By Robert N. Rossier, EAA 472091
This piece originally ran in Robert’s Stick and Rudder column in the September 2024 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine.
A long time ago, a friend of mine commented that it didn’t make sense to practice landings a lot.
“After all, some landings are going to be bad, so the more landings you make, the more bad landings you’ll have,” he posited.
Not everyone subscribes to the “limit your landings” theory — myself included. I would suggest that the more we practice, and the more recent our landing experience, the more likely we are to have good results on any particular landing. Just as a marksman will practice shooting to keep his skills sharp, we can entertain a bit of target practice to keep our landing skills sharp, and ensure we land safely and sure-footedly where we intend.
Not every landing is perfect, but there are techniques and strategies that can help us achieve a higher success rate. With that in mind, let’s review a few of the basics.
As we approach the airport, enter the pattern, and make our landing, our workload increases to its maximum. So, our strategy should be to make things more manageable. Keep it simple.
Checklists
Whenever possible, get the prelanding checklist done before entering the pattern. We should also have the aircraft slowed and in a landing configuration (gear down, and at least partial flaps) before making the turn to final. On short final, I like to perform a GUMPS check just to make sure nothing super important was forgotten. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here.
Picking the Target
The general rule is to always land within the first third of the runway, but we may want to home in on our target a bit more, especially if landing on a short runway.
One way to choose and then monitor our touchdown point is to use the runway markings. We can use the 500- and 1,000-foot fixed distance markers if available, but even basic runway markings can help.
Runway centerline stripes are 120 feet long and are separated by an 80-foot gap. From the beginning of one centerline stripe to the next is 200 feet. So, for example, setting our sights on the end of the second stripe puts us a good 400 feet from the beginning of the runway.
Stabilized Approach
Good landings begin with a stabilized approach, properly configured with a constant airspeed and flight path right to the landing flare. We should have a good idea of the pitch and power setting to give us that constant airspeed for our stabilized approach.
Trimming the elevator for our airspeed helps keep it from deviating. Minor changes to power (or pitch if needed) can be used to stay on target.
As we approach on final, we need to maintain situational awareness. That includes checking the runways and taxiways for any signs of a coming incursion either by an airplane, vehicle, or wildlife.
Spot Landing Technique
A good way to monitor our approach and increase our chances of hitting the touchdown target is what is called the spot landing technique. Our target is the point where we begin our flare, with the actual touchdown point some distance farther — perhaps a couple hundred feet — beyond the spot (or aim point).
On final, our aim point should remain at a fixed spot on the windscreen. If it starts to move down, we’re overshooting, so a power reduction is needed. If the aim point begins to move up, we’re undershooting and need to add power.
Crosswind Components and Techniques
If we haven’t already, we should get a good idea of the crosswind and any corrections that may be necessary while on final. Typically, the wind correction lessens as we get closer to the ground, and gusty conditions will require constant heading adjustments to maintain a track down the extended centerline of the runway.
We can fly a crab angle down as far as our comfort level allows and then transition to a slip for the landing. Aligning ourselves over the centerline of the runway is done with ailerons, with the rudder used to keep the nose aligned with the direction of travel.
We should be careful to not overcompensate for wind gusts. The rule of thumb is to normally fly our approach at 1.3 VSO (stall speed in the landing configuration), and to that we add half the gust factor. If the wind for example is 12 gusting 18, we would add 3 knots to our approach speed. Adding more means we will likely float in the flare, extending our landing distance.
One consideration to keep in mind is the demonstrated crosswind capability of the airplane. While not truly a limitation, it’s a good idea to avoid situations where the actual crosswind exceeds the demonstrated crosswind for the airplane, since we may run out of rudder or aileron control otherwise. Especially for a low-wing airplane, landing with a greater crosswind could put us at risk of clipping the wing on the ground, which is a good way to foul up an otherwise good landing.
On final we’re likely too busy to get out a wind components chart to determine the crosswind component, so we can use a conservative estimation. If the wind is within 30 degrees of runway heading, use half the wind speed as the crosswind. If the wind is between 30 and 45 degrees of the runway heading, use three-quarters of the wind speed as crosswind. If the wind is more than 45 degrees from the runway heading, assume it is all crosswind.
Retracting the Flaps
There is considerable debate among pilots, instructors, and the FAA regarding the retraction of flaps after touchdown. At issue is a desire to avoid making a mistake such as retracting the landing gear while on the runway.
The general rule is to not touch anything — including the flap lever — until we exit the runway and come to a stop. However, there may be circumstances when retracting the flaps during the landing roll is advantageous. Getting the weight on the wheels increases the frictional force with the pavement and allows us to get better braking action.
So, if stopping distance is a concern, perhaps we should consider retracting the flaps. In gusty conditions, retracting the flaps may also lessen the chances of being flung back into the air by a gust.
Exiting the Runway
Once clear of the runway (our tail is past the runway holding position markings) we can stop, complete our after-landing checklist, and then switch to ground control if we’re at a towered airport. Either way, we should have an airport diagram handy so we can follow any instructions we receive, or navigate to parking on our own.
Good Reasons to Go Around
There’s no shame in going around. A good pilot stands at the ready to do so when warranted.
Several circumstances indicate that it’s time to make a go-around. First, if a conflict occurs with another aircraft, or a vehicle or wildlife is in the way, it’s time to go around. Any time our approach becomes unstabilized below 500 feet — go around. If we haven’t touched down in the first third of the runway length — go around. If we suffer a high bounce or balloon — go around. If we can’t manage the crosswind — go around.
Not every landing is going to perfect, but if we practice regularly and follow our training, we’ll likely find we’re not only more competent but more confident as well.
Robert N. Rossier, EAA 472091, has been flying for more than 40 years and has worked as a flight instructor, commercial pilot, chief pilot, and FAA flight check airman.