Tips, how to make smooth landings

[midwestpa24]

I would say a lot of pilots early on just freeze in the flare, but most trainers manage to land themselves most times and the pilot gets away with it. I swear when I was a student it would almost seem like I blacked out in the flare with no memory of how I got the plane down, it just did it. It took many hours and landings before I really felt like I was actually landing the airplane.

I will echo the technique of having a student fly down the runway without touching down. It is especially helpful to demonstrate the use of crosswind controls and what you are actually doing. I will have the students fly from edge to edge of our 150 foot wide runway using just aileron while keeping the nose aligned with the runway.

Another thing I say to try to help students learn to land, is imagine you are playing a game where the airplane wants to land, but you don't want it to. You try to hold the plane a foot or two off, and keep fighting to keep it there instead of touching down. It helps visualize what we mean when we use the word "flare". Early on as an instructor I found students didn't quite understand what I was doing, and what I was asking them to do when we "flared".

 

[FastEddieB]

I will have the students fly from edge to edge of our 150 foot wide runway using just aileron while keeping the nose aligned with the runway.

Great exercise!

 

[EdFred]

Making it way too complicated. Keep nose up and descent rate to 100fpm or less. That's it.

 

[David Megginson]

According to a video I watched somewhere on this website, the standard Cirrus landing includes a 16 mile straight in final. It’s nice that some fields want to dictate pattern traffic, but you’re right...us Cirrus drivers get to call the shots and everyone else should just stay out of the way. Remember, if we have to hit you to make the point, we can always pull the chute.

Ah, but we're taking note of where to aim if a midair is unavoidable.

 

[Ed Haywood]

I like coming in and slowing way down on short final and getting behind the power curve and use tiny adjustments in power to sit it down real nice- they are shorter ground rolls than gliding in under no power but too fast

I do the opposite. No flaps, so I cut power to idle abeam the numbers, make a tight 180, cross the fence high and fast, then slip hard down to the runway. Probably looks terrible from the ground, but I know if I lose power at any point in the pattern I will make the runway. I've flown with a few fighter pilots and UPT instructors and apparently that's what they want to see, so if the military ever gets desperate for 56 year old wannabe fighter pilots, I'm in.

 

[Huckster79]

I do the opposite. No flaps, so I cut power to idle abeam the numbers, make a tight 180, cross the fence high and fast, then slip hard down to the runway. Probably looks terrible from the ground, but I know if I lose power at any point in the pattern I will make the runway. I've flown with a few fighter pilots and UPT instructors and apparently that's what they want to see, so if the military ever gets desperate for 56 year old wannabe fighter pilots, I'm in.

Yea iv read about a procedure they do that’s not dissimilar to what you describe- and it helps them know know where they will be landing in an engine out scenario.

it’s kind of interesting to hear all the different angles on this… and what’s cool is there’s validity in all of Them. A million ways to skin a cat

 

[FastEddieB]

Holding charts in front of their faces so they can't see is a bizarre technique to teach landings and I doubt you will see anyone else doing that.

Not a technique I came up with. I think I picked it up at Burnside-Ott at Opa Locka in the 1970’s.

Most student pilots have previously driven thousands of hours in cars, so looking over the nose and “down the road” on landing is a hard habit to break. Just telling them repeatedly to “look out the side when the nose comes up” often has no effect - they keep straining to see down a runway they can’t see at the end of the flare, or if they can see it its too far away for them to accurately judge height. Forcing them to change their focus may just lead them to better landings. Bizarre? Can’t say, but it was effective.

 

[Palmpilot]

"There are three simple rules for making a smooth landing. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are."

 

[Captain Sweet T]

Not a technique I came up with. I think I picked it up at Burnside-Ott at Opa Locka in the 1970’s.

Most student pilots have previously driven thousands of hours in cars, so looking over the nose and “down the road” on landing is a hard habit to break. Just telling them repeatedly to “look out the side when the nose comes up” often has no effect - they keep straining to see down a runway they can’t see at the end of the flare, or if they can see it its too far away for them to accurately judge height. Forcing them to change their focus may just lead them to better landings. Bizarre? Can’t say, but it was effective.

Im not sure exactly my technique, however, my CFI told me to focus intensley when I was having a bout with some rough landings when learning and once I got my focus right, landings became easy

 

[midwestpa24]

Im not sure exactly my technique, however, my CFI told me to focus intensley when I was having a bout with some rough landings when learning and once I got my focus right, landings became easy