arkvet
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One day after my 1st solo in the tomahawk (which was a breeze btw) I made the transition into my own cherokee 180 that I just bought.
This am we spent the first half hour doing some basic airspeed control / turns / etc... just to help me get a feel for the differences. One goofy change for me is the airspeed indicator that has MPH as the outer larger print ring and the Knots are smaller inner ring. What a pain given my training in the tomahawk referring to knots only! Anyway, my instructor and I agreed to only refer to speed as MPH in the 180.
After the initial half hour we went for 3 full stop Landings / TO's. I won't say they were bad but they were less than stellar. Here's the deal. I was easily able to nail the approach speeds and get to that magic 80mph / full flaps on short final once I knew the runway was made. I was using electric trim a little to pull the nose up as I was descending. With full flaps at what was probably 50-100' AGL (and runway made) I cut the power to idle and maintained my approach speed... All felt well until I tried to round out and flare. Either I'm really weak or I did something wrong. It was like trying to lift a load of bricks!!! I pulled as hard as I could and just barely could keep the nose high enough to make a decent landing. My instructor said it was a pretty good landing I just should have gotten the nose a little higher and held off till the stall... otherwise very good. I laughed and told him that's all the muscle I had! Landing #2 I did roughly the same thing but trimmed nose up more and essentially removed a few bricks from the load. Landing #3 similar results with again a few more bricks...
Anybody out there give me some tips on how to lighten that nose during the flare? My instructor is awesome but his method is for me to pretty much teach myself while he keeps me out of trouble. It worked out well in tomahawk and I know it will for the 180 too
My gut says to keep that nose lighter I need to maintain some power (maybe 1500 rpm) all the way to the flare? He's ok with power off long before the flare. Even though it may be more challenging I know landing with less engine is going to make me a better pilot. I guess I just need to figure out how to trim the thing?
When I flew the plane with the previous owner I remember he kept power in all the way through the landing and it was as smooth as glass with a very slow descent. I know it can be done this way but from what I read it is frowned upon by a lot of instructors as it's harder on gear and teaches you that you need power... something one day I might be without.
Any tips????
This am we spent the first half hour doing some basic airspeed control / turns / etc... just to help me get a feel for the differences. One goofy change for me is the airspeed indicator that has MPH as the outer larger print ring and the Knots are smaller inner ring. What a pain given my training in the tomahawk referring to knots only! Anyway, my instructor and I agreed to only refer to speed as MPH in the 180.
After the initial half hour we went for 3 full stop Landings / TO's. I won't say they were bad but they were less than stellar. Here's the deal. I was easily able to nail the approach speeds and get to that magic 80mph / full flaps on short final once I knew the runway was made. I was using electric trim a little to pull the nose up as I was descending. With full flaps at what was probably 50-100' AGL (and runway made) I cut the power to idle and maintained my approach speed... All felt well until I tried to round out and flare. Either I'm really weak or I did something wrong. It was like trying to lift a load of bricks!!! I pulled as hard as I could and just barely could keep the nose high enough to make a decent landing. My instructor said it was a pretty good landing I just should have gotten the nose a little higher and held off till the stall... otherwise very good. I laughed and told him that's all the muscle I had! Landing #2 I did roughly the same thing but trimmed nose up more and essentially removed a few bricks from the load. Landing #3 similar results with again a few more bricks...
Anybody out there give me some tips on how to lighten that nose during the flare? My instructor is awesome but his method is for me to pretty much teach myself while he keeps me out of trouble. It worked out well in tomahawk and I know it will for the 180 too
My gut says to keep that nose lighter I need to maintain some power (maybe 1500 rpm) all the way to the flare? He's ok with power off long before the flare. Even though it may be more challenging I know landing with less engine is going to make me a better pilot. I guess I just need to figure out how to trim the thing?
When I flew the plane with the previous owner I remember he kept power in all the way through the landing and it was as smooth as glass with a very slow descent. I know it can be done this way but from what I read it is frowned upon by a lot of instructors as it's harder on gear and teaches you that you need power... something one day I might be without.
Any tips????
