Monday, June 1, 2009

RG Really Groovy!

So, I've mastered, enough for a sign off, my Club's Cessna Cardinal retractable gear airplane! Yay!!

I'd always been a bit apprehensive about RG flying, one more thing to go wrong and what about gear-up landings. And while the first point is still true:
  1. The SCREAMING (relatively speaking for GA!) speed one gets with the gear up ROCKS!
  2. I learned from my instructor and verified that MORE people walk away from RG/gear up landings than from other fixed gear bad landings, because the gear is not there to pitch the plane over on the nose, etc.
  3. I know how to control the gear failure by manual pumping and by gear-out landing techniques. Once I realized I could see somewhat out the window whilst pumping the gear down by hand AND that I could look at the turn coordinator and use that data to keep the wings level and the heading centered, I was SUPER HAPPY!
Now, on to more steps towards the Commercial Rating! Doing it with Robin this time, fun to pursue a rating with someone who's already a flying partner!

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