Student Pilot Landing Difficulties...

All pilots (and I mean ALL pilots) have been through this stage in flight training. Landings are not optional, as unfortunate as that might be. So when tasked with performing them at first it's an almighty struggle. Reggie has learned all of the PPL manoeuvres and is now moving onto flying in the traffic pattern - much easier to say than it is to do.
Enjoy the flight!
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LewDix Aviation videos are edited to be as entertaining as possible. This may remove context. Many procedures, situations, explanations and flight phases have been edited out. Do not use for instructional purposes. This video is for entertainment purposes only.
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[@LewDixAviation]

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[@pilotho]

I needed extra hours when I was learning to fly before I could go solo because I struggled to land, 20 years down the road and I still love flying except now with paying passengers . This video really brought back the memories. Big fan of the channel and great to hear a Northern accent.

[@LewDixAviation]

Cheers mate! Landings are so difficult at first. Even when you're more experienced you STILL work on perfecting them. It's a never ending journey haha

[@markmarks]

It's true that everyone goes through this pain, and it's so hard to keep the faith that things will 'click' at some point without feeling like an idiot.

[@txaviationimages]

Can't wait to see where Reggie will end up in a few months, everyone has bad landings at some point. It's the only way to learn, just keep on doing pattern work until its BUTTERRRRRRRR

[@rapinncapin123]

He said "till this day!" 🤣🤣🤣

[@theangrypc4642]

I have never seen prop vortices on a 172. Very cool!

[@grahamrumbelow5778]

Great stuff. Just sent it to my 3 circuit students from yesterday to prove it wasn’t just them. Had each one of those debrief comments.

[@tomaszlink447]

Perfect instructor. You remind me my instructor, who was 60+ and former acrobatic pilot (well he still does it privately). Training looked exactly like this. I remember that all I had to do was to listen to him. I could even land with my eyes closed and only follow the instruction. Bravo!

[@jakehardy5997]

I’m only at around 25/30 landings right now and I would say around 15 it started to click but man those first I’d say 5-10 were really hard to figure out round out and flare. Now that I feel good about that I’ve been really locking down rudder and aileron control to maintain centerline and not get blown by the wind. It’s a struggle but a fun struggle 😅

[@asagraf7276]

Im at 190 hours and starting to switch into the right seat for Commercial (to make the CFI transition easier as well) and it feels like im in Private all over again. While my landings are far from perfect, I underestimated just how much muscle memory and strength my left arm has gotten over the last year or so. Switching sides, I am now having to think about it and manually tell my arm what to do every time, just like when i was in the inital phases of my Provate instruction. What was almost second nature, now needs to be re-taught!

[@mikebarillari2202]

The rare "left rudder". Great stuff, thanks

[@emaneasler]

Love these videos. I’m around 10 hours in and working the pattern right now. These videos help a lot.

[@LewDixAviation]

Glad they help!

[@aerofiles5044]

My solo's in just over a week. Good timing for another little last minute training video!

[@seattleraf]

It took me so long to learn to land but one day … it just clicked! At first it was the slams. Then it was the balloons. Some bounces mixed here and there. And finally the last nemesis was the “a bit too flat” landings. Part of what was mentally blocking me from doing textbook landings is I had it in my head that floating = bad. And that a landing went from approach to flare with flare meaning nose high attitude. It wasn’t until short field landings that it finally clicked that a plane (172 in my case) will inherently have SOME amount of float distance and that’s okay. I learned the amount of float to expect when coming in at 60 knots (and later 65) and combined with learning to nail a landing point within -0/+200 feet … it one day just clicked and ever since then I’ve felt pretty positive about my landings. Short fields allowed me to change part of my mindset to almost eliminate the idea of a flare and to instead think about the transition from approach to round out. Just be level. Bleed airspeed. Don’t let the plane land. Pull back a bit more … still a bit short of the landing point. Pull back a bit more … suddenly without trying you are in the traditional flare / nose high attitude and the stall horn goes off and … tada you touch the ground on the mains first. FWIW I see landings compared to slow flight a lot and I think while that comparison certainly makes sense for the approach on final, during the round out / flare a better comparison imo is the procedure during a power off stall when you’re power idle and trying to hold a specific altitude (to bleed airspeed and induce a stall). The elevator movements and pressure are really similar.

