Blind Flying- Traps for Old timers.

[fodrv7]

My first flight landing in my RV-7 was a bounce. Ah, Well! It flys beautifully, even if I didn?t grease it on.
Second was the same!
And the third.
I just couldn't judge the last few feet.
I could not work it out. I had mastered my mates RV-8 through greasy wheelers and three pointers in any condition. What was I doing wrong.
Yesterday I flew to my gliding club, 30 mins away (Flight testing requirement) an went for an hours soaring in the Libelle. Gorgeous aircraft. Lovely to fly.
Well I bounced it! Four feet! Got the airbrakes retracted in a flash to conserve the remaining energy, but with that rapidly disappearing, the second arrival wasn't very pretty either.
After 39 years of fair average landings this was a bad run.
Arriving back home an hour later I was determine to nail a greaser. Speed was right on, good approach angle. This had to work.
As I went into the flare I noticed my self tilting my head back as the visibility over the nose is marginal in the three point attitude in an RV-7- certainly much poorer than the -8.
The I saw it.
Everything went blurry???????????????.
I was now looking through the reading section at the bottom of my new sunglasses. All the ground texture was gone and it was impossible to judge the height accurately.
It was a greaser, at last, but not because I could see to judge it.
We never stop learning.
Pete.

[jcoloccia]

Lol...had a similar experience the first time I lost a contact lense in flight. I normally don't pay too much attention to the VASI other than a quick glance, but that time I did

And of course, congrats on the first flight!

[robertahegy]

When I first started wearing glasses (I suddenly needed bi-focals for reading) I had trouble landing the first few times. I think the difference in heights of planes and changes in vision sometimes throw us off for a while. Congrats on the flight and the best for the rest.

Roberta