Money has been pretty short lately, but I finally got around to finishing my checkout in the 172. It just wasn't 'clicking' on how to land at first, but it feels perfect now.
He just wanted to see short and soft field take offs/landings. I did a short field takeoff no sweat, super easy. On climbout, he told me to head north towards Coburg. Turns out, I was going to get to do a soft field landing and takeoff on a REAL soft field!
I flew IFR (I Follow Roads) up the I-5 and made the field from miles away. It's a little grass/dirt runway along the freeway. I flew past at 500 above the TPA to check out the activity/winds. I made a gentle descending 270 and entered on the 45 for 34. It was smooth flying. While the temperature has been almost hitting 100, we were flying in the morning which really makes a difference.
I began a normal descent, calling my legs whenever I turned. I read (and it makes total sense) in 'Say Again, Please' that it's probably more useful to announce your legs while maneuvering because your plane is a lot more visible and the location is easier to find. For instance, I was calling 'Davis traffic, Cessna 1437 foxtrot turning left base for 34, Davis traffic' instead of 'Davis traffic, Cessna 1437 on left base for 34'.
After I turned final, I went from 20 to 30 degrees flaps. I started using the throttle to manage my glide. Right before short final, I went to 40 degrees flaps. Holy crap, those things are barn doors! I've read that Cessna 172s don't go to 40 degrees flaps anymore because of crashes, and I believe it.
With those flaps sticking down that far, the whole plane starts shaking and heaving, and you can hear a 'thrummmmm' sound through the frame that wasn't there before. The plane drops like a rock, and full throttle isn't powerful enough to climb above a couple thousand feet with them engaged.
I pulled the nose back far in the flare and gave it a little gas. My descent just about stopped, and I gently set it down on the mains, giving it a little gas so it came down real soft.
.....onto the packed dirt and gravel runway. The moment I touched down, the plane was filled with noise. We bumped down the runway, the landing gear rumbling because of the uneven surface. Gently, I let the nose gear come down and gently, ever to gently, slowed us to taxi speed.
Never stopping, I made a nice gentle turn onto the grass. I really had to get on the throttle to keep the plane moving through the brush, and I bet I was chopping some of the taller blades as I came about.
I taxied back alongside the runway, bumping up and down like we were four-wheeling it. At the beginning of 34, the owner of the field had graciously mowed a big circle in the grass to make the 180 easier. Giving it gas, I came about again and hit the gas.
I decided to take off on the grass alongside the dirt path, and it was quite a sensation. I kept pulling back that nose, flipping a little wheely until I lifted off. Since I was going too slow to really fly, I pushed the nose down and accelerated into the ground effect. There's no missing the transition from takeoff to flying here, the cabin is instantly quiet when you lift off.
Flying down the runway, I accelerated to 80mph then pulled the nose back and climbed out, keeping an eye on the trees at the end of the field. I'm glad I wasn't taking off overgross on a 100 degree day, that's for sure.
I flew back to Creswell, staying within 50 feet of my intended altitude the whole way. Descended down to the traffic pattern altitude and entered on the 45. I came in to do a short field landing, but I totally botched it because I didn't realize what the instructor wanted. Great landing, just not a SHORT landing (my descent wasn't fast enough). No problem, that's what gort invented touch and goes for, right?
Climbed out, came around again, and did a great one. "Simulated maximum braking" I said, right as the instructor killed my flaps and told me to take off again. We flew the pattern again so he could see just one more soft field landing. I was thinking that actually landing on a dirt/grass field without flipping the plane should have been good enough, but he wanted one more demo. I came in at 40 degrees flaps, the plane shaking like a PETA member at a slaughterhouse and goose the gas on flare. Pulled the nose back and set the plane down on the mains with super smoothness. Being a wag, I said "simulated really soft braking", which got me a raised eyebrow. Being in no hurry to end my flight (or ground loop the plane) I rolled long and taxied back past the skydiving school that operates out of the field. We talked about the emergency go-around I had to do a few days ago when, on short final, I saw a bunch of skydivers start walking across the runway.
I are now checked out on the 172, and in the sacred book of 172 pilots at the FBO. I'm taking a friend flying tomorrow morning, and have launched operation 'Take The Wife Flying'.
