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About half way through my primary flight training I forgot, or more importantly, seemed desperate to demonstrate to my flight instructor that I'd failed to learn what was taught to me about landing an airplane.

Flaring too high, front wheel first, porpoise, bounces - you name it. I excelled in bad landings. I'm sure even the seasoned controllers at KEVV can attest. "Uh, Cessna 737GC do you need any assistance...?" I would routinely hear over the radio.

Maintenance would routinely check old GC for wrinkles in the skin about the firewall (as would I on pre-flight).

Then one afternoon I flew with a lady flight instructor (whose name rhymes with Patty Cox) who listened patiently to my lamentations and she said "let's go fly." We did. All pattern work but with the proviso, "get as low as you can, over fly the runway down the center line but DO NOT let the wheels touch the ground. Note your power setting, airspeed and the (wait for it...) sight picture."

After some 10 or so low passes, I heard "pull the power to idle and pull up slowly as you do." I did it! The rare greaser. Near zero sink rate - just above stall speed. Fabled and celebrated throughout the land. The Holy Grail of aviation.

The next attempt was of course a dud. Pranged it in but good. Beginner's luck. But I had it - the makings of "the sight picture." I never looked back. I had it. The sight picture.

Fast forward about a 1,000 hours and the same holds true to transitioning to a twin. A lot faster; more complicated certainly, but the fundamentals are the same. (Author's note - not really, a twin you literally fly into the ground. But, the mechanics of developing the sight picture you want at touchdown are the same.)

And wait until you attempt your first wheel landings in a tail dragger! Your initial sight picture comes with thoughts of broken wood, bent airplane parts and telephone calls with FSDO representatives. It does take some getting used to. Go try it. I recommend a Citabria. You'll see what I mean.

So why the treatise on landings? I was recently a (rare for me) non speaking member of a conversation between two student pilots discussing landing technique. I promised them I'd post here.

Epilogue - during a lunch meal with a group of pilots who collectively have (seemingly) about a million hours I was told I was doing it wrong. I look to the side of the fuselage to gauge my sink rate and distance from the surface instead of down the runway over the cowling. Day or night. Who knew?

Fly safe.

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