Around We Go

Not too long ago, I took a couple of friends for lunch in the San Juan islands - specifically to picturesque Friday Harbor. That town is one of my favorite destinations in the islands because the airport is just a short walk away from waterfront restaurants, shops, the marina, etc. The 3,400 x 75 foot paved runway is more than adequate for safe operations in most piston singles, but, as always, you have to be careful and prepared for immediate corrective action should things not quite go as planned.

And that day things did not quite go as planned on landing. I like to say that I usually make excellent landings, and that doesn't just mean that the pilots and plane both walk away. :-) (During my commercial ticket practice, I learned to put a Piper Arrow exactly on a given spot with very little float). But then again, it's been a while since I've done that, and that day I was flying in a Cessna 172, not an Arrow.

To add to the situation, usually I operate into runways with an ILS, and that means a wide, long runway, and a somewhat shallow descent gradient on a long final. Of course, Friday Harbor has no ILS, and the noise abatement procedure for runway 16 calls for being at or above the PAPI for as long as possible. This for me usually means a steeper approach. And, the 172 doesn't like to lose that much altitude in a hurry (unlike the Arrow, which tends to sink with no power and a dirty configuration). So, there I was, on short final, with a bit of extra airspeed; I think I even ended up doing a slip to lose some altitude.

What was the result? Well, it's been said that a Cessna 172 will quickly put a pilot in his/her place if not flown properly. Too slow? It may stall on arrival. Too fast? It will float. Or, it will result in a bounced landing. Guess which one happened... That's right, the 172 put me exactly where I belonged: in a place for more landing practice. We greeted Friday Harbor with a bounce. Not just one, but two, and the airplane wasn't quite slowing down. What to do now? With two first time passengers?

Instantly the NTSB articles reports bent firewalls, broken landing gear, etc. came to mind, together with the knowledge that recovering from a bounce usually makes the problem worse because you're always behind the airplane. So, in an instant, it was full power, flaps 20, and the words "we're going around" were transmitted on the CTAF.

The next landing was a greaser now that I paid a bit more attention to the airspeed and the flying characteristics. When we landed, I felt really bad about the landing, and I even said so to my friends (this was quite possibly the worst arrival I've made in the entire time I was flying). I kind of expected nods and them being scared. But I didn't get that. Instead, I got complimented on good and quick decision making to prevent the situation from getting worse. (Either that, or my friends were too nice, but at the end of the flight, they wanted to go up again.) :-)

So, the lesson here is the same lesson that we've been taught many times: when something is not going right, don't try to fix it. Go around!!!! You can always try again, and you'll have lower chances of becoming a statistic for the National Transportation Safety Board. And practice, practice, practice. The next day I took a 172 for some touch and goes, and I ended up having a bit of unintended crosswind at the same time. It was good practice, and it helped me regain the confidence level I used to have with the 172 when I flew that type more often.