When it's ready.....
A few things last and this have reminded me to allow the plane to do what you want it to do when it's ready. Of course, precise flying would be that it's ready just when you want it to be.
In particular, this evening's news item about the Fokker 100 crash in the east. The talking head refers to the tail striking twice before takeoff. For whatever reason, the pilot was trying to force the plane into the sky. He thought it worked, but it didn't, the plane wasn't ready.
I was test flying a Cessna Grand Caravan last week, I had not flown one in 9 years. The pilot I flew first with referred to a speed to "rotate", I concede, Cessna does specify one. And, you know what, it's about the right speed! Because, as I accelerated down the runway, I gently lightened the nose early, not forcing it off, just lightened it about a degree of pitch. The other pilot commented. I replied: "It'll fly itself off when it's ready.". And, low and behold, at the published "rotation" speed, with me simply holding the nose light, it flew itself off with the desired grace. I just kept it straight, and wings level, and gently lowered the nose as it accelerated to a hearty Vy. Obversely, I had occasion to be right seat to an owner in his 182T. I was suspecting that his flying technique was not in harmony with the plane. (A part of my suspicion of this was knowledge of his two prior accidents in it). As he took off, I was painfully aware that he was holding the 182 on all three wheels to 75 knots. When the plane was finally allowed to fight its way into the air, it was actually quite unstable. The next takeoff, I demonstrated just lightening the nose, and the 182T was gently off the runway at 55 knots or so. It was very stable and comfortable to fly as it climbed away. The owner remarked to me: "I didn't know it would do that!" I fault his instructor for that. My role that day was not pilot training, so I only demonstrated two of these gentle takeoffs. I hear that he has since wrecked the plane. He simply did not recognize that the plane was ready to fly - overly so.
'Same thing for landing. Yes, you can force a plane to contact the ground. But, it really hasn't been "landed" until it has aerodynamically transitioned from being supported by the air to being supported by the surface. That is best done by achieving a near stall right around the time of ground contact. A full stall is not required, just enough that the wing really does not want to fly at that angle of attack any more. It'll be ready to land then. It may have just touched, and that's okay
So, other than for the extreme procedures of short field operations, be in tune with your plane, to know when it is ready to fly, or stop flying, and try to arrange your expectations to coincide. Doing so will prevent tail strikes, and unexpected stalls, and return to earth in the wrong place. Having extra runway is nice while you get to know the plane. Once you're familiar, you can perform the "when it's ready" in short field operations too, it just takes better timing on your part - the aerodynamics of the plane don't change based upon the pilot's improving skills!
I'm not a Fokker 100 pilot, so I suppose I can't assert that yesterday's crash had "when it's ready" as a factor, but mention of a tail strike has me thinking of impatient pilots....