For new pilots I have found the secret to good landings is a consistent approach pitch attitude. That is you have the attitude for the correct approach speed nailed during from 300 feet to the start of the flare and the power is not adjusted. By that I mean the nose is not bobbing up and down it stays steady. This gives you a consistent repeatable sight picture so that the "look" of correct time to start the flare doesn't change.
If you are coming low and flat on some approaches and high and steep on others the sight picture will be different on every landing and thus it will be much harder to judge the flare.
The proper approach speed is also very important. Flight schools tend to use excessive speeds on the approach and so the flare is prolonged giving the poor student more time to screw things up.
I also believe that you don't mess with power in the flare. When it is time to flare power comes smoothly to idle and the nose comes up to just above the level flight attitude, hold that until you feel the aircraft descending and then continue to pitch up to the landing attitude.
Finally the most important thing for the landing is that the aircraft touches down in the correct nose high attitude. If you are a little high and the aircraft drops the last foot with a bit of a thud, but in the correct nose high landing attitude, that is still a acceptable, safe landing. What is not acceptable is a flat landing where all three wheels touch at the same time or even worse a nose wheel first landing.
Last edited by Big Pistons Forever; 13th Apr 2013 at 23:32.