12/08 - Striving Towards Perfect Landings

12/08 - Striving Towards Perfect Landings

By Steve Krog

All good pilots strive towards perfect landings. However, concluding an otherwise great sunrise or sunset flight with a perfect landing can be the most difficult part of the flight. Why do we, who fly, so heavily stress the art and science of good landings during flight training? Statistics tell us that over 35 percent of all aircraft mishaps occur during the landing portion of flight!

Flying, along with being one of the most challenging yet pleasurable activities you may ever take up, is a life-long pursuit of learning. A good pilot will readily admit they are always learning something new to help them become a better pilot. Good pilots strive toward making perfect landings every time. They’re never satisfied with just “good enough.”

The study of making a perfect landing is a little like solving a long algebra equation. If all components of the equation for landing are correct, then the landing will probably be very good. Note, I said probably. Unlike algebra, landings are also the result of pilot’s ability to manipulate a moving machine.

A perfect landing is the end result of applying all proper component parts. Let’s take a look at some of the parts influencing our landings.

Entering and Flying the Traffic Pattern

Beginning with your third or fourth flight lesson, your flight instructor will have you fly the entry into the traffic pattern. You’ve observed the instructor during this phase of previous flights as well as listened to the explanation, and it seemed to be a smooth fluid procedure. It didn’t seem difficult.

Now, it’s your turn to be the sole manipulator of the controls as your instructor observes and coaches you through the entry. Suddenly it seems like there are ten things happening at once and you only have time to adjust for five of them! Don’t get flustered. Just take a deep breath and, most importantly, keep flying the airplane. When you’ve flown the pattern three or four times, the entry will become more natural.

Have a Plan

The first thing to do when preparing for the traffic pattern entry is have a plan in mind. When your instructor says, “take me back to the airport and enter downwind for runway 29,” think about where you are at relative to the airport, check your altitude determining what you need to do to get to the traffic pattern altitude, and consider your airspeed. You don’t want to enter the traffic pattern at the speed of sound. Begin slowing the airplane while descending to pattern altitude. Determine how you want to most safely and correctly enter the traffic pattern. While making your descent and turns to do so, check and complete your pre-landing checklist.

It is vitally important, as you make your downwind entry to the pattern, that you keep your downwind leg consistent. You don’t want to be too high or low, nor do you want to be too fast. The horizontal distance between you and the runway should be same every time. If you have a problem judging this distance consistently, have your instructor place a piece of blue masking tape on the leading edge of the wing for a low-wing airplane, or on the strut for a high wing airplane. Then, place the tape on the centerline of the runway each time you are flying the downwind leg.

Make your application of carburetor heat, your initial power reduction, and adjust the trim at the same point of the downwind leg each time. I like to use the mid-point of the runway for carb heat application, the end of the runway for initial power reduction, and trim adjustment just after power reduction.

Flying the Approach

When making your turn to base leg, make it at the same point each time, at an approximate 45-degree angle from the end of the runway, unless you are dealing with either a strong tail or head wind. For our example we’ll assume the wind is light and variable.

Once established on base leg, look for traffic! You may have someone in a big hurry making a straight in approach. With the area cleared of traffic, glance at your altimeter. At mid-point of the base leg you should be indicating about 500 feet above the ground. Plan and make your turn onto the final approach, keeping the nose attitude steady to maintain the desired constant approach speed.

Plan and make your turn to final so that you are aligned with the centerline of the runway. A good pilot (and student pilot) will accept nothing less.

Pick a touchdown point on the runway. Many Light Sport Airplanes (LSA) recommend an approach speed of 60-70 MPH. Using these speeds for our example, select a touchdown point about two centerline stripes beyond the runway numbers.

The painted runway numbers can be used to help guide your descent. While on final, look at the runway numbers. If they appear to move toward and below you, you’re approach is too high. If the numbers are moving up and away from you, you’re approach is low and you’ll land well short of the desired touchdown point. Finding yourself in either of these situations requires either adding or reducing power. Fix the situation immediately so that only small power changes are required.

Landing

Get your mind in the landing mode. Visualize the final approach and think ahead of the airplane. Is the airplane aligned with the centerline? If not, make it go there. The airplane requires your input. It will not perform a perfect centerline landing without your help!

If your approach necessitates some power, remember, the ideal power approach requires power to be slowly and steadily reduced through the entire approach as speed is reduced and a constant descent is maintained.

Upon reaching the runway we have a number of things to do—most of them simultaneously—if we are to make a perfect landing. First, reduce power to idle. If we continue to carry power, even slightly, our landing will require significantly more runway and as we float further down the runway as a result, the “urge” to make something happen overtakes us causing either a ‘porpoise’ or ‘bounced’ landing.

Level the airplane at approximately 10-15 feet above the runway surface. Be firm but not overly aggressive. I find that many students are initially too timid and only slow the descent rather than arresting it. Only slowing the descent allows the airplane to touch down faster than desired and we know from reading the last newsletter that this causes the ‘bounce, bounce, bounce’ landing.

Once leveled at 10-15 feet, transition your eyes from looking over the nose and look to either the left or right focusing on the edge of the runway. On a standard 60-75 foot wide runway, look forward of the airplane about two runway lights. Continue looking that far ahead as the airplane slows and begins to settle.

Your peripheral vision detects the loss of altitude while your forward vision tells you if the airplane is remaining straight on the centerline. As the airplane settles, begin applying back pressure for the flare. Thinking ahead of the airplane, remember this: hold the airplane off the runway, don’t try to force it onto the runway. Sometimes it helps to count: one-one thousand, two-one thousand, and three-one thousand. If you have continued applying steadily increasing back pressure, the airplane’s main gear wheels will lightly touch the runway at about four-one thousand. But hold on here, we have a long way to go yet to finish the perfect landing.

Continue flying the airplane! As the main gear wheels smoothly contacted the runway (on a tricycle gear), continue applying back pressure holding the nose wheel off the runway. Allow the wings to act as your speed brake rapidly slowing the airplane. In a perfect landing with light and variable winds, the nose wheel will contact the runway just as the control yoke has reached full extension. Then, and only then, relax the back pressure you are maintaining and apply light brake pressure if needed. Eye transition from the runway edge to straight forward can now be made.

If you’re flying a tail wheel airplane, the procedure is virtually the same except that all three wheels will contact the runway simultaneously. Upon contact, continue applying steady back pressure until the control stick has reached the stop. Continue holding the stick in this position. Remember, in a tail wheel airplane directional control is maintained via the steerable tail wheel. Keep the back pressure applied forcing a positive load on the tail wheel for maximum steering response. Your eyes should continue to be focused forward on the edge of the runway throughout the entire flare, landing, and rollout.

In summary, a perfect landing begins long before our wheels contact the pavement. Rather, it begins even prior to entering the traffic pattern. Consistency is key. Consistent:

Altitude

Horizontal separation from the runway

Application of carb heat

Reduction of power

Trim application

Turn from downwind to base

Looking for traffic

Altitude while on base

Speed while on base

Turn to final

Approach speed

Descent

Level off

Eye transition

Flare

Touch down

Follow through

A good pilot will not make perfect landings every time, but a good pilot is always learning and striving toward that perfect landing.

I hope these tips will help you, the student pilot, make better landings as you strive for consistent perfect landings. If you have problems with landings, or if you have tips for helping your fellow student pilots, I’d like to hear from you.

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