Same old pattern....

I now have about 7.5 hours of solo time in the traffic pattern at KGAI. I typically have 3 out of four landings that are good, with one out of four having something just a little off, e.g., being a little off the centerline, landing a little long, etc. I'm starting to wonder if these will get any better, and if there's any point to me continuing to spend money running around the pattern. Today was beautiful, calm winds, clear sky, late in the day, but even the beauty of the landscape around KGAI is starting to lose some of its luster. My eyes kept wandering to the hills to the north, and I'm yearning to go fly around.

I've got time scheduled with my instructor later this week. My luck with weather, plane, and schedules has been good lately, starting to make up for the first six months of my training. If it holds through Thursday, I'll be out of the pattern with John and maybe I'll get cut loose to go to the practice area all on my lonesome. Fingers crossed to that!

One thing I could work on-- I am not focusing on the runway length markers as I'm on final, so the only information I end up having about how long I land is where I turn off onto the taxiway. Maybe if I end up in the pattern again, I'll take a look for the distance markers and try to start including that in my land/go-around analysis. With a 4000' runway, it's generally not a concern at KGAI, but once I get cut loose I'll need to start paying attention.