Flight Training - January 2014 - 46

ADVANCED PILOT»

"This is Ed," the boss told me as
I joined them at the counter. "He's
visiting friends in town and would
like to rent a Skyhawk to take them
for a ride, so he needs an insurance
ride."
Ed's firm handshake confirmed
my first impression. I invited him
into a training office for a preflight interview. Regular renters
are familiar with the insurance
qualification procedure where aircraft systems are reviewed, flight
maneuvers and the stall series are
demonstrated, and several takeoffs
and landings are completed. My
first question was about his flying
background. "Have you been flying
regularly?" I asked.
"Yes, sir. I'm in the Navy," he
replied.
"Oh? What do you fly?" I asked.
"The F-4." There was no bravado
in Ed's voice. His answer was professional, matter-of-fact, without
overstatement.
"That's a lot of airplane compared to a Cessna. What's it like to
blast off the deck in one of those?"
"Well," he told me, "you go from
zero to 170 in about three seconds
when the catapult releases. It really
pins you to the seat. You can't move
your arms, so you start with your
hands off the stick."
"What are carrier landings like?"
"Night landings are the hardest.
The landing deck can be rising or
falling, and you can't tell if it's the
airplane or the ship riding on ocean
swells. You just set up the approach,
follow the deck signals, then try to
stick it on the spot."
I was overwhelmed by his
extraordinary experience. With
only two weeks experience as a
new instructor, I confessed, "You

THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF FLYING.
EACH ONE IS DIFFERENT AND
REQUIRES A DIFFERENT TECHNIQUE.

46 /

FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

can probably teach me a few things.
Have you ever flown a small airplane like the Cessna 172?"
"Not really," he said. "About all
my time is in military aircraft."
After reviewing the systems
and numbers, he completed the
preflight checks and asked some
great questions about the systems and mechanics. I thought to
myself, There won't be much to this
checkout.
Ed flew the Cessna with precision. Stalls, steep turns, and slow
flight were flawless.
"What do you think?" I asked.
"Different," he confessed, "but it's
a hoot. Gives you plenty of time to
do a little sightseeing."
"Are you planning to take your
friends on a short trip?" I asked.
"We thought we would fly
around one of the lakes with her
friend. They've never been in a
small airplane."
"Well, let's go back and do a few
landings, then I think we can turn
you lose to take them flying."
Pattern entry was a precision
event as Ed took the airplane
through the numbers to short final.
Everything was lined up, speed was
perfect, and the approach angle
was dead on. I relaxed, like many
instructors do when riding with a
proficient pilot. I folded my arms
and became a spectator as Ed drove
the airplane on a rope to the spot.
But he never flared.
Wham! Before I could react,
we slammed onto the runway and
bounced high. It felt like 50 feet at
the time, but was actually about five
feet or so. Still, it was very high.
"I've got it," I told him as I took
the controls and settled the Cessna
to the turf.
"We'd better taxi back and check
for damage," I explained. "We hit
pretty hard."
"I'm really sorry," Ed apologized.
"I didn't dream it would bounce
like that."

I realized that Ed was not accustomed to flaring for a landing. His
carrier training and daily flying
routine on a carrier deck was an
entirely different type of flying from
mine. He was a great pilot. He did
what he was trained to do-he stuck
it on the deck. On a ship, the arrestors and rugged landing gear take
care of the rest.
After reviewing the differences
in technique we selected a different Skyhawk for more practice.
Of course, he picked it up in no
time and was able to accomplish
full-stall landings right out of the
flight manual, so I signed him off for
rental privileges.
I meekly walked to the maintenance hangar to check on the
Cessna we had bounced. The boss
was there, talking to the mechanic.
"What happened?" the boss
asked.
I nervously told him. He said,
"You're in charge when you're in
the right seat. He's a hot pilot, no
doubt. But there are all kinds of
flying. Each one is different and
requires a different technique."
I was despondent, but the boss
said, "Don't let a more experienced
pilot intimidate you when you
accept the responsibility of the right
seat. You need to have confidence in
yourself and stay on your toes."
"Thanks," I acknowledged with
a whisper. "How's the bird? Did we
break it?"
"It's OK," was the mechanic's
good news. "No damage. These
spring gear systems can take a lot of
abuse. Maybe not as much as an F-4
gear, but they're tough."
Relieved, I realized on my drive
home that I had learned a solid
lesson for all pilots and instructors. Assume nothing, and have
confidence in your training and
experience.
Frank E. Cahill is an AOPA member from
Springfield, Missouri.
http://FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG
Flight Training - January 2014

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