Really scared myself today...

[UA-RESURRECTED]

when the stall light came on and I'm about 15' above the runway. I thought for sure I was gonna break something. Luckily, she actually came down pretty gently. Instructor didn't seem too worried. These guys have some balls....

Don't know exactly how I got in that situation. I'd guess that I iniatially applied too much back-pressure in the flare, and momentarily climbed back up a little bit. Then you run out of AS, but with a lot of reamining altitude. Scary stuff. I really hope I can get past this stuff. I have over 20 hours, and I can only hide behind the dumb student-pilot excuse for so long...

 

[91100 100 set]

Everybody has a bad day now and then, don't sweat it. Just learn from it. I remember one day I was up practicing touch and goes by myself as a student and dropped a 152 so hard I swear I saw the entire left wheel in the corner of my eye as the gear flexed up. Better the mains rather than the nose gear though.

 

[Immelman]

Stall horns suck. They lie. They can be installed incorrectly. Can come on too early.. and too late. Concentrate on what queues the airplane is giving you with your instructor when you do stall or min controllable airspeed practice. For MCA, if the stall horn is working correctly, you should find that you can fly around and maneuver with the horn never turning off... its up to you though to recognize by feel the transition to the stall to correct for it. Once you get this and apply it to landings the horn blips won't be too worrysome!

 

[LearLove]

Everybody has a bad day now and then, don't sweat it. Just learn from it. I remember one day I was up practicing touch and goes by myself as a student and dropped a 152 so hard I swear I saw the entire left wheel in the corner of my eye as the gear flexed up. Better the mains rather than the nose gear though.

I did the same thing back in the summer of 93 right before I left for college. Here I was a PVT/INST guy and I thought I was so cool because the FBO where I worked line let me take a 150 over to another local airport to get the radio fixed. On my way back I came in tight in the pattern and abeam the numbers slowed, pulled all the power and droped all 40 degrees of flap so I could point straight down at the runway but I made the mistake of focusing/starring at my touchdown point (instead of transfering my view down the runway cl) and as the runway got bigger in the windshield I flared too high and developed a huge sink rate. I can't remember really hitting hard but I remember the landing gear flexing so much I thought the belly was going to touch (yes 91, I too remember seeing the left wheel out the corner of my eye). Then because they flexed so much it sprung me back up 20ft into the air but by that time I realized my mistake and recovered with alittle power. As I taxied in there was this lady watching with her kid and her eyes were so big fixed on me as I taxied by. We learn from our mistakes and stupitidy.

 

[johnpeace]

Luckily, she actually came down pretty gently. Instructor didn't seem too worried. These guys have some balls....

Sounds like you need to learn more about the stall warning indicator.

Depending on the conditions and the plane, there's not really anything wrong with setting off the stall warning indicator early in the flare. In fact, my softest landings in the 172SP happen when I set off the buzzer early in the flare.

There's a 5-10kt cushion on the stall warning indicator. Being in ground effect provides even more cushion. So, just because the horn is going off or the light is illuminated doesn't mean you're about to come crashing down on the runway.

 

[SIG600]

I have over 20 hours, and I can only hide behind the dumb student-pilot excuse for so long...

Hell... you can hide behind that excuse until you've got about 500-800 hours doing something like frieght, instructing, military, etc...

 

[Thedude]

The bigger question is...Did you learn something and can you now apply it?

 

[fromunda]

Sounds like you need to learn more about the stall warning indicator.

It appears you do to. Not all planes are the same. Don't go telling people that there is a 10 kt buffer between a stall warning and the break.

 

[johnpeace]

It appears you do to. Not all planes are the same. Don't go telling people that there is a 10 kt buffer between a stall warning and the break.

Yeah, thank you. Good point. I certainly should have qualified that as saying 'most airplanes' or some language.

You're right.

His profile indicates a PA28-140...I fly one of those pretty regularly and the stall warning indicator lights up way before the break.

My mistake.

 

[UA-RESURRECTED]

There's a 5-10kt cushion on the stall warning indicator. Being in ground effect provides even more cushion. So, just because the horn is going off or the light is illuminated doesn't mean you're about to come crashing down on the runway.

Yeah I know that they usually give you an early warning, but still, I thought I was really gonna drop it in. Especially when the yoke is almost full back, and there is basically nothing you can do to stop the sink.

 

[UA-RESURRECTED]

The bigger question is...Did you learn something and can you now apply it?

I guess the biggest problem is properly judging height above the ground, and detecting rising/sinking early enough. I've been told that the perfect landing is one smooth motion of the yoke....continually and slowly pulling it back, farther and farther, just enough to keep it flying, until finally the yoke is all the way back and just then it makes contact. I only wish I could make landings like that. Usually I notice that I'm ballooning or something, and then it's like "oh sh*t better let that yoke forward", and so I do. But then it's "oh sh*t, I'm about to land on the nose, so I haul that yoke back hard. More often than not it actually results in a reasonably smooth touchdown. But the whole thing sure feels sloppy.

 

[flint4xx]

Mistakes are inevitable in aviation, especially when one is still learning new things. The trick is to not make the mistake that will kill you.​

— Stephen Coonts​

Keep thy airspeed up, less the earth come from below and smit thee.​

— William Kershner

​

It's a good landing if you can still get the doors open.

— cliché ​

 

[FlyingFisherman]

If you're uncomfortable with the airplane and the stall horn/light on at 15 feet (a pretty good drop for an airplane)....


...

...

Go around. Try again.

 

[FN FAL]

when the stall light came on and I'm about 15' above the runway. I thought for sure I was gonna break something. Luckily, she actually came down pretty gently. Instructor didn't seem too worried. These guys have some balls....

Don't know exactly how I got in that situation. I'd guess that I iniatially applied too much back-pressure in the flare, and momentarily climbed back up a little bit. Then you run out of AS, but with a lot of reamining altitude. Scary stuff. I really hope I can get past this stuff. I have over 20 hours, and I can only hide behind the dumb student-pilot excuse for so long...

after you get your commercial and you get some stick time behind a 182 flying jumpers...you'll have butloads of takeoffs and landings; you'll look back on this situation and go, "shaaaazzzzzzaaaaaam!"

Oooops, gotta go...MSN just told me my rammstein album download is ready!