The author developed a passion for flying from a young age, initially mastering sailplanes whose unique landing technique did not transfer well to power aircraft.
During a night landing practice in a power plane, the author's reliance on a "shortcut" for judging height, using peripheral vision rather than direct assessment, led to a significantly hard and bounced landing on a large runway.
This incident, though only damaging to pride, taught the author that shortcuts in flying and life stem from poor discipline and can precede disaster.
(April 2011) IT WAS NOT A BIG MISTAKE. I ended up with damage only to my pride and my reputation. But, I took a shortcut, and I learned about flying from that.
I grew up on World War I flying books left in my bedroom bookcase by previous generations. I listened to Dad tell of his Stearman lessons from early 1941. I was mad about flying and desperate to get started.
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