DAVE MATHENY
BETTER PILOT / LIGHT FLIGHT
The Great Gate in the Sky
The doorway to easier landings
WE’VE ALL HEARD THAT lame old saying about how any landing you
walk away from is a good landing. Not true. Bad ones are embarrassing and expensive, even if you walk away from them, and you
can walk away from some pretty bad landings. Good ones are
always the goal.
I often think of a friend, call him Ted, who used to make some
landings in the “At least he was able to walk away from it” category.
He could often be found in the hangar, surrounded by bright lights
and tools, fabric peeled back from his fuse-
lage. “You won’t believe how much they get
for one of these now,” he would say, holding
up a replacement part.
GETTING TO THE GATE
Good landings are the product of both planning and art.
