Slipping but not enough

10-23-04 Three solo pattern flights, working on landing without flaps or air brakes. Could not get in touch with the instructor, it turns out she was out of town and had scheduled to fly Sunday. Each time, I ended up too high and had to use the air brakes to get down. One time, I floated beyond the boxes and decided to balloon over the taxiway and land in on the far side. The slip seems to be far less effective than the flaps and brakes. Need to do this with an instructor!

Not ready!

10-19-04 I was scheduled to take my Practical test on Friday 10/22, but in talking with the FAA examiner T, he indicated that I needed to do one landing with no drag devices - only slipping to the landing. That's different than I've done before. I've used forward and turning slips to lose altitude, but always used air brakes on final. To make a long story short, I decided to postpone the test and get instruction and practice.

Ready!

10-9-04 Two flights with T. One to 4000', worked on crisper turning stalls. One rope break, which went great. Ready for my test!