We haven’t had a pilot thread in a few weeks, and today I was telling someone about how some landings are better termed “arrivals”.
Not necessarily talking about accidents. Rather, about poor landings and what we learned from them.
My most memorable was when I first flew a multi-engine airplane, an old Apache. During my second or third lesson the instructor did the usual demonstration of single-engine flight and had me feel it out for a while.
He said I was doing well, and since we were headed back toward the airport anyway, try descending and setting up for the approach. I did so, with difficulty.
As we got down closer to the runway I dropped the gear and flaps, with continual side glances at the instructor, waiting for him to give me back the second engine. We started to get real close, and I was starting to have some trouble with glide path and heading. I didn’t think too much of it because I expected a go-around.
By now I’m wrestling with the controls and shooting daggers at the instructor when able. Finally I say, “You want me to go around, right?”
“Naw, you’re doing fine. Go ahead and land it.”
There began the messiest approach I’ve ever made, with the darn thing nearly getting away from me because I got too slow. That’s bad with one engine at idle.
The instructor talked me through it, never touching the controls. I did get it on the ground, but just barely. He was grinning and I was sweating as I taxied off the runway. “Well”, he said, “THAT was exciting!”
Turs out he was a great instructor who believed in letting peole make mistakes in order to learn. I later found he had the experience to be able to do this safely. Wish I’d known that before that flight, as it might have saved me a few gray hairs.
