Dear Aviation: I'm Sorry I Said You Suck
21 June 2006, 1426Z
I recently started flying in the early morning during the week, before I go to work, and I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner. The air is calm, the traffic is light, and what better way to watch the sun rise? Plus, it gives me an hour or so to relax and have fun before the daily grind. Yesterday I practiced some basic maneuvers (slow flight, stalls, steep turns, etc.) in preparation for my upcoming flight review. My performance wasn't spectacular but it was within the standards. Today I traced a 30-mile-wide circle around Indianapolis, which I imagine was amusing to see on a radar scope. There's a fairly stiff breeze up there today, and I watched my groundspeed go from 75 knots to 145 as I rounded eastward.
I'm also experimenting with my final approach speed. I can nail the landing every time in a Cessna or a Piper, but this Diamond just won't stop flying. My problem is mostly psychological: I'm afraid to slow down too much on final for fear of stalling, but the stall speed on this airplane is much lower than the other airplanes I've flown. So I keep the speed up even though I know better, and I end up floating down the runway. I still need to work on this but today's landing was an improvement.