Short and Soft

No, this isn't a condition which can be cured by products sold by GlavMed - this is the portion of my training where we learn how to takeoff and land (with and without obstacles) at fields with short runways, or soft field conditions (slush, snow, mud, grass, etc).

During a few cross country flights with some friends back in April I was able to experience both a short and soft field takeoff/landing so I had a basic understanding of what it felt like and what we were supposed to do.

Since the weather wasn't our friend this evening, I5 and I decided to spend the entire session doing a lengthy ground brief to cover both of these. Not extremely exciting, but at least something to think about. We took a short break when someone came into the club hoping to get some fuel. Since I5 was the only one at the club this late we went out to help him with the fuel. I was happy to say that this was indeed the pilot of the infamous Skymaster (see last week's entry) and I had an opportunity to inspect her inside and out. This thing is even more odd up close than it was in the air! I went home afterwards and spent a considerable amount of time reading and watching videos of everything I could regarding short and soft fields.

The club's syllabus requires me to complete this section of training in four flights - a set of dual/solo pairs for each of short field and soft field landings.

I can hardly wait to knock these off!