Tower Work

I am fulfilling the last of the required elements to be eligible to take my checkride. Last Sunday morning, I clicked off another of those steps...3 solo landings at a field with an operating tower. I flew from KFES to Scott AFB/MidAmerica Airport . It was 33 nm, so a short flight and the temperature was only in the 80's, the first non miserable flight in a while. The humidity was also down, so it was a beautiful morning for flying. A lot of things went well, I was able to hold altitude very well and that had been a problem on my long cross country. I have also just started to get a feel for coordinated flight. For the first time, I could feel that the airplane wasn't coordinated...I looked down at the ball, which confirmed my sensation and I corrected it. Another couple of things went well too, I am very comfortable triangulating off of VOR's and used them to confirm my pilotage navigation. I have also been using a new E6-B app on Sue's iTouch, which is really cool. I used it to calculate the WCA, so another confidence booster there. Finally, I instinctively used the ATIS and adjusted the barometric pressure on the altimeter without even hardly thinking about it...so a lot of things are starting to come together. The downside, right now, is that I am still in my landing slump. I am flairing at not the exact right time and I am constantly fearful of losing too much airspeed on short final and stalling/spinning in. Probably just a fear and not reality as I have never heard as much as the first hint of the stall horn, but after my early flare in Rolla, I have been over thinking my landings. Landing at long, wide runways has been especially troublesome. It changes my whole perspective....I am used to the more difficult 2200'x49' runway at Festus, so the big runways are really alien to me. Also, although I managed, talking to the tower was a bit awkward, but overall I felt good about it and not too intimidated by it. As far as my landings are concerned...this coming weekend, I am just going to take the plane out in some good weather and just keep doing them until I get my touch back hopefully....might also fly down to Perryville and try a big runway again too.
Later on Sunday, I did some hood work, which I am actually pretty comfortable with...probably because of being short, I tend to be locked onto the instruments anyway...so flying 'blind' is nothing new! Still working and struggling with seeing out of the plane and working with cushions to get things just right....really a difficult challenge in this whole climb. I wish I had access to a piper cherokee, but I don't, so I struggle with these Cessnas which are just made for taller people frankly. But, enough venting on that, things are moving forward still somehow and I have made a little more progress on this last stage...I know I need 8 more night landings, 2 more hours of hood work, then 3 hours of practical test prep...those are the legal requirements anyway that are ahead of me. The mantra right now: Keep Climbing!