[@joem.7307]

Great video, thanks for sharing the journey buds. I have around 150 landings and I still have “rough” ones. Hang in there bud and just strive to be better each time. “Chair fly” is the best prep in between flights… do EVERYTHING you’ve learned as best you can. Remember the tips from your CFI and when it comes time to fly, you will be better prepared and able to focus on the finer details of each lesson. Good luck brother! 🤜🏼🤛🏼

[@daft990]

Incommented on one of your videos back in October when I started my PPL journey. Just logged my 43rd hour and very close to my checkride. Landings are mostly decent, but today I struggled a bit again, with 3 not so good ones when doing some power off landings. Back at it tomorrow though!

[@LewDixAviation]

@@daft990 keep pushing! 💪🏻 I’m 3.5k hours into flying and I’m STILL working on landings.

[@aliciamacdonald8149]

Two words- sight picture😊 Need that consistent sight picture. Your plane will go where your eyes are looking. Landings were always challenging especially if plane seats were so old they were scooped out and one had to use various types of pillows to see over the cowling. Damn things kept shifting- and, so did my sight picture. Biggest challenge was sight picture. I’ve got landings down now, but, still always learning❤️ great video😳

[@mad85123]

I absolutely love this video!! I’m working on my instrument rating right now (checkride at the end of the month) and I still work on my landings outside of school! I work on not just regular landings and takeoffs but my short and soft fields as well

[@LewDixAviation]

@@mad85123 It’s great to hear that you still practice. Everybody should! I found myself losing proficiency recently so went out to practice. I made a video of it: I Need To Improve My Landings | Let’s Rate Them kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXukhIOqfd6dd7c

[@md4droid]

So happy to see this video today. I think his landings were great, considering the "firehose" of information flowing at him. I'm sure Reggie will catch on very fast, like most of your other students. He has all the tools and knowledge now, he just has to put them together seamlessly. ;) I finally completed my BFR last week, Lewis. I have 3 hours since. Plan to fly the family to the panhandle in a few weeks for the wife's b-day. Our 16 year old has never seen the beach, so... Can't wait for your next video, brother. Bearded_Av8r

[@justinfanter3620]

I Just had the worst day of landings so this video is perfect timing.

[@LewDixAviation]

We’ve all been there man

[@pedrosttau]

Awesome instructor, this is exactly how you coach someone through mistakes.

[@LewDixAviation]

@@pedrosttau thank you!

[@jonb1807]

"Alright mate, it's Lewis - remember those crap landings you did last week?" "Yeah..." "I've put a compilation of 'em on KZbin."

[@PghGameFix]

I was practicing power off 180's today for commercial. Landings are always evolving. He did great for his first landing lesson.

[@kerwinchiszle3945]

GREAT VIDEO!!!!!!

[@LewDixAviation]

Thanks!

[@slipandskid]

This is exactly me on landings 😢. I follow everything until the final turn and then everything goes out of the window.

[@LewDixAviation]

You'll get there!

[@LordKaiserRSC]

Had my pre solo stage check last week, had a similar thing happen to me. Decided to go around 3 times before I got a series of landings on account of being too high on the glide slope. We got the job done though and got kudos on good ADM. Love the content, bro and best of luck to the homie.

[@LewDixAviation]

Go arounds are free if you have the fuel. Sounds like you used them to your advantage!

[@jeffsherman91]

