Alchemy
Well-Known Member
I did my first solo in a cessna, took all three checkrides in cessnas, flown nothing but cessnas for 300 hours, and now it's time to learn to fly a multi-engine airplane. It's turning out to be a little bit more tricky than I thought it would.
I think most of my difficulties arise in the transition from a cessna to a piper (high wing to low wing) rather than the transition from single to multi. The piper invovled here is a seneca and I cannot seem to land the thing. I've logged 6.4 hours and 10 landings in it and still can't seem to make a landing without my CFI offering some extra control input on the yoke. I get too slow once I cross the threshold and one wing starts dropping; when I try correct with the ailerons, the other wing just drops instead. Then it goes back and forth like a see-saw for a few seconds till the mains finally plop onto the pavement.
My instructor is telling me that I need to stop trying to "round out" like I'm used to doing in cessnas...."you have to fly this airplane right to the runway" he says. "Maintain 95 knots and 13 inches till the mains touch the ground, then pull back the power". I cannot help but feel like I'm about to plow the nose gear into the ground if I maintain 95 knots and 13" of mp. For that matter, I can't even see the nose of the airplane in the seneca, which takes some getting used to. I've tried to make a conscious effort to keep my speed up and eliminate the "wing dropping" but I can't overcome the urge to pull back on the yoke.
Anyone have advice they can offer to make this transition easier? I cannot really start doing engine out work if I'm unable to land the airplane with everything operating normally. I'm even considering renting a cherokee to get a better feel for piper landings without breaking the bank.
Thanks......
I think most of my difficulties arise in the transition from a cessna to a piper (high wing to low wing) rather than the transition from single to multi. The piper invovled here is a seneca and I cannot seem to land the thing. I've logged 6.4 hours and 10 landings in it and still can't seem to make a landing without my CFI offering some extra control input on the yoke. I get too slow once I cross the threshold and one wing starts dropping; when I try correct with the ailerons, the other wing just drops instead. Then it goes back and forth like a see-saw for a few seconds till the mains finally plop onto the pavement.
My instructor is telling me that I need to stop trying to "round out" like I'm used to doing in cessnas...."you have to fly this airplane right to the runway" he says. "Maintain 95 knots and 13 inches till the mains touch the ground, then pull back the power". I cannot help but feel like I'm about to plow the nose gear into the ground if I maintain 95 knots and 13" of mp. For that matter, I can't even see the nose of the airplane in the seneca, which takes some getting used to. I've tried to make a conscious effort to keep my speed up and eliminate the "wing dropping" but I can't overcome the urge to pull back on the yoke.
Anyone have advice they can offer to make this transition easier? I cannot really start doing engine out work if I'm unable to land the airplane with everything operating normally. I'm even considering renting a cherokee to get a better feel for piper landings without breaking the bank.
Thanks......