I’ve finally sussed the taxiing on a DA40 which honestly is a real pain compared to Cessna 172 (and i already can’t taxi that thing properly either)
There was one time on taxiway bravo, a long straight stretch, i was pedalling like a snake. My instructor, absolutely dripping with sarcasm and disbelief at how shockingly crap I was, just goes, “Oh wow.” like I couldn’t even manage to go straight. No joke, dead serious. I brought back the power immediately, and the snaking started to ease up.
Flight 9 was my turning point. I finally understood what my instructor meant about using the rudder, ease off slow, then apply opposite rudder if needed. Before i’d just been yanking it from one side to the other, completely skipping the crucial easing-off step.
As i’m writing this, it got me thinking, if i took 9 flights just to taxi properly, how many more will it take to nail my circuits. But maybe this is how it goes, one shaky skill smoothed out at a time.
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