View from 2 Feet

On a 400-mile flight, the last two feet can make a huge difference, in my view

Early on a beautiful February morning, I departed on a 370 nm flight from Orlando to Atlanta in a VFR Citabria. Winds aloft were light and the air was smooth, but the tranquility was battered at my mid-flight fuel stop.

As I rounded out to settle into the three-point sweet spot for landing, the aircraft unexpectedly bounced. I reined it in, a bit flustered by the momentary loss of control, and taxied to the ramp.

Later, when landing at my destination, the approach was only slightly complicated by a mild crosswind. Again, as I started to settle into the three-point attitude, the airplane took an unexpected hop. Because I was a bit tired after four hours of hand-flying, I wasn’t so quic...