Originally Posted by
43Inches
You have to be very careful with this statement with regard to modern trainers. Most instructors should really be teaching 'landing attitude' now, flying level until the plane no longer wants to fly means your risk tail strike in many modern trainers. The objective should be to arrest sink close to the ground until landing attitude is reached and then let it settle onto the ground. I even watched an instructor rip the tail skid out of a Grob landing with too high nose attitude. The old wait until you hear the stall warning 'peep' or it doesn't want to fly anymore works with a PA-28 or Cessna 172 or 152 but then you will get into trouble when you fly something else, especially bigger. Landing attitude in most planes is about the same as a cruising climb attitude (roughly) you just need that nose wheel slightly clear of the ground, it does not need to be soaring in the air, this both restricts forward visibility and makes it uncomfortable for passengers later as well as risking tail strike and heavy landings.
Quite correct. Holding off is classic Tiger Moth era tailwheel flying instruction when trainers, mostly Moths didn’t have brakes. The best place to slow an aircraft down is on the runway with the brakes applied. I disagree about it working on the aircraft you mention. I teach landing attitude as initial climb attitude, just after take off.
I find the noticeable difference between professional pilots and non professional pilots is that professionals always use point and power and round out lower, many PPL’s, understandably, are runway shy. My most repeated critique ( made downwind, not as the student is lifting off) is do everything you are doing but come closer to the runway.
Somebody said you can’t learn from books, I disagree and more importantly you will be better prepared for landing practice if you know exactly how to carry out each step of the landing, BEFORE you get to the aircraft. Learn on the ground, practice in the air.