Bouncing the 172 back into currency

Plane: Cessna 172
Route: 40I, Local 
Weather: Few clouds, 83 degrees, wind 200 degrees at 7 knots

When you haven't flown in months, a bit of rust is to be expected. This year has been even worse than normal on my logbook; those of you who still visit this blog and its resident cobwebs undoubtedly realize that! So it came as no surprise that I needed more than a few laps around the pattern to get my sight picture back into a semblance of shape.

It had been about five months since I last flew the 172. That sort of gap meant Tommy went up with me for the first two takeoffs and landings. The initial plan was one lap but he decided to make it two after my first landing, if that's any indication of the oxidation.

Much-needed circles around the familiar grass strip

Basically, as best as I can determine, my eyeballs needed a serious recalibration after spending so little time in the left seat. On the first landing I flared a good foot or two too high, brought the yoke back just as one should, and... bam! Thanks again for the hardy landing gear, Clyde. The second was far from perfect but Tommy seemed satisfied I wouldn't break the airplane, so he hopped out and I continued going in circles for about another hour.

Somewhere along the way everything came back together; I even greased a couple landings. My general smoothness and flow in flight and in moving through the pattern to landing weren't up to the usual standards - that sort of thing definitely comes with frequent flying - but all were safe.

I decided to make the final landing of the power-off variety and proceeded to essentially repeat my first of the afternoon. Tommy had just landed with a student in the Cub and was treated to a nice view. Of course. Not satisfied to end on that note, I went around one last time and managed a much better power-off approach and landing. Didn't grease it, but at least it didn't feel rusty.

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 1.6 hours
Total Time: 351.5 hours