The One Where Everything Starts to Fall into Place
Day Four in the FMT was surprisingly low-key, at least compared to the earlier sessions. We tackled a few new maneuvers—like V2 cuts, no-flaps landings, and a rejected takeoff—but the foundation we built from previous lessons made them feel a lot more manageable. We also revisited V1 cuts, which have become second nature now that we know exactly how to handle each phase of the maneuver. A big part of that success was remembering to keep the runway in sight as long as possible, then shifting attention to the heading bug and maintaining heading after liftoff.
No-flaps landings turned out to be less daunting than I expected. The main trick was timing the flare. Once the flight director is dialed in and everything’s trimmed, it’s mostly about following the guidance, cutting power around 100 feet, and easing the descent rate just enough to avoid a hard touchdown. My biggest challenge was getting the thrust reversers out on rollout. Because I was so focused on the levers with my left hand, my feet started wandering, and I would lost centerline. Next time, I’ll focus on rolling out straight before wrestling with the reversers.
We also practiced max crosswind landings, which really boiled down to “crab it in, then rudder-kick around 20 feet.” Mine was a bit floaty, but with winds gusting over 30 knots, I’ll take it. Then came the V2 cut, which felt easier after conquering V1 cuts. Same story with the rejected takeoff; once I remembered to align the airplane first and stabilize my rudder inputs, I could handle the brakes without swerving.
When we wrapped up, I felt a lot more confident heading into our Maneuvers Validation. We still have two more sessions first, and if they’re anything like our previous training, they’ll be tougher than the actual MV—just to make sure we’re fully prepared. Despite a few hiccups, it feels like everything is truly coming together.
It was also our last session with this particular instructor, who initially felt we weren’t quite meeting his expectations. Over time, we grew to appreciate his teaching style and recognized how much he cares about doing things the right way. In his final debrief, he mentioned he sometimes saw me getting task-saturated—something I’ve noticed myself. I tend to focus intensely on the most pressing task and forget about other details that could matter soon. It’s just the way I learn: once the fundamentals become second nature, I’ll have more mental bandwidth to handle multiple things at once. For now, I’m happy with my progress. I feel like I’m finally getting comfortable with the plane and its systems, and I’m confident that my capacity to multitask will only improve from here.
On a more personal note, I’ve realized this training environment is different from anything I’ve experienced before—particularly when it comes to language and communication styles. I’ve spent years in educational settings where faculty and staff are very aware of how people learn, and I’ve gotten used to that level of accommodation. Here, though, I sometimes struggle to figure out exactly what the instructor or examiner is asking. It’s not that they aren’t trying to be clear; it’s just a different dynamic. I’ve caught myself thinking, “Oh, that’s what he meant,” after hearing how my partner responds. It’s not holding me back, but it’s something I need to work on—being quicker to interpret questions and articulate my answers. I’m hoping that as I become more comfortable with the airplane and reduce my own stress level, the language part will fall more naturally into place.