I first learned on a 150’ wide runway, and was often a little sloppy with the centerline. Then we went to a narrow, 50’ wide runway and I understood why it is important. Never got off more than a foot after that. I also had very inconsistent landings for a very long time, until my instructor (third primary one) had me do low passes, and then asked where I was looking. As per everything I'd ever been told or read, I was looking about as far forward as you would driving a car at that speed. Then he asked what I was paying attention to, and I said the runway surface. He told me to look in the same spot, but focus on my peripheral vision instead of right ahead. Bingo. Problem solved. I noticed something very subtle that your student seems to be doing, and probably unconsciously: in I think it was the second landing (I lost count), he tried to get back to the centerline by turning the yoke to the right, but then immediately went back the opposite way. I suspect he might be unconsciously trying to level the wings instead of it being a real crosswind landing (which it was if he keeps getting kicked off to the left) and coming in on the right wheels first. BTW, I think the landing I'm proudest of was when the tower tried to get us in in front of a jet (KVNY 16R) and asked for a straight for the numbers, maximum speed approach. Came in on a very short final at 90 knots, pulled to idle, nose up to drop speed fast, slipped it in, still doing I think about 70 over the numbers, floated way down before a perfect touch down, and exited on the high speed taxiway doing probably 30 or 40 knots and saw the jet land right behind me right as my tail crossed the hold short line. Tower actually complimented me (and while my instructor was with me and talked me through a bit (I'd have slowed down MUCH earlier), he wasn’t doing anything). Sadly, I'd taken a long time, spent way too much money, and ran out of money and have flown only a very few “fun” flights since - and that was 14 years ago.

[@flyhalf2]

So, Bolton Wanderers tee shirt Lew 😀

[@scottlnrd]

😆 And the "stuggle" is OK! Oopsie! The irony is hilarious. Still, nice vid! Great job!

[@LewDixAviation]

@@scottlnrd Oops.. sack the editor

[@richardgreen6857]

It’s one of my favourite things to do; just buzz around the circuit and try a variety of landings. I tend now to keep my circuit tighter to the runway and consequently I’m well above glide path at final (we have PAPI at my home airport), so I use a lot of slip to dump altitude down final…I do this hedging against the day that spinny thing out front stops working…I think I got in the habit from all of those P180s during my CPL instruction.

[@scandinavianaviator8141]

Remember those times beating up the pattern in Fort Pierce doing my PPL 12 years ago haven`t flown for a good 6 years now, so sometime soon, this will be me doing it all over again 😅

[@Vondoodle]

Still on my circuits and normal / crosswind landings - waiting for the lightbulb 💡 moment

[@LewDixAviation]

It’ll come 🙌🏻

[@martxnmusic]

I've had many slam n goes. With practice comes proficiency! Currently working on my IFR.

[@LewDixAviation]

Yes indeed!

[@cronk6879]

Im like 90 percent of the way through CFi and the right seat transition is painfully on all situations. really fun teaching 8s on pylons from the right seat when you were shit from the left, HA

[@tomboalogo]

Hysterical, just last week I was doing my first set of solo takeoffs and landings and had to reject the takeoff clearance for a coyote in the middle of the runway. Afterwards, people were asking me if it was brandishing any ACME products. 😂

[@LewDixAviation]

Haha good decision to delay.. Wile E. isn’t to be messed with!

[@TheBeedeegee]

The roundout didn't really click for me until about 75 landings, I was still landing flat until my last flight....at landing 103 LOL. Shits hard dawg

[@AlexIsModded]

So every pilot I've spoken to has said they let the plane float over the runway at some point during their training, especially if it was a Cessna. I've had bumpy landings, even bounced once, lol. I'm training in a Piper, and the one thing I have not had an issue with yet is bringing the plane down to the runway. Is this a more common issue in Cessnas, or am I just really lucky?

[@LewDixAviation]

@@AlexIsModded The words “Cessna” and “float” were made to go together. Cessnas are better in the harbour than the sky. I’ve found that compared to PA28’s they are so much less stable in manoeuvres and more difficult to land. Their marketing team did a great job brainwashing the public into thinking it’s the superior trainer….. it’s not 😤😂

[@AlexIsModded]

@@LewDixAviation My apologies for the late reply! KZbin doesn't always send me notifications, so I have to check my comments to see if people have replied, lol. Thank you for the info and insight. I do love Cessnas and want to train on them someday in addition to other members of the PA28's, but I'm glad I'm getting the basics on a Warrior versus a Cessna. From what little experience I have, it does feel like a great plane to train on and like one I can responsibly recommend to an aspiring pilot. It's interesting what you say about the harbour, because I so very much want to fly a 207 floatplane someday. For the simple fact that floatplanes are awesome. Cessnas in my opinion look like better transport planes and bush planes than trainers.

