Sunday I flew over to Peoria, IL to do a TC inspection for a 7 builder, and I took my buddy Ben (7R builder-rotary) with me. The winds were straight out of the east at about ten, and the only runway at the little airport (as opposed to the big international one there) is north-south. Not a huge deal as I wanted to get some more x-wind practice, and the winds weren't all that strong. We chose RW18, landed without issue other than me carrying a bit too much speed for a downward sloping runway. We departed, again without issue, and headed to Pontiac, IL to drop Ben off at home, again winds were 090 at 9G16. Pretty good landing considering I did encounter some sheer with the loss of about 8 knots in the flare, resulting in a firm, but decent arrival.
So where is this story going? Well after dropping Ben off, I head back to Bloomington, solo, and as I approach the airport, ATIS says 010 at 10kts. Perfect, runway 11 makes for a wind-right-down-the-runway landing. Well, I had been so concentrated on landing in the crosswinds earlier, that I let my guard down one notch, and bounced the landing at home!! TWICE!! In front of the restaurant!!
Not a huge deal, but I tell ya what...as much fun as flying taildraggers is, EVERY landing requires attention.
All in all, a great day of flying, and every landing teaches me something to use next time, and this was no exception. Thought I'd share a silly slip that ended with a minor ego blow. That's a good thing...
These things are so much fun!!!
