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Muscle Memory

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • While preparing for a CFI checkride and flying from the right seat, a pilot made incorrect control inputs during a landing due to ingrained muscle memory from flying in the left seat.
  • The pilot's attempt to arrest a descent during a gusty landing involved left-seat control actions applied from the right seat, leading to a hard landing.
  • This incident underscores the significant impact of muscle memory and the law of primacy on pilot actions, particularly when operating from an unfamiliar position.
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As my initial CFI checkride approached, I had been spending a lot of time in an airplane’s right seat, unlearning several years of flying from the left one. 

One bright Saturday morning, my flying club was giving demo rides to prospective members, sort of a “you can learn to fly, too” event for professionals. I loaded three of them into a Skyhawk and blasted off for a nearby airport with me in the right seat, a new-member prospect in the left and two more candidates in the back. We flew to the other airport, landed and shut down.

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