have you noticed how even the experts , that can do anything, look weary when landing?
up there, they look confident, but when approaching mother earth, their knees shake and seem so worried. it is the proximity to the ground that makes things more dangerous, as up there in the wide sky you have lots of space to compensate for mistakes. it is indeed the most dangerous moment of the flight. considering that, i decided that it was the thing that i had to practice more. does it make sense? as am now into electrics, it makes easy to launch (or take-off) and land frequently, so i have been doing short flights, with about 30 seconds climb to cruise, then stop the motor, turn and land. dead stick every time. it takes about 1 minute for the whole flight, so with 1 charge am able to do 30 flights-and landings-in 30 minutes. it took me some years to reach 6,000 landings-after that i stopped counting-and that included many catches, too. now that am flying 2 meters sailplanes, and can fly with some wind, things are paying off. most of my landings are smooth and close to me. the only rule i have is that it is better to have a nice landing far away, than a crash nearby. once when i went to the nats at los alamitos nas, i had the chance to watch the guys practicing touch and go's with hellcats and avengers. so many landings in so little time! they gave me the idea. of course, you can do that: instead of landing, just when your plane touches the ground, crack the throttle and away you go! once you get used to it, you develop reflexes and things begin to look easy. you become the plane. it's like learning to walk. you don't need to think how to give each step, right? as some1 said: practice makes perfection. then landing becomes a pleasure, instead of a torture. enjoy!

guys, i have to share this with you:
on thursday afternoon the sky was clear and seemed to be no wind, so got my stock radian (a 2 mt e-sailplane) and ran to the field. there were no clouds, but it was windy. anyway, i launched the radian and realized that up there not only the wind was not as strong, but there was no turbulence at all! and then, in clear air, i got into a thermal! 3 flights and the same. wonderful experience.
next day early in the morning the weather channels showed no wind, so i took 2 of my sailplanes and back to the field. arrived at dawn. this time it was zero wind, and again, no turbulence. all went well. long, wonderful flights, with smooth landings nearby. no thermals from 6 to 8 am, but still the flights were as in a dream.
memories that i will treasure forever!

today i went flying at dawn, as usual, and everything went fine. but i had an unusual experience: on my way out of the field, at the gravel road, i noticed a brown hawk standing on my way. i could see its profile, like in a picture. it didn't move when i approached it, so i stopped. after a minute i started rolling very slowly, but it didn't move. it was until i was at about 10 feet that it decided to fly, but just for about some 15 feet, and that, on the road again. then, when noticed that i still was rolling in the same direction, after a while, decided to fly in another direction and land not too far. i was never so close to a hawk, so i had the chance to watch and admire it. magnificent creatures! it didn't seem hurt or tired. just landed wherever and was not intimidated by the presence of the car.
and i have witnessed this attitude of wildlife here in canada, be in the wilderness or in town, and never cease to impress me. geese, swans, mallard, gulls, whatever: they are not afraid of us. they make the impression that they own the land and know that we are not going to hurt them.
i have many anecdotes related to this attitude that i will start bringing here for whoever wants to read them.
and please feel free to bring yours too.

for those old enough to remember the movie, these words may bring good memories.
this morning i woke up at 6 and look at the window, and seemed as if there was no wind! checked at the weather channels and showed the same, so got my things and rushed to the field. brought with me the radian, a 2 mt electric sailplane foamie that is the fastest gun in the west-i mean, to be in the air in no time. plugged in the quanum, that gives me battery charge available at the plane, and throwed it into the air.
there was some drizzle that kept increasing until my transmitter was collecting too much water, so i had to quit after some 6 or 7 flights that brought the plane to the low gray clouds that were all over.
but it was a pleasant window in the weather that allowed me to enjoy flying.
as the weather has been deteriorating (and still some think that there is no such a thing), the chances to fly are getting less and less every year, so i try to be alert and catch any opportunity to have at least a few flights.
i fly alone (at dawn there are no fellows as enthusiast as me-some say it's madness), and at a field that is isolated, so no 1 sees me (except the birds), but i was having so much fun, that i was laughing at clouds, really.
singing in the rain indeed.