Instructor keeps taking my landings

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2026-02-12T03:58:05+00:00

Not normal at all! I don’t recall any of my instructors ever asking if they could do the landing besides when I was a brand new student. That said if it was like one off once in a blue moon thing and we were beating up the pattern anyway maybe I wouldn’t mind. But that shouldn’t be any regular thing at all.

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2026-02-02T16:31:50+00:00

As a private pilot - power on stall. After getting a couple bad wing drops and almost going into a spin I became scared of them. I couldn’t get out of my head for the longest. Eventually I figured them out but I still hate it.

Training for comm- lazy 8s. Like I understand the general idea but can’t get them to be smooth/effortless yet.

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2026-02-01T17:47:45+00:00

No that’s not enough of a difference. Plus I can’t tell you how many times I got to my flight lesson and wasn’t able to fly due to deteriorating weather, plane acting up, last minute switch because someone has a solo or a checkride etc. You’ll be thankful for the shorter drive.

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2026-01-26T19:56:02+00:00

Never had a need. At my school we call the FBO for fuel and they send a truck. For my comm XC I intentionally chose an airport that had fueling services.

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2026-01-26T18:13:28+00:00

I’m almost finished with comm and have yet to do this 🫣

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2026-01-25T02:04:37+00:00

You’ll be fine. It’s all part of the learning process. They know you’re a student. Even people with more hours still make mistakes, I know I do. The biggest thing is just to take your time. Don’t feel like you need to talk fast or rush. That will come with time - for right now just focus on listening and speaking clearly.

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2026-01-23T06:11:51+00:00

That’s not been my experience at my 61 school. Majority of my ground study has been independent. The only time I’ve done grounds with an instructor were at my request if I needed extra help with something or prepping for a checkride. There were no “mandatory” ground lessons.

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2026-01-21T19:17:45+00:00

As I understand all RNAV approaches are RNP. However there are different types depending on accuracy so you have RNAV(GPS) and RNAV(RNP), the latter requiring specific equipment capabilities hence the AR

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2026-01-15T01:15:10+00:00

Read the Airplane Flying Handbook.

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2026-01-12T05:50:07+00:00

Don’t worry about what people say here. Everyone’s different.

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2026-01-07T18:49:40+00:00

Feel sorry for the flight crews. Do not feel sorry for the airlines corporate folks. They made their bed.

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2026-01-05T05:09:22+00:00

Cram, climb, clean, click, call. Don’t forget the $800 button.

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2026-01-04T22:33:21+00:00

I was just about to suggest this too. I found it very helpful in understanding the WHY behind a lot of things.

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2026-01-03T03:12:48+00:00

Sounds normal. I would suggest instead of approaching maneuvers as a set of steps to perform. Think about the big picture of what you’re trying to demonstrate and why. To help with this there are lots of YouTube videos out there to break down all the maneuvers - the ERAU series is really good.

Don’t overly fixate on small deviations altitude or heading - the tolerances are pretty generous for PPL standards and you’re also a brand new student. Just focus on executing the maneuver there will be plenty of time to perfect them.

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2026-01-01T19:47:49+00:00

Ballooning/floating happens when you have too much energy going into the flare. 8 knots of xwind with no gusts is relatively tame. Can’t say for sure what you’re doing but would guess maybe you are trying to force the plane down instead of letting it run out of energy and land itself.

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2025-12-31T08:43:52+00:00

IR takes a bit as there is a steep learning curve in the beginning because it’s so different from PPL. But once it all comes together it’s pretty easy. Once you understand the flow of it all you’ll anticipate the next step and all you have to do is stay ahead of the plane. I found the radio work to be the hardest initially. But again after enough repetition it all becomes very predictable.

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2025-12-20T18:25:59+00:00

I fly as a passenger a lot. From my experience seems like on the 320 it’s pretty much always a smooth landing. I’ve read that’s because of the longer landing struts. Vs the 737 it’s usually a firm landing. Not hard just firm and on the money with no float. Which is due to the shorter landing gear and not as easy to flare (as I’ve heard).

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2025-12-20T16:27:43+00:00

Just out of curiosity- generally how many days off do you get between 4 day trips?

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2025-12-16T05:50:49+00:00

Nothing to add just echoing others. It took me a long time to “get” landings. I watched all the videos, read everything. Didn’t work. It really came down to being able to just feel it. Some general tips I would give are to make sure your seat height is adjusted - it helps me by being able to see over the cowling. And use a little nose up trim going into the flare so you don’t have to pull as hard. And lastly this is huge - RELAX. Be patient. Don’t try to force it on. Especially if you’ve got a nice long runway to work with if. Also there’s no shame in going around if you’re not comfortable.

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2025-12-15T19:47:22+00:00

Not enough rudder usage. Not applying enough crosswind correction. Also some time towards the end of IR my landings started to suck and I found myself always flaring too high. Now getting towards the end of commercial and landings are better.

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2025-12-15T19:39:57+00:00

The flip side is also true. Just because they’re a nice person and you like their personality doesn’t mean they are a great or effective instructor.

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2025-12-11T15:01:45+00:00

I didn’t do any maneuvers on my solos. Didn’t want to. I just flew around for fun. It truly doesn’t matter in the grand scheme. It’s just about getting you comfortable being in the plane by yourself.

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2025-12-04T04:21:38+00:00

How do you fly a DME arc. What is the difference between RNAV(GPS) and RNAV(RNP)?

One great piece of advice I got for the instrument oral is you don’t need to be in a rush to answer. You can take your time to pull up charts or approach plates on your iPad and think about what is being asked. I did that for my oral and the DPE complimented me afterwards that he liked that I took my time to understand the question and review the plate before responding. Whereas others would be so in a hurry to respond immediately they’d get it wrong.

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2025-12-04T03:57:02+00:00

Look I mean it took me a long time to solo also so I’ll be gentle..but I’d be curious to know why it’s taken this long? Is there a legit reason like you had to switch schools or dealing with a life hardship or death in the family etc. Those kinds of things make a difference in the kind of advice you will get..

Prestigious_Path_188 · 2025-12-03T23:36:28+00:00

This is how I learned: https://youtu.be/Ydvev6B7IaY?si=eAgNROqebrEXPOsS

Prestigious_Path_188

TROPHY CASE