What? I only have two landing gear?

Yeah, I thought the same thing; missing wheel on a plane.  This, however, isn't about an incident.  I read CFI's explanation of how the landing process in a tricycle-geared plane works.  It was meant for pre-solo students, but it was the best explanation I'd ever read and it all clicked when it stated "You really only have two landing gear; the front wheel is only there to keep the propeller from hitting the ground."

I grinned at reading this.  It was a good way to encourage proper landing technique and I'm sure trainees reading this won't ever forget that saying when they set up to land.  I was instructed in a slightly different manner.  My first ever CFI, Eric, told me that you landed on the two mains and not the front because the front was weaker and would break off.  Talk about scaring a new-comer to landing planes.  I tried my best every time to keep the front wheel off the ground thinking any little mistake during landing would rip it off and send me nose-first into the runway.

Of course, I soon got over this and realized that the front gear wasn't as fragile as I'd thought.  This revelation came to me as I waited in the hangar one day for the plane to return for our lesson.  I was about 10 minutes early, so I watched the end of the previous student's lesson.  He was doing fine; nice takeoff, tight pattern, then... a not-so-smooth landing.  The little plane didn't flare at all; it just descended right onto the runway on all three gear then bounced into the air and repeated it's previous 'wollop' onto the ground.  It did this three times before, I assume, the instructor grabbed the controls and they went around.

Now, I'm not judging anyone else's landings.  I've had my share of bad ones -- though I've never porpoised quite like that -- and I'm sure they've looked just as bad.  My point is, I'd never seen a rough landing from outside the plane before.  I realized, watching this and talking to the instructor afterwards, that these little trainers are made out of some tough stuff.  My occasional vibrating front gear as I set it down too early was nothing compared to the hard landings it's suffered.

That doesn't mean I can go and land flat every time, but it does give me confidence that, if I mess up, I don't have to worry about nose-diving into the runway.