My Flying

Winter is approaching and a chilly north-westerly was blowing. Using 26L I had three winch launches with the Twin. I performed all three takeoffs with little input from instructor F(2). My biggest problem is keeping the wings level, especially during those first few metres. I was dropping wings all the time and finding it very difficult to use the horizon to see if the wings were level. The climbs and releases went much better. As the cross wind wasn't too bad, I didn't have to worry too much about using the rudder on the ground to keep the plane straight.

Releasing at about 1000 feet, I executed a few turns then performed the landing checks. WWULF : Wind (runway to use, no change here), Water (not applicable), Undercarriage (down and locked), Landing area (clear from obstructions) and Flaps (not applicable). I flew the circuit under instruction. With the first landing the instructor performed the hold off. The second landing I held off and did a pretty ok job. The last landing was a bit off a mess. Again pulled back too hard and the plane ballooned. I lost it after that and the instructor took over. In all three cases my ground handling was not good.

The controls work completely different while on the ground. Firstly they need much greater inputs and secondly the rudder and aerlons no longer work together. The rudder steers and the aerlons keep the wings level. My mind needs to change gear for this one. Three 5 minutes flights, lots learnt = 132,00ZAR.