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Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1998 09:06:57 -0500
From: Snowbird <snbird@ibm.net>
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Subject: Re: First night flight (or For sale...one abused C172)
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rrafydoj@hotmail.com wrote:
 
> I flew my first night flight this evening, complete with 8 landings
> (..) Every one of them was either a monstrously long float above the
> runway followed by a sickening bounce, or an abrupt touchdown that 
> rattled my teeth.  (...) I guess I just have to work a little harder 

Practice doesn't make perfect, the right practice makes perfect, as
my piano teacher always used to say.

Did you try any landings without the landing light?

One landing tip which works for many during the day is to be sure
one is looking down at the end of the runway, or at least as far
ahead of the plane as one would look while driving on the highway.

At night, with a landing light, I think there is a tendency to look
at the pavement which is illuminated by the landing light.  This
leads to loss of perspective, and one either flares too high and
thumps down, or flares too low and doesn't finish the flare (leading
to that new-student THUMP!).

Next time, try a couple landings without the landing light, and
be SURE you're looking at the end of the runway (or wherever you
look during the day).  Be sure the nose of the plane is up where it
should be relative to the end of the runway before the wheels touch
down.  If you THUMP down, ask yourself where the nose was.  If your
landings are better sans light, try landing with the light again
but consciously make sure you're looking beyond the runway it
illuminates during the flare.

Snowbird