[@Fast351]

The biggest thing that helped my landings are two things: 1) A firm landing at stall speed is much safer than a greaser with energy remaining. 2) Round out, fly level in ground effect, and wait for the tail to start dropping before bringing the nose up. That means the plane is out of energy and ready to land. It works different for everyone but those two things made it click for me. And yes, I remember it well. Maybe not fondly 😉

[@markor2476]

Very interesting video in terms of putting myself into your shoes Lew, i.e. to try to teach someone. But I have a question that I don't think is acceptable to ask publicly unfortunately :S

[@CerebralDad]

As a patreon supporter I feel the need to correct you on one thing - I believe the phrase is "Drinking from a fire hose" :D :D cheers!

[@LewDixAviation]

@@CerebralDad I’ve always sucked from the fire hose. I’ve been doing it wrong 🫣

[@CerebralDad]

@@LewDixAviation Whatever floats your 172 😅

[@CerebralDad]

@@LewDixAviation ..."This is great banter!"

[@SaqeebKhan910]

🐐

[@skiandbike131]

Just recently had landings click and this reminded me so much of when I first started! A few things that helped me the most: 1. Using trim correctly on final, this reduces the amount needed to pull back for the round out and flare which Reggie identified here. 2. Using a consistent aiming point for pulling back power and beginning the round out (I struggled a ton with figuring out when to do this) 3. Eyes to the end of the runway 4. Using the heading bug to help fly consistent patterns Honestly your videos and freepilot training helped me a ton to finally get it click, hoping to solo soon!

[@av8or971]

go around currency and proficiency, achieved... who else that that problem on your channel?......lol... Need a MEEP MEEP horn on your plane!!!!

[@jimmydulin928]

A good tailwheel pilot trick for "fighting for the centerline" is to walk the rudder pedals dynamically and proactively (same as riding bike or balancing a broom on our hand) to bracket the centerline between our legs all the way down and on the ground as well. His first landing was good but a bit too much coordinated turns to maintain the centerline. Not as much adverse yaw as most students (good job) but if we want to go straight and not turn why do we want to bank? If we don't want to bank, why do we even use the steering wheel? Muscle memory from auto driving. Have him put his hands in his lap and use rudder only (correct yaw) to direct the nose (between his legs, also between yours, its optical) exactly down the centerline extended. Bracket the target with rudder only. The side slip method of crosswind landing forces, and therefore teaches best, this rudder only alignment. The second landing was left of centerline (very common) because he was using the center of the nose for alignment. If in a DC-3 he would be at a 45 degree crab. Also, we crop dusters know to use rudder only going into the field under the wire so as to not put the down wing (coordinated turn) into the crop and the up wing into the wire. He didn't catch a wing, but staying ahead of the airplane with dynamic proactive rudder to bracket the centerline keeps this common error and the nose going the wrong way initially unless we lead rudder for coordination is much more comfortable. The irritation thing for us old instructors is that students with good control otherwise make this very common error. They, and their instructors I think, fear looking sloppy. Yes a little yaw/yaw bracket and moving the controls a lot seem immature. We learn best using gross movement prior to fine movement or by not worrying about how much. As long as the control (rudder, throttle, or elevator all on the longitudinal axis) movement is dynamic, it doesn't really matter how much. Gross or fine work equally well. Gross is sloppier, but permits fast learning. Fine is not noticeable but the movement is necessary to stay ahead of the airplane. The above will greatly help with the round out and hold off landing technique, the absolutely most difficult landing technique. If we bring the nose up with full flaps about a quarter mile out enough to get a sink, which requires power to arrest and dynamic power to hold the glideslope/rate of descent, and then use the apparent rate of closure with the numbers to further decelerate, we will do what Wolfgang called the "stall-down landing" on page 302 of Stick and Rudder. It is much easier. "The 'stall-down' landing requires that you blend the approach glide, the flare-out, and the slowing up of the airplane all into one maneuver so that, when you arrive at ground level, you arrive in three-point attitude, all slowed up and ready to squat." This is not only easier, but would result in far fewer loss of control accidents. Good job guys, with a difficult approach to landing. There is a better/easier way.

[@SuperTexasBlues]

in my head, i grease it every time... in real life, i'm always thankful to have the wheels touch first... i have maybe 10 landings in total...15 of them sucked i'm hoping this break i was on will help me get my sh*t in one sock... thanks for the BEST vids on the www, Lew!