“The Guide says there is an art to flying", said Ford, "or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”
--Douglas Adams
Last week Shane and I hit the flying pretty hard. We went up three times. At this point in the game I think my biggest roadblock is myself. I will have a great take-off, nail the pattern work, and have a great landing. I'm on top of the world and then the next time around I'll make a small mistake that mentally blocks me for the rest of the lesson. It is so frustrating and deeply maddening to me but what a rush when it goes flawlessly. The rush is indescribable and it is what propels me to keep working towards solo.
The last three lessons have revealed quite a few things to me. The first lesson learned is that safe and perfect don't have to be the same thing. I've come to learn that not every landing in this stage of the game is going to be perfect, but a consistent safe ones can be a victory. My desire for perfection in flying has clouded the view of my progress, no pun intended. My goal is to try to enjoy the small victories even if a small imperfection is present.
The other thing I learned is that I favor flying and landing on three four as opposed to one six. Flying the pattern around three four comes easier for me. I think this maybe due to the fact that the landmarks and pattern work associated with three four are more memorable for me. I also prefer landing on three four, but Shane says that is natural because three four is nice and flat. One six drops seven feet over the first one thousand feet which is probably why I struggle with my landings on it. I'll keep on working towards conquering one six, even though I've been telling Shane that I'm only going to fly when I can use three four. I do plan to solo at some point but only if I can land on three four! I should be able to stack my odds toward perfection right? LOL!
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