Maintaining currency...in general

Because it’s fun :) provided you have altitude.

I’ve always found the feeling of an impending stall rather unsettling, but maybe I’m just faint hearted.

I do of course, despite my above post, recognize the safety value of being trained in how to deal with stall, should it occur.

MedEwok wrote:

Why people see any benefit in slow flight/stall practice I don’t know, I rather do stall prevention by never flying slow…

Actually 10min of slow flying just 5kts above the stall with minor wiggling of ailerons/rudder/power at 3000ft is equivalent to 600 landings

RobertL18C wrote:

The PC12 party trick at Nice LFMN was to land on 22R and exit on H1

I had my best one on a Mooney somewhere else but ATC throw all of it to the bin “that taxiway is closed have you looked at the Notams?”

Ibra wrote:

Actually 10min of slow flying just 5kts above the stall with minor wiggling of ailerons/rudder/power at 3000ft is equivalent to 600 landings.

Interesting. I will try this next time I fly without passengers. Can I also write down “600 landings” in the logbook entry ?

MedEwok wrote:

Can I also write down “600 landings” in the logbook entry ?

Your pilot logbook not the PA28 trainer aircraft logbook?

MedEwok wrote:

Why people see any benefit in slow flight/stall practice I don’t know, I rather do stall prevention by never flying slow

I continue to be amazed at the number of pilots who shy away from slow flight. I agree that in most flying, it is a little demanded skill. But, as Ibra says, it will be of great value for skills landing, and for soft field takeoffs too. I was overseeing a test pilot who was evaluating a modified Cessna Skymaster. Flying slow flight was a requirmeent to assure that the plane met the requirements. He could not control the plane precisely enough to prevent it entering a spin. I gave it a try, and had no problem flying coordinated turns at that same slow speed.

As for too many circuits, yes, it is possible. I was training a new pilot in his Lake Amphibian. Before going to the water, I insisted on a few runway landings – they were terrible! So I said let’s fly some more runway before we go to the water. The tower gave us the parallel runway to ourselves (I think they knew this pilot already, and this would be the entertainment for the morning) When we finally taxied in (and I was still not happy with his skills, we just needed fuel), the tower called me, and asked: “Do you know how many circuits you just flew?”. “Uh, no…”. “32.”. By the end of the next day, airwork, and 34 more circuits, he still did not have the touch, and I would not take him to the water. I have not returned to train him more, though I had left him with some suggestions for skills development. And those weren’t different takeoff and landing skills, and crosswinds, that was just getting down on the centerline without going bang. He should not have had a PPL yet.

I was later told by an instructor mentor, and agree, that more than 10 circuits per session is excessive, as the learning has plateaued for that period.

Every time I practice landings, without exception that I can recall, the first one is the best and they go downhill from there.

Pilot_DAR wrote:

I was later told by an instructor mentor, and agree, that more than 10 circuits per session is excessive, as the learning has plateaued for that period.

When I had may tailwheel rating, 5 hours required, 3.5 of those consisted entirely of touch and goes. In the same evening I did 49 touch and goes on two sorties. One of 1.5 hour and one of 2 hours A short coffee brake and refueling in between. Many touch and go with cut, so two landings on each circuit. Actually it was stop and goes, because the instructor meant a tailwheel aircraft must be under full control all the way down to full stop. When finished I felt like I had flown tailwheel aircraft my entire life

LeSving wrote:

In the same evening I did 49 touch and goes on two sorties. One of 1.5 hour and one of 2 hours A short coffee brake and refueling in between.

Perfect!

I understand that if you as the pilot can learn and absorb practice for that long, that is great. From the instructor side, I’m supposed to watch, to see if my student is glazing over after ten, ‘cause that may be their learning plateau limit. When I trained one of my students (and Air Canada ATPL0 on his tailwheel, we had a day of perfect conditions on the grass crosswind runway. Wind right down the runway in the morning, swinging around to a gentle crosswind in the afternoon. I had other work, and test flying to do that day at that airport, so I sent him solo, and said fly as many circuits as you can today, I’ll be close by. I remember seeing him stop to refuel, I think he told me he flew sixty some. After that, the tailwheel skills were stuck in him!

Pilot_DAR wrote:

fly as many circuits as you can today, I’ll be close by. I remember seeing him stop to refuel, I think he told me he flew sixty some. After that, the tailwheel skills were stuck in him!

Doing that many landings in a row for me would test primarily whether I could fly when tired, which is a separate issue versus tail wheel skills. I was glad to learn to fly in a tail wheel plane, so that every landing over a long calendar period was additional practice.

I wish anyway that the 20,000+ hr buyer of that plane had built up enough landings to become competent before I met him – somehow I managed to learn to fly in it without issue (and fly it for years afterward) but he wrecked it in 3 